She has earned national and international recognition in the form of numerous awards, including the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship (1998).
Although Zimmerman was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, she spent much of her childhood in Europe, splitting time between her parents' home outside London in Hampstead Garden, England, and in Paris.
Zimmerman has directed several theatrical adaptations of literary works in addition to Metamorphoses, including Journey to the West, the Odyssey, Silk, Arabian Nights (1994), and The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (2003).
[4][5] Her monodrama, M. Proust, was given its world premiere by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2006 in a production directed by Eric Rosen and starring Mary Beth Peil as Celeste Albaret.
In 2018, Zimmerman adapted and directed Hans Christian Andersen's The Steadfast Tin Soldier at Lookingglass Theatre Company.
In March 2009 the Met premiered Zimmerman's production of Vincenzo Bellini's La sonnambula (starring Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez).
The production featured Kevin Carolan as Baloo the Bear, André De Shields as King Louie, and Akash Chopra as Mowgli.