Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams, born September 9, 1980, in Kalispell, Montana, is an American actor whose career moved from television to acclaimed independent films and major studio productions. She was raised in San Diego, California, and first attracted attention as Jen Lindley on Dawson’s Creek, the WB drama she joined in 1998. She remained with the series until its 2003 finale, appearing alongside James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, and Joshua Jackson. Earlier, she had made her film debut in the 1994 family film Lassie and appeared in the 1998 slasher sequel Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. Her early work established range. Williams became closely associated with director Kelly Reichardt through films that include Wendy and Lucy (2008), Meek’s Cutoff (2010), Night Moves (2013), Certain Women (2016), and Showing Up (2022). In Wendy and Lucy, she plays Wendy, a young woman stranded in Oregon while searching for her lost dog. Her performance earned her the Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress. Reichardt’s spare observational style gave Williams roles markedly different from her franchise appearances, including Anne Weying in Venom (2018) and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021). Ruben Fleischer directed the first, while Andy Serkis directed the second feature film. Her most decorated screen work includes Brokeback Mountain (2005), directed by Ang Lee. Williams portrayed Alma Beers Del Mar, the wife of Heath Ledger’s Ennis Del Mar, and received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She later earned four further Oscar nominations for Blue Valentine (2010), playing Cindy opposite Ryan Gosling; My Week with Marilyn (2011), as Marilyn Monroe; Manchester by the Sea (2016), as Randi Chandler; and The Fabelmans (2022), as Mitzi Fabelman. The latter role was directed by Steven Spielberg and drew on his semi-autobiographical childhood. These five acting nominations make her an Oscar contender. Williams also worked on stage. She made her Broadway debut in 2014 as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, opposite Alan Cumming as the Emcee, and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. In 2016, she played Black in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway revival of Eugene O’Neill’s The Father, starring Frank Langella. Her television credits include the FX limited series Fosse/Verdon (2019), where she portrayed dancer and actor Gwen Verdon opposite Sam Rockwell’s Bob Fosse. The performance brought her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. She was executive producer.