Mageina Tovah
 |
Mageina Tovah | |
|---|---|
 Tovah at the premiere of Spider-Man 3 in 2007 | |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2001–present |
Mageina Tovah (born 1980 or 1981[1]) is an American actress. She had roles as Glynis Figliola in the television series Joan of Arcadia (2003–2005), as Ursula Ditkovich in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 and Zelda Schiff, the head librarian in The Magicians.
Early life
[edit]Tovah is Jewish.[1] Her father is a pediatric psychiatrist and her mother is a pediatric physical therapist,[2] both practicing their professions in the Army.[3] She grew up in Nashville, Tennessee,[1] where the family moved when she was 12 years old, after they had lived on a farm in Clarksville, Tennessee. After finishing high school when she was 16, she went to Cal Tech to study engineering and math. From there she went to the University of Southern California, where her interests changed to the theater.[3]
Career
[edit]Tovah and a friend formed Silo Theatre Company in Los Angeles after college. "It was terrific," she said. When her friend moved to New York, she shut down Silo and began acting with the Ray Bradbury Theater in Los Angeles.[3]
Tovah had a recurring role on Joan of Arcadia (2003–2005). Her television work includes guest roles on a number of TV shows. These include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, NYPD Blue, Six Feet Under, The Shield, Cold Case, Shameless, Crossing Jordan, American Horror Story, Private Practice, and The Magicians. Tovah's feature film work includes roles in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Dark Heart, Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas, and a recurring role as Ursula Ditkovich in the films Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3.
Tovah made an appearance in the Jonas Åkerlund-directed music video for Christina Aguilera's hit song "Beautiful".
Hux, directed by Tovah, was named Best Dramatic Short at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival in 2016.[4]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Virus Man | Young Girl | |
| 2002 | Dine & Shine | ||
| 2002 | Reflections of Evil | Direct-to-DVD | |
| 2003 | The Pool at Maddy Breaker's | Louise | TV movie |
| 2003 | Hope Abandoned | Maid | Short film |
| 2004 | Y.M.I. | Nevermore | |
| 2004 | Spider-Man 2 | Ursula Ditkovich | |
| 2004 | Sleepover | Girl on Phone | |
| 2004 | The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie | Usher | Post-credit scene |
| 2004 | Do Geese See God? | Rose Vendor | Short film |
| 2005 | Waterborne | Lillian | Direct-to-DVD |
| 2006 | Dark Heart | Jessica | |
| 2006 | Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas | Sam | |
| 2007 | Spider-Man 3 | Ursula Ditkovich | |
| 2007 | Live! | Kelly | Direct-to-DVD |
| 2008 | The Walking Wounded | Sadie | Short film |
| 2008 | Dream from Leaving | ||
| 2012 | Neighbors | Sara Jerritt | Short film |
| 2012 | The Factory | Brittany | Direct-to-DVD |
| 2013 | Decoding Annie Parker | Ellen | |
| 2015 | Suburban Memoir | Mrs. R | Short film; AKA Holy Land |
| 2016 | No Stranger Pilgrims | Olivia | Short film |
| 2016 | Hux | Hux | Short film; also writer / director |
| 2016 | Eliza Sherman's Revenge | Jodi Kromwell |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Guardian | Debbie | Episode: "Feeding Frenzy" |
| 2001 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Jonesing Girl | Episode: "Wrecked" |
| 2002 | NYPD Blue | Anne Knepper | Episode: "Half-Ashed" |
| 2003 | Six Feet Under | Pink-Haired Girl | Episode: "The Eye Inside" |
| 2003 | Boston Public | Episode: "Chapter Sixty-One" | |
| 2003–2005 | Joan of Arcadia | Glynis Figliola | 23 episodes |
| 2004–2008 | The Shield | Farrah | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Strong Medicine | Trinity | Episode: "Omissions" |
| 2005 | Crossing Jordan | Laura Bennett | Episode: "Death Goes On" |
| 2006 | Half & Half | Ginny | Episode: "The Big Diva Down Episode" |
| 2006 | Cold Case | Crystal Eckersdorf | Episode: "Joseph" |
| 2006 | In from the Night | Priscilla Miller | TV movie |
| 2007 | Standoff | Gwen Keegan | Episode: "Road Trip" |
| 2007 | Private Practice | Rebecca Hobart | Episode: "In Which Addison Has a Very Casual Get Together" |
| 2009 | Bones | Madame Nina | Episode: "Double Trouble in the Panhandle" |
| 2009 | Lie to Me | Natalie | Episode: "Blinded" |
| 2010 | Southland | Misty | Episode: "Maximum Deployment" |
| 2010–2011 | Hung | Christina | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | Chase | Missy | Episode: "Above the Law" |
| 2011 | Breakout Kings | Jill Kincaid | Episode: "Collected" |
| 2011 | The Mentalist | Constance | Episode: "Rhapsody in Red" |
| 2011 | American Horror Story: Murder House | Bianca | Episode: "Home Invasion" |
| 2012 | Shameless | Kim Furtado | Episode: "I'll Light a Candle for You Every Day" |
| 2012 | The Finder | Joyce Weatherby | Episode: "The Inheritance" |
| 2012 | CSI: NY | Eva Mason | Episode: "Reignited" |
| 2012 | Obama: What He's Done | Herself | TV movie |
| 2013 | Scandal | Molly Ackerman | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | How to Get Away with Murder | Jolene Samuels | Episode: "Mama's Here Now" |
| 2015 | You're the Worst | Amy Cadingle | 5 episodes |
| 2016 | Castle | Veronica Harris | Episode: "G.D.S." |
| 2016–2020 | The Magicians | Zelda Schiff, Head Librarian | 24 episodes |
| 2020 | Heartbeats | Joyce Summers | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | The Lincoln Lawyer | Wren Williams | 2 episodes |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Nate Bloom (May 4, 2007). "Celebrity Jews". J. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
Also appearing in a small part as Ursula is Mageina Tovah, 26, a cute Jewish actress who was raised in a religious home in Nashville, Tenn.
- ↑ Shine, Matt (September 18, 2016). "The Interview: Mageina Tovah - Hux Star and Director - We Get Up Close". Female First. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
- 1 2 3 Neumaier, Joe (May 6, 2007). "Web Following". Daily News. New York, New York City. p. Sunday Now, p. 15. Retrieved August 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Uncle Tom's Gabbin". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. February 10, 2016. p. O 38. Retrieved August 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
[edit]
- Official website
- Mageina Tovah at IMDb
- Mageina Tovah at the TCM Movie Database (archived)
