Embeth Davidtz biography 

American born and South African raised actress Embeth Davidtz has a varied and extensive acting résumé. It includes everything from underground cult classics such as Army of Darkness to Schindler’s List, considered by many to be the very benchmark for current filmmaking.

Embeth Jean Davidtz was born August 11, 1965 in Lafayette, Indiana. Her parents were John Davidtz and Jean Davidtz. The family lived in Indiana while John completed his education at Purdue University for chemical engineering.

They eventually relocated to Trenton, New Jersey, and shortly after, to South Africa. Dadvidtz was only nine years old. In order to attend school in South Africa, the English speaking Davidtz had to learn Afrikaans.

She attended Glen High School and graduated in 1983. She went on to pursue her secondary education from Rhodes University where she obtained a double major in English literature and drama.

Before jumping into television and film, Davidtz first explored her onstage career. To that end, she debuted at the age of twenty-one in a Cape Town production of Romeo and Juliet. She quickly landed more roles and was rewarded with much critical acclaim.

She made her onscreen debut shortly after in 1989 with Mutator opposite Brion James. A poorly received sci-fi thriller, Davidtz had a much better reception in her next work, 1989’s A Private Life.

But it was 1992 that really launched her career. Not only did she star in the critically revered Nag Van Die 19de, but she also made the move to Los Angeles. Proving a well-conceived plan, Davidtz immediately landed the role of Sheila in Sam Raimi’s cult classic Army of Darkness. She costarred with Bruce Campbell, and even Bridget Fonda had a small role as well.

Leaving behind screwball comedies, Davidtz next won the role of Helen Hirsch in Steven Spielberg’s modern classic Schindler’s List. She shared the screen with Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes.

Others may recognize her for her work in the lighter screen adaptation of Matilda. Directed by Danny DeVito, Davidtz portrayed Miss Jennifer Honey opposite Mara Wilson and Rhea Perlman.

In 1998, she found herself in an all star cast for Robert Altman’s The Gingerbread Man, which also starred Kenneth Branagh, Robert Downey Jr, Daryl Hannah, Robert Duvall, and Famke Janssen.

Most recently, she is noted for her work opposite Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling in the mystery drama Fracture. She has also landed a recurring role on the new series In Treatment with Gabriel Byrne as lead.

Davidtz recently completed filming Winged Creatures, which is slated for a 2008 release. The film is set to costar Kate Beckinsale, Forest Whitaker, Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Jackie Earle Haley, and Jeanne Tripplehorn.

In her personal life, Davidtz was briefly linked to fellow actor Harvey Keitel.

She then became involved with and married attorney Jason Sloane on June 22, 2002. They currently have two children and are still together.