Acting · Lafayette, Indiana, USA · Born August 11, 1965
Embeth Jean Davidtz (born August 11, 1965) is an American-born South African actress and director. She has appeared in movies such as Schindler's List, Matilda, Bridget Jones's Diary, and The Amazing Spider-Man, and in the television series In Treatment, Californication, and Mad Men. In 2024 Davidtz made her directorial debut with Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, an adaptation of the best-selling memoir of the same name by Alexandra Fuller about growing up on a farm in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. The film had its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Davidtz was born on August 11, 1965, 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 Davidtz has Dutch, English, and French ancestry. She had to learn Afrikaans before attending school classes in South Africa, 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. In 1992, 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 would eventually become a big cult classic worldwide. In 1993, Davidtz played the role of Helen Hirsch in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List. In 1995, Davidtz had a central role in the fact-based film Murder in the First, and the Merchant Ivory Productions Feast of July.
MovieDon't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
2025
as Nicola Fuller
MovieRetribution
2023
as Heather Turner
TVTales of the Walking Dead
2022
as Amanda
MovieNot Okay
2022
as Judith
MovieOld
2021
as Adult Maddox
TVLove, Victor
2020
as Mrs. Campbell
TVThe Morning Show
2019
as Paige Jacobs
An Oral History of: Schindler's List
2018
as Self (archive footage)
MovieSchindler's List: 25 Years Later
2018
as Self
TVThe Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
2015
as Natasha Lytess
MovieNelson Mandela Redrawn
2014
as Self
MovieThe Amazing Spider-Man 2
2014
as Mary Parker
MovieParanoia
2013
as Judith Bolton
TVRay Donovan
2013
as Sonia Kovitzky
MovieEuropa Report
2013
as Dr. Samantha Unger
Miracle Rising: South Africa
2013
as Self
MovieThe Amazing Spider-Man
2012
as Mary Parker
MovieThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2011
as Annika Blomkvist Giannini
Movie3 Backyards
2010
as The Actress
MovieWinged Creatures
2009
as Lydia Jaspersen
TVIn Treatment
2008
as Amy
TVCalifornication
2007
as Felicia Koons
TVMad Men
2007
as Rebecca Pryce
MovieFracture
2007
as Jennifer Crawford
MovieJunebug
2005
as Madeleine
MovieMatilda's Movie Magic: The Making of 'Matilda'
2005
as Self
MovieMy Movie About Making 'Matilda' by Mara Wilson
2005
as Self
TVGrey's Anatomy
2005
as Nancy Shepherd (uncredited)
MovieThe Emperor's Club
2002
as Elizabeth
TVShackleton
2002
as Rosalind Chetwynd
MovieThir13en Ghosts
2001
as Kalina
TVScrubs
2001
as Maddie
TVCitizen Baines
2001
as Ellen Baines Croland
MovieThe Hole
2001
as Dr. Philippa Horwood
MovieBridget Jones's Diary
2001
as Natasha
MovieBicentennial Man
1999
as Little Miss / Portia
MovieMansfield Park
1999
as Mary Crawford
MovieLast Rites
1999
as Dr. Lauren Riggs
MovieSimon Magus
1999
as Leah
MovieThe Gingerbread Man
1998
as Mallory Doss
MovieFallen
1998
as Gretta Milano
MovieThe Garden of Redemption
1997
as Adriana
MovieMatilda
1996
as Miss Honey
MovieFeast of July
1995
as Bella Ford
MovieMurder in the First
1995
as Mary McCasslin
MovieSchindler's List
1993
as Helen Hirsch
MovieDeadly Matrimony
1992
as Dianne Masters
MovieArmy of Darkness
1992
as Sheila
MovieTill Death Us Do Part
1992
as Katherine Palliko
The Night of the 19th
1991
as Tessa van Dyk
MovieSweet Murder
1990
MovieA Private Life
1989
as Older Karen
MovieMutator
1989
as Jennifer
TVScreen Two
1985
as Older Karen
