Rebecca Mader

From New York runways

Rebecca Mader was born in Cambridge in 1977, but her career did not begin on a British stage. Her first foray into the industry was through modeling in the United States. There she worked for global brands such as L'Oréal and Colgate before landing her first speaking role in a television production.

In 2006, she got a small break in The Devil Wears Prada. That brief appearance as Jocelyn gave her an inside look at how the major Hollywood studios operate. Before that shoot, her experience was limited to fleeting roles on daytime soaps such as All My Children.

And the plan worked.

The actress decided to settle in Los Angeles to pursue roles with greater dramatic weight. In 2007, she appeared in the film Great World of Sound. This independent production helped her show that she could move beyond the polished image she had projected during her years as a commercial model.

The impact of the island and international recognition

In 2008, Mader's luck changed when she joined the cast of Lost. Playing anthropologist Charlotte Lewis posed a considerable technical challenge because of the story's complexity. The actress appeared in a total of 21 episodes before her character was written out of the main storyline in season five.

But that work on ABC opened the doors to fantasy genre roles for good. In 2011, she joined the cast of No Ordinary Family, and in 2012 she appeared in the series Work It. None of these projects reached the longevity the network hoped for, but they helped keep her profile active in the industry.

Television was her main refuge.

In 2013, she landed a supporting role in Iron Man 3 within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was a brief appearance that came before the role that would define her career in the following years. In 2014, she was cast to bring Zelena to life in the series Once Upon a Time.

Building a villain with depth

The character of the Wicked Witch of the West was originally conceived for a limited appearance. But the reaction from the series' fans was so positive that the producers decided to make her a main character. Mader played Zelena across 67 episodes until the show's final conclusion in 2018.

During that period, she was a regular presence on the international convention circuit. That stage allowed her to connect with a fan base that still keeps interest in her work alive today. So after the series ended, she looked for projects that would let her explore voice acting and comedy.

In 2022, she lent her voice to the animated special The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday. It was a strategic move to diversify her résumé beyond the villain image she had cultivated for nearly a decade on broadcast television.

In 2023, she appeared in the film Fire Island directed by Myles Clohessy, playing the character Daphne. The shoot took place entirely on location in New York State with a small crew.