Zoë Weizenbaum (born September 21, 1991) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actress, most recognized for her roles in

Memoirs of a Geisha ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of Nitta Sayuri and the many trials she faces on the path to becoming and wo ...

and

12 and Holding ''12 and Holding'' is a 2005 American coming of age, coming-of-age drama film directed by Michael Cuesta and starring Conor Donovan, Jesse Camacho, Zoe Weizenbaum, and Jeremy Renner. The film is distributed by IFC Films and was released on May 19, ...

Early life

Weizenbaum was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

mother and a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

father. She is the granddaughter of

computer scientist A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...

Joseph Weizenbaum Joseph Weizenbaum (8 January 1923 – 5 March 2008) was a German American computer scientist and a professor at MIT. The Weizenbaum Award is named after him. He is considered one of the fathers of modern artificial intelligence. Life and caree ...

(1923–2008). From the age of two, she grew up in

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (althoug ...

. She studied

African Dance African dance refers to the various dance styles of Sub-Saharan Africa. These dances are closely connected with the traditional rhythms and music traditions of the region. Music and dancing is an integral part of many traditional African societi ...

and participated in Amherst's local musical theater productions.

Career

She was called for an audition for ''

Missing in America ''Missing in America'' is a 2005 drama film, directed, produced, and written by Gabrielle Savage Dockterman. It is based on a story by Ken Miller, a former Green Beret who was a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War. The film debuted at the Seattle ...

'' after someone saw her perform in a local production of ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

''. For this role, she received the Angel Award for Best Actress at the

Monaco International Film Festival The Monaco International Film Festival is an annual international special interest film festival held in Monaco. It is a non-profit organization, formed in December 2003 and founded by Rosana Golden and Dean Bentley The festival focuses on non-viol ...

in 2005. She has also had roles in ''

'', directed by

Michael Cuesta Michael Cuesta (born July 8, 1963) is an American film and television director, best known for his independent films, specially for having co-written and directed the 2001 film, '' L.I.E.'' He has directed and produced television series including ...

and in ''

'', directed by

Rob Marshall Robert Doyle Marshall Jr.http://www.alumni.cmu.edu/s/1410/images/editor_documents/alumnirelations/getinvolved/alumniawards/all_honorees_2018june1.pdf (born October 17, 1960) is an American film and theater director, producer, and choreographer. ...

Personal life

Weizenbaum attended Amherst Regional High School for her freshman year, before she decided to return to

Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School (PVPA) is a public charter school in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1996 as part of the Massachusetts Educational Reform. It was originally located in Hadley ...

, where she went to middle school. Weizenbaum speaks

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, learning through the

Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle te ...

program and intensive Chinese courses at

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

and Middlebury Institute's Summer Intensive Language Program. From 2010 to 2011, Weizenbaum attended Middlebury and studied Japanese. She later majored in Chinese, graduating from

in 2014. From 2015 to 2017, Weizenbaum studied at the

National Cheng Kung University National Cheng Kung University (NCKU; ) is a public research university located in Tainan, Taiwan. The university is best known for engineering, computer science, medicine, and planning and design. As a top university in Taiwan, NCKU has played ...

’s Chinese Language Center in Taiwan. Upon returning to the United States, she began co-operatin
Ancient Ponies Farm
a permaculture homestead, with her mother in

Shutesbury, Massachusetts Shutesbury is a New England town, town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,717 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfie ...

Filmography

References

External links

Interview with the cast of "Twelve and Holding"
- ''Now Playing magazine'' * 1991 births Actresses from Massachusetts American film actresses American people of Chinese descent Living people People from Amherst, Massachusetts Mount Holyoke College alumni 21st-century American women {{US-film-actor-1990s-stub