Acting
Aug 10, 1965
Lafayette, Indiana, USA
Embeth Davidtz
Acting
Biography
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.
Feature Films (40)
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
Schindler's List
Four teenagers at a British private school secretly uncover and explore the depths of a sealed underground hole created decades ago as a possible bomb shelter.
The Hole
On the way to meet with an independent artist in the South, newlywed art dealer Madeleine is convinced by her husband, George, that they should stop to meet his family in North Carolina. Madeleine's affluent lifestyle clashes with the family, but she befriends George's wide-eyed and pregnant sister-in-law, Ashley, who is nearing her due date. Through the family, Madeleine gains greater insight into George's character.
Junebug
Bridget Jones is an average woman struggling against expectations. As a New Year's resolution, Bridget decides to take control of her life, starting by keeping a diary in which she will always tell the complete truth. Her charming boss takes an interest in her, and she cannot stop running into a rather disagreeable acquaintance whom Bridget cannot help finding quietly attractive.
Bridget Jones's Diary
Ash, a handsome, shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed department store clerk, is time warped backwards into England's Dark Ages, where he romances a beauty and faces legions of the undead.
Army of Darkness
Television & Series (14)
A self-loathing, alcoholic writer attempts to repair his damaged relationships with his daughter and her mother while combating sex addiction, a budding drug problem, and the seeming inability to avoid making bad decisions.
Californication
After Elliott Baines loses his bid for reelection to the United States Senate, he returns home to Seattle to face life as a civilian and to reestablish his relationships with his three grown daughters -- Ellen, an attorney contemplating a run for office herself; Reeva, an unfulfilled wife and mother; and Dori, a young woman searching for a path in life out of the shadow of her famous father.
Citizen Baines
The true story of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Endurance expedition to the the South Pole and his epic struggle to lead his crew to safety after his ship was crushed in the pack ice.
Shackleton
Victor is a new student at Creekwood High School on his own journey of self-discovery, facing challenges at home, adjusting to a new city, and struggling with his sexual orientation. When it all seems too much, he reaches out to Simon to help him navigate the ups and downs of high school.
Love, Victor
Follows the personal and professional lives of a group of doctors at Seattle's Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
