Embeth Davidtz | |
---|---|
Born | Embeth Jean Davidtz August 11, 1965 Lafayette, Indiana, U.S. |
Nationality | South African |
Education | Rhodes University in Grahamstown |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1989–present |
Spouse | Jason Sloane (m. 2002) |
Children | 2 |
Embeth Jean Davidtz (born August 11, 1965) [1] is an American-South African actress. Her screen roles include movies such as Army of Darkness , Schindler's List, Matilda, Fallen, Mansfield Park , Bicentennial Man , Bridget Jones's Diary, Junebug, Fracture, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Old, and Not Okay, and the television series In Treatment , Californication , Mad Men , Greys Anatomy, Ray Donovan , and The Morning Show . She also guest-starred on Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Derek Shepherd's sister Nancy Shepherd.
Davidtz was born in Lafayette, Indiana, to South African parents John and Jean, while her father was studying chemical engineering at Purdue University. The family later moved to Trenton, New Jersey, and then to South Africa when Davidtz was nine years old. [2] Davidtz has Dutch, English, and French ancestry. [3] She had to learn Afrikaans before attending school classes in South Africa, [2] where her father took up a teaching post at Potchefstroom University. Davidtz graduated from The Glen High School in Pretoria in 1983 and studied at Rhodes University in Grahamstown. [4]
Davidtz made her acting debut at age 21 with CAPAB (Cape Performing Arts Board, now known as Artscape) in Cape Town, playing Juliet in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre. Performing in English and Afrikaans, she also starred in other local plays, including Stille Nag (Silent Night) and A Chain of Voices , both earning her nominations for the South African equivalent of the Tony Award. [4]
Her film debut came in 1988 with a small role in South African-filmed American horror Mutator. [5] Shortly after, she won a bigger part in South African short telemovie A Private Life, as the daughter of an interracial couple. [4] Davidtz won a DALRO Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 1990 play Houd-den-bek. [6] For the same play, she was nominated in 1991 for the Esther Roos Award for Best Actress in a Supporting role in Afrikaans film. Steven Spielberg noticed her performance in the 1992 South African film, Nag van die Negentiende and offered her the role of Helen Hirsch in Schindler's List . [7]
In 1991, Davidtz played the part of Sheila in Sam Raimi's "Army of Darkness" alongside Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams. The third movie in the Evil Dead franchise, it has become a cult classic.
In 1993, Davidtz played the role of Helen Hirsch in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List . [8]
In 1995, Davidtz had a central role in the fact-based film Murder in the First , and the Merchant Ivory Productions Feast of July . [9]
In Matilda (1996), she played the role of Miss Honey, the first-grade teacher of the title character. [10]
In 1998, Davidtz played a theologian helping Denzel Washington crack a supernatural wave of crimes in the mystery drama Fallen and a femme fatale linked to Kenneth Branagh in Robert Altman's The Gingerbread Man . [9] The following year, Davidtz portrayed a 19th-century woman of the world in Patricia Rozema's reworking of the Jane Austen comedy Mansfield Park and played a dual role opposite Robin Williams in the futuristic fable Bicentennial Man . [11]
A supporting role in the 2001 film Bridget Jones' Diary saw Davidtz play Natasha, a colleague and one of the love interests of Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). [12] That year, she began her run on the CBS drama Citizen Baines , playing the daughter of a defeated United States Senate incumbent (James Cromwell) who is herself leaning towards a career in politics. [13] Other roles included horror thrillers like 2001's Thirteen Ghosts alongside Tony Shalhoub. [14] In 2002, she appeared in the Michael Hoffman drama The Emperor's Club . [15]
In Junebug (2005), she played an outsider art dealer from Chicago brought to North Carolina to meet her husband's family for the first time. [16] Davidtz also guest-starred on the ABC drama series Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Derek Shepherd's sister Nancy Shepherd in the Season 3 episode "Let the Angels Commit" and the season 15 episode "Good Shepherd". [17] In 2008, she had a regular role on HBO's In Treatment as Amy, part of a fractious couple alongside Josh Charles's Jake. [18]
She portrayed the unfaithful and unfortunate wife of Anthony Hopkins's character in the 2007 drama Fracture . [19]
From 2009 to 2012, she played Rebecca Pryce, wife of Lane Pryce, in the AMC television show Mad Men . [20] She also played Felicia Koons, the wife of the dean and the mother of Becca's best friend, Chelsea, on Showtime's Californication . [21]
Davidtz played Annika Blomkvist in the 2011 English language version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo . [22] She also appeared in the 2012 Spider-Man reboot The Amazing Spider-Man and its 2014 sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as Mary Parker, Peter Parker's missing mother. [23]
In 2016, she joined the cast of Ray Donovan (season 4) in the role of Sonia Kovitzky.
From 2019 to 2021, she played Paige Kessler on The Morning Show , opposite Steve Carell (as Mitch Kessler), Jennifer Aniston, and Reese Witherspoon.
In 2021, she played Adult Maddox Cappa in Old .
In 2022, she played Judith Sanders in Not Okay .
