Michelle Williams
- Child actor
- Teen actor
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.
Acted in
Deep Sky
2023
as Narrator (voice)
Showing Up
2023
as Lizzy
The Fabelmans: A Family in Film
2023
as Self
The Fabelmans
2022
as Mitzi Fabelman
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
2021
as Anne Weying
That Click
2020
as Self
After the Wedding
2019
as Isabel
Fosse/Verdon
2019
as Gwen Verdon
Venom
2018
as Anne Weying
Always at The Carlyle
2018
as Self (archive footage)
I Feel Pretty
2018
as Avery LeClair
All the Money in the World
2017
as Gail Harris
The Greatest Showman
2017
as Charity Barnum
Wonderstruck
2017
as Elaine
Manchester by the Sea
2016
as Randi Chandler
Project X
2016
as Narrator 2 (voice)
Certain Women
2016
as Gina
Suite Française
2015
as Lucille Angellier
Letters to Jackie: Remembering President Kennedy
2013
as Narrator (voice)
Oz the Great and Powerful
2013
as Annie / Glinda
Ben Lee: Catch My Disease
2012
as Self
Take This Waltz
2011
as Margot
My Week with Marilyn
2011
as Marilyn Monroe
Meek's Cutoff
2011
as Emily Tetherow
Blue Valentine
2010
as Cindy
Shutter Island
2010
as Dolores
Cougar Town
2009
as Laurie's Foster Sister
Heath Ledger: A Tribute
2009
as Self
Mammoth
2009
as Ellen Vidales
Wendy and Lucy
2008
as Wendy
Synecdoche, New York
2008
as Claire Keen
Deception
2008
as S
Incendiary
2008
as Young Mother
I'm Not There
2007
as Coco Rivington
The Hawk Is Dying
2007
as Betty
The Hottest State
2006
as Samantha
Brokeback Mountain
2005
as Alma Beers
The Baxter
2005
as Cecil Mills
Imaginary Heroes
2004
as Penny Travis
Land of Plenty
2004
as Lana
A Hole in One
2004
as Anna Watson
The Station Agent
2003
as Emily
Dawson's Creek - The Series Finale (Extended Cut)
2003
as Jen Lindley
The United States of Leland
2003
as Julie Pollard
Me Without You
2001
as Holly
Prozac Nation
2001
as Ruby
Perfume
2001
as Halley
But I'm a Cheerleader
2000
as Kimberly
If These Walls Could Talk 2
2000
as Linda
Dick
1999
as Arlene Lorenzo
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
1998
as Molly Cartwell
Dawson's Creek
1998
as Jen Lindley
A Thousand Acres
1997
as Pammy
Killing Mr. Griffin
1997
as Maya
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
as Self (archive footage)
My Son Is Innocent
1996
as Donna
Species
1995
as Young Sil
Timemaster
1995
as Annie
Lassie
1994
as April Porter
Step by Step
1991
Home Improvement
1991
as Jessica Lutz
Baywatch
1989
MTV Video Music Awards
1984
as Self
The Oscars
1953
as Self
Dying for Sex
as Molly