Vanessa Zima was born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, to parents Dennis and Marie, and is the sister of actresses Madeline Zima and Yvonne Zima. "Zima", a Polish surname, is her mother's maiden name; Vanessa's maternal grandfather was of Polish descent, while her other ancestry is Italian, German, and Irish.Zima moved to LA and began her film career at the age of eight in The Baby-Sitters Club (1995), with Larisa Oleynik and Rachael Leigh Cook. She later appeared in a recurrent role as Daniel Benzali's daughter on Murder One (1995), and shortly afterwards took on the role of "Penny Jackson" in Ulee's Gold (1997), from her older sister, Madeline, who had other commitments.This led to her role in Wicked (1998), playing Julia Stiles' younger sister, and guest-starring roles on The Visitor (1997), Crisis Center (1997) and Family Law (1999). Vanessa then landed her first starring role in the independent film Zoe (2001).When not working, Vanessa enjoys choreography and dance.