Davidtz married entertainment attorney Jason Sloane on June 22, 2002, and they have two children. [24] The family lives in Los Angeles. [25]
In 2013, Davidtz underwent chemotherapy, immunological treatment, lymph-node-removal surgery and a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with Stage-3 breast cancer. [26] Davidtz rejected the use of a prosthetic as a substitute for her nipple during a nude scene in Ray Donovan, where she portrayed a character who was a breast-cancer survivor, choosing instead to incorporate her own partially reconstructed right breast into the storyline. [26]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | Army of Darkness | Sheila | Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress |
1993 | Schindler's List | Helen Hirsch | |
1995 | Murder in the First | Mary McCasslin | |
Feast of July | Bella Ford | ||
1996 | Matilda | Miss Jennifer Honey | |
1998 | Fallen | Gretta Milano | |
The Gingerbread Man | Mallory Doss | ||
1999 | Simon Magus | Leah | |
Mansfield Park | Mary Crawford | ||
Bicentennial Man | "Little Miss" Amanda Martin / Portia Charney | Nominated – Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress, Comedy | |
2001 | Bridget Jones's Diary | Natasha Glenville | |
The Hole | Dr. Philippa Horwood | ||
Thir13en Ghosts | Kalina Oretzia | ||
2002 | The Emperor's Club | Elizabeth | |
2005 | Junebug | Madeleine Johnsten | |
2007 | Fracture | Jennifer Crawford | |
2008 | Winged Creatures | Joan Laraby | |
2010 | 3 Backyards | The Actress | |
2011 | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Annika Giannini | |
2012 | The Amazing Spider-Man | Mary Parker | |
2013 | Paranoia | Dr. Judith Bolton | |
Europa Report | Dr. Samantha Unger | ||
Miracle Rising: South Africa | Herself | ||
2014 | The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | Mary Parker | |
2021 | Old | Adult Maddox Cappa | |
2022 | Not Okay | Judith Sanders | |
2023 | Retribution | Heather Turner |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | Screen Two | Older Karen | Episode: "A Private Life" |
1992 | Till Death Us Do Part | Katherine Palliko | TV movie (US not UK where series originated.) |
Deadly Matrimony | Dianne Masters | TV movie | |
1997 | The Garden of Redemption | Adriana | TV movie |
1998 | Last Rites | Dr. Lauren Riggs | TV movie |
2001 | Citizen Baines | Ellen Baines Croland | 7 episodes |
2002 | Shackleton | Rosalind Chetwynd | TV miniseries |
2004 | Scrubs | Maddie | Episode: "My Tormented Mentor" |
2006, 2019 | Grey's Anatomy | Nancy Shepherd | Episodes: "Let the Angels Commit", "Good Shepherd" |
2008 | In Treatment | Amy | 8 episodes |
2009 | Californication | Felicia Koons | 10 episodes |
2009–2012 | Mad Men | Rebecca Pryce | 8 episodes |
2015 | The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe | Natasha Lytess | TV miniseries |
2016 | Ray Donovan | Sonia Kovitzky | 7 episodes |
2019–2021 | The Morning Show | Paige Kessler | 3 episodes |
2021 | Love, Victor | Ms. Campbell | Episode: "Table for Four" |
2022 | Tales of the Walking Dead | Amanda | Episode: "Davon" |
Alice Maud Krige is a South African actress and producer. Her big break came in 1981, when she starred as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon in the British historical film Chariots of Fire, and as Eva Galli / Alma Mobley in the American supernatural horror film Ghost Story. She received a Laurence Olivier Award for her performance in the West End theatre production of Arms and the Man (1981) and later joined the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Matilda is a 1996 American fantasy comedy film co-produced and directed by Danny DeVito from a screenplay by Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord, based on the 1988 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film stars Mara Wilson as the title character, with DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, and Pam Ferris in supporting roles. The plot centers on the titular child prodigy who develops psychokinetic abilities and uses them to deal with her disreputable family and the tyrannical principal of her school.
Rhys Owain Evans, better known as Rhys Ifans, is a Welsh actor. He is best known for his roles in Notting Hill (1999), Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), and Enduring Love (2004) as well as his portrayals of Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010), Dr. Curt Connors/Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), and Grigori Rasputin in The King's Man (2021). Other roles include Hector DeJean in the Epix thriller series Berlin Station, Mycroft Holmes in the CBS series Elementary, and Ser Otto Hightower in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon.
Caroline Goodall is a British/Australian actress and screenwriter and producer. Awards and nominations include Best Actress nominations AFI Awards for her roles in the 1989 miniseries Cassidy, and the 1995 film Hotel Sorrento a Logie Awards Nomination for the mini series A Difficult Woman,and Best Actress award. Her film appearances include Hook (1991), Cliffhanger (1993), Schindler's List (1993), Disclosure (1994), White Squall (1996), The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Best of Me (2014).
Emily Jean "Emma" Stone is an American actress and producer. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2017, she was the world's highest-paid actress and named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Junebug is a 2005 American comedy-drama film directed by Phil Morrison. Amy Adams received an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in the film.
Bicentennial Man is a 1999 American science fiction comedy-drama film starring Robin Williams, Sam Neill, Embeth Davidtz, Wendy Crewson, and Oliver Platt. Based on the 1992 novel The Positronic Man by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg, the plot explores issues of humanity, slavery, prejudice, maturity, intellectual freedom, conformity, sex, love, mortality, and immortality. The film, a co-production between Touchstone Pictures and Columbia Pictures, was directed by Chris Columbus. The title comes from the main character existing to the age of two hundred years.
Richard and Mary Parker are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are the parents of Peter Parker, the superhero known as Spider-Man.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Actress. Mom. Animal lover.🐾Based in Los Angeles.