The American-South African actress, Embeth Davidtz, is perhaps best known for her appearances in the films “Matilda,” “Schindler’s List,” and “Army of Darkness.”

Age, Early Life, and Education Background

Embeth Jean Davidtz hails from Lafayette, Indiana, and was born under the Leo zodiac sign on 11 August 1965, which makes her 58 years old as of 2023. She’s the daughter of Jean and John Davidtz, a retired professor. Her parents were South Africans (with English, French and Dutch ancestry) and she was born while they were in Indiana, where her dad was studying Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, West Lafayette. Both of Embeth’s parents were highly educated and had doctorates. She has two younger siblings: a brother and a sister who is a psychologist. Davidtz spent her childhood in Lafayette and Trenton, New Jersey. Her family eventually returned to South Africa when she was nine.

Embeth was educated in South Africa, where her dad taught at Potchefstroom University. She attended The Glen High School, Pretoria before matriculating to Rhodes University, Grahamstown in 1983.

Facts and Hobbies

Davidtz spent her younger days in South Africa, and speaks fluent Afrikaans.

She attended a very strict high school, where she had to wear a uniform, and wasn’t allowed to wear makeup.

Embeth’s first manager was the late South African casting director, producer, and talent agent Moonyeenn Lee.

She is an animal lover who has kept several pet dogs and cats.

Embeth's Instagram on July 30. Wanna fly to see her. pic.twitter.com/ohqZ84UFyt

— Embeth Davidtz Fans (@DavidtzFans) August 7, 2017

Career Beginnings in South Africa

When she was 21, Embeth began her acting career with the now-defunct Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB) in Cape Town. She predominantly performed in Afrikaans and English, and one of her earliest performances was in the stage production of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Romeo and Juliet,” which was performed at Maynardville Open-Air Theater in Wynberg, Cape Town. Davidtz appeared in several local plays including “A Chain of Voices” and “Stille Nag” (“Silent Night”). In 1989, she landed a small role as Jennifer in the horror film “Mutator,” which was shot in South Africa, and later landed a role in the South African telemovie “A Private Life.”

Embeth’s performance in the 1990 play “Houd-den-bek” saw her win a DALRO Award for Best Supporting Actress and a nomination for the Esther Roos Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Embeth later scooped South Africa’s equivalent of an Academy Award for her performance in the 1991 South African movie “Nag van die 19de”.

Career in Hollywood

In 1992, Embeth relocated to Los Angeles to further her acting career. In the same year, she shared the screen with Bruce Campbell in the third installment of the acclaimed “Evil Dead” franchise entitled “Army of Darkness.” For her performance in the dark fantasy horror comedy movie, Embeth won a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1993, Embeth was offered the role of Helen Hirsch in the historical drama movie “Schindler’s List” by Steven Spielberg, who had noticed her during the shooting of the 1991 movie “Nag van die 19de.” “Schindler’s List” is based on Thomas Keneally’s 1982 book, “Schindler’s Ark,” and follows the story of a German industrialist, Oskar Schindler (portrayed by Liam Neeson), who saved the lives of thousands of Polish-Jewish refugees from the World War II Holocaust by hiring them to work in his factories. Before the end of the 20th century, Embeth appeared in various films and the most notable were “Murder in the First” and “Feast of July” (both in 1995), “Matilda” (in 1996), and “Bicentennial Man” (1999) –  her performance in the latter, she was nominated for a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress – Comedy.

In 2001, Embeth appeared in seven episodes of Lydia Woodward’s drama series “Citizen Baines.” She appeared in seven films during the decade, including the psychological thrillers “The Hole” and “Fracture” in 2001 and 2007 respectively. Some of Embeth’s notable TV appearances were in the HBO drama “In Treatment” (2008) and Tom Kapinos’ comedy-drama “Californication” (2009). She portrayed Rebecca Pryce in eight episodes of the period drama “Mad Men” from 2009 to 2012.

In 2011, she shared the screen with the likes of Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara in the mystery thriller film “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, and in the year that followed, she portrayed Mary Parker in the acclaimed superhero action film “The Amazing Spider-Man,” which had an impressive box office collection of over $750 million; she reprised her role in the second installment of the film in 2014.

2016 saw Embeth portray Sonia Kovitzky in seven episodes of the Showtime crime drama “Ray Donovan”, and later appeared in several episodes of “The Morning Show” from 2019 to 2021. Recently in 2022, Embeth played Judith Sanders in the satirical black comedy-drama movie “Not Okay.” She will share the screen with Liam Neeson again in the upcoming action thriller movie “Retribution.”

Other Works

Davidtz has lent her voice to Penny Moffat in the video game “Agent.” She has also posed for various brands including NVLA (Nailvana. LA).

Embeth is active on Instagram (@embethdavidtz) with around 40,000 followers. She joined Twitter in 2016, and is currently followed by around 4,000 fans (@EmbethDavidtz).

Personal Life

Embeth is a married woman, having walked the aisle with the entertainment lawyer, Jason Sloane, in June 2002. The couple has two children, a daughter and a son named Charlotte Emily Sloane born in 2002, and Asher Dylan Sloane born in October 2005, respectively. The family is currently living in Los Angeles, California. Davidtz is a Roman Catholic.

Before marrying Sloane, Davidtz was romantically linked with the actor Harvey Keitel in 1994 and 1995. She has also dated the British actor, Ben Chaplin, whom she met on the set of the movie “Feast of July.” Their relationship lasted for five years (1995-2000).

Battle with Cancer

In 2013, Embeth was diagnosed with Stage-3 breast cancer, so stopped working for a while to undergo treatment, which involved chemotherapy, lymph-node-removal surgery, immunological treatment, and a double mastectomy. Before she recovered fully, Embeth was cast to play a breast cancer survivor in the TV series “Ray Donovan,” in which she incorporated her partially reconstructed right breast into the story. She’s stated that she hopes that her portrayal inspired other breast cancer survivors to feel sexy and beautiful. The actress is currently cancer-free.

Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance

Davidtz is of Caucasian roots, and has a set of dark brown eyes and light brown hair. She is 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, weighs approximately 130lbs (59kgs), and her vital statistics are 34-24-35. The actress wears shoe and dress sizes 9(US) and 4(US) respectively.

Net Worth

Embeth has carved a niche for herself and accumulated a decent net worth from her acting career; she’s worth approximately $5 million, as of 2023.