Born in Layfayette, Indiana in 1965, Embeth Davidtz, is an American actress, whose parents were both from South Africa. The family later moved back to South Africa when she was nine years old. Davidtz is bilingual in English and Afrikaans, and in 1983 she graduated from Rhodes University in Grahamstown with a major in Drama and English Literature.

Davidtz was twenty-one when she got the role of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in Cape Town. Later she also starred in A Chain of Voices and was nominated for an award for her performance. In 1988 she starred in the horror film, Mutator, which was being filmed in South Africa. However, in 1992 she played a woman who becomes deaf and mute after being raped in Nag van die 19de (Night of the 19th) and received an award in South Africa that is very similar to an Oscar.

Her first American film role was in the cult classic Army of Darkness by director Sam Raimi with Bruce Campbell. Her next roles were for television projects such as Till Death So Us Part and Deadly Matrimony, and it was her performance in Deadly Matrimony that got her the part of Helen Hirsch in Schinder's List.

She quickly followed up this critically praised role with ones in Murder in the First, Feast of July, Matilda, and Fallen. Each of these movies was different in its scope and required Davidtz to rely on a great many of her acting talents as she played roles ranging from a children's teacher to a young woman who brings ruin to a family who sheltered her. Since then she's played roles in Bridget Jones' Diary, Thir13en Ghosts, The Emperor's Club, and Junebug, each role effectively proving her versatility as an actress.

In 2002 she married Jason Sloane and together the couple has two children, Charlotte Emily and Asher.