Embeth Davidtz
ActingEmbeth 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.
Known For
Schindler's List
Helen Hirsch
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Mary Parker
The Amazing Spider-Man
Mary Parker
Matilda
Miss Honey
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Annika Blomkvist Giannini
Thir13en Ghosts
Kalina
Old
Adult Maddox
Bridget Jones's Diary
Natasha
Fracture
Jennifer Crawford
Bicentennial Man
Little Miss / Portia
Filmography — Acting
Schindler's List
Helen Hirsch
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Mary Parker
The Amazing Spider-Man
Mary Parker
Matilda
Miss Honey
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Annika Blomkvist Giannini
Thir13en Ghosts
Kalina
Old
Adult Maddox
Bridget Jones's Diary
Natasha
Fracture
Jennifer Crawford
Bicentennial Man
Little Miss / Portia
Retribution
Heather Turner
Army of Darkness
Sheila
Fallen
Gretta Milano
The Hole
Dr. Philippa Horwood
Paranoia
Judith Bolton
Mansfield Park
Mary Crawford
Murder in the First
Mary McCasslin
Europa Report
Dr. Samantha Unger
Not Okay
Judith
The Emperor's Club
Elizabeth
Winged Creatures
Lydia Jaspersen
Junebug
Madeleine
The Gingerbread Man
Mallory Doss
Till Death Us Do Part
Katherine Palliko
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
Nicola Fuller
Deadly Matrimony
Dianne Masters
Last Rites
Dr. Lauren Riggs
Feast of July
Bella Ford
Miracle Rising: South Africa
Self
3 Backyards
The Actress
Simon Magus
Leah
An Oral History of: Schindler's List
Self (archive footage)
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
Self
The Garden of Redemption
Adriana
Mutator
Jennifer
Sweet Murder
My Movie About Making 'Matilda' by Mara Wilson
Self
Matilda's Movie Magic: The Making of 'Matilda'
Self
A Private Life
Older Karen
The Night of the 19th
Tessa van Dyk
Schindler's List: 25 Years Later
Self