Michelle Williams
Michelle Ingrid Williams (born September 9, 1980) is an American actress. Known primarily for starring in small-scale independent films with dark or tragic themes, she has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for five Academy Awards and a Tony Award.
Williams, a daughter of politician and trader Larry R. Williams, began her career with television guest appearances and made her film debut in the family film Lassie in 1994. She gained emancipation from her parents at age fifteen, and soon achieved recognition for her leading role in the teen drama television series Dawson's Creek (1998–2003). This was followed by low-profile films, before having her breakthrough with the drama film Brokeback Mountain (2005).
Williams went on to receive critical acclaim for playing emotionally troubled women coping with loss or loneliness in the independent dramas Wendy and Lucy (2008), Blue Valentine (2010), and Manchester by the Sea (2016). She won two Golden Globes for portraying Marilyn Monroe in the drama My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Gwen Verdon in the miniseries Fosse/Verdon (2019), in addition to a Primetime Emmy Award for the latter. Her highest-grossing releases came with the thriller Shutter Island (2010), the fantasy film Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), the musical The Greatest Showman (2017), and the superhero films Venom (2018) and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021). Williams has also led major studio films, such as Ridley Scott's crime thriller All the Money in the World (2017) and Steven Spielberg's drama The Fabelmans (2022).
On Broadway, Williams starred in revivals of the musical Cabaret in 2014 and the drama Blackbird in 2016, for which she received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She is an advocate for equal pay in the workplace. Consistently private about her personal life, Williams has a daughter from her relationship with actor Heath Ledger and was briefly married to musician Phil Elverum. She has two children with her second husband, theater director Thomas Kail.
Williams, a daughter of politician and trader Larry R. Williams, began her career with television guest appearances and made her film debut in the family film Lassie in 1994. She gained emancipation from her parents at age fifteen, and soon achieved recognition for her leading role in the teen drama television series Dawson's Creek (1998–2003). This was followed by low-profile films, before having her breakthrough with the drama film Brokeback Mountain (2005).
Williams went on to receive critical acclaim for playing emotionally troubled women coping with loss or loneliness in the independent dramas Wendy and Lucy (2008), Blue Valentine (2010), and Manchester by the Sea (2016). She won two Golden Globes for portraying Marilyn Monroe in the drama My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Gwen Verdon in the miniseries Fosse/Verdon (2019), in addition to a Primetime Emmy Award for the latter. Her highest-grossing releases came with the thriller Shutter Island (2010), the fantasy film Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), the musical The Greatest Showman (2017), and the superhero films Venom (2018) and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021). Williams has also led major studio films, such as Ridley Scott's crime thriller All the Money in the World (2017) and Steven Spielberg's drama The Fabelmans (2022).
On Broadway, Williams starred in revivals of the musical Cabaret in 2014 and the drama Blackbird in 2016, for which she received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She is an advocate for equal pay in the workplace. Consistently private about her personal life, Williams has a daughter from her relationship with actor Heath Ledger and was briefly married to musician Phil Elverum. She has two children with her second husband, theater director Thomas Kail.
Known for
Deep Sky
The Fabelmans: A Family in Film
The Fabelmans
Showing Up
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
That Click
After the Wedding
Fosse/Verdon
Venom
Always at The Carlyle
I Feel Pretty
All the Money in the World
The Greatest Showman
Wonderstruck
Project X
Certain Women
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Suite Française
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Letters to Jackie: Remembering President Kennedy
Oz the Great and Powerful
Ben Lee: Catch My Disease
Take This Waltz
My Week with Marilyn
Meek's Cutoff
Blue Valentine
Shutter Island
Where the Wild Things Are
Cougar Town
Heath Ledger: A Tribute
Mammoth
Wendy and Lucy
Synecdoche, New York
Deception
Incendiary
I'm Not There
The Hawk Is Dying
The Graham Norton Show
The Hottest State
Brokeback Mountain
The Baxter
Imaginary Heroes
Land of Plenty
A Hole in One
The Station Agent
Dawson's Creek - The Series Finale (Extended Cut)
The United States of Leland
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Me Without You
Prozac Nation
Perfume
But I'm a Cheerleader
If These Walls Could Talk 2
Dick
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Dawson's Creek
A Thousand Acres
The View
Killing Mr. Griffin
E! True Hollywood Story
My Son Is Innocent
Species
Timemaster
Lassie
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Step by Step
Home Improvement
Baywatch
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
MTV Video Music Awards
The Oscars