Michelle Williams on screen and stage

Michelle Williams is smiling for the camera
Williams at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival

Michelle Williams is an American actress who has appeared on film, television and stage. Her first screen appearance was at the age of 13 in a 1993 episode of the television series Baywatch, and she made her film debut as the love interest of the teenage lead in the family film Lassie (1994).[1][2] She subsequently had guest roles on the television sitcoms Step by Step and Home Improvement and played the younger version of Natasha Henstridge's character in the science fiction film Species (1995).[3][4] Greater success came to Williams in 1998 when she began starring as the sexually troubled teenager Jen Lindley in the popular teen drama Dawson's Creek, a role she played over six seasons.[1][3] In 1999, she made her stage debut with a production of a play by Tracy Letts, entitled Killer Joe, in which she played the naive young daughter of a dysfunctional family.[1] She also took on roles in the slasher film Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) and the screwball comedy Dick (1999).[5][6]

In the 2000s, Williams eschewed parts in big-budget films in favor of roles with darker themes in independent productions.[6] In 2001, she played opposite Anna Friel in the psychological thriller Me Without You and portrayed a drug addict in Prozac Nation, a drama about depression starring Christina Ricci.[7][8] Two years later, she played the grieving sister of a murdered boy in The United States of Leland and appeared briefly in the comedy-drama The Station Agent.[1][9] Despite positive reviews from critics, these films were not widely seen.[10][11] This changed in 2005 when Williams played the neglected wife of Heath Ledger's character in Brokