Madeline Zima | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

A show business baby who blossomed into a budding adult starlet, the limelight shone on Madeline Zima before she could even walk. Born in New Haven, CN, Zima's mother introduced her daughter to the business at only 28 months of age, when Madeline beat out hundreds of other youngsters for a spot in a Downy Fabric Softener commercial. A scant five years later, she earned a breakout role in the thriller "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" (1992) with Rebecca De Mornay, which was quickly followed by another film role, this time alongside Hulk Hogan in "Mr. Nanny" (1993). From there, it was on to her first regular television gig as the youngest sibling, Grace Sheffield, on Fran Drescher's sitcom hit "The Nanny" (CBS 1993-99). The experience, however, was not a pleasant one, according to Zima, who years later complained of being treated "more like a prop than like a human being." Zima's next big break came with "Lucy" (2002), a TV biopic based upon the life of Lucille Ball, with Zima playing the comedic red-head as a teenager, having won a worldwide casting call for the role. Her next big-screen role opposite Hilary Duff in "A Cinderella Story" (2004) preceded Zima's true adult breakthrough role as Mia, the sexy and at time obsessed admirer of David Duchovny in the adult drama "Californication" (Showtime 2007-14). She held the role through 2011, during which time she also starred briefly in the "Heroes" (NBC 2006-2010) superhero series as Gretchen Berg. In 2013, Zima began a recurring role on the Amazon Instant Video series "Betas," about dating app developers looking for an investor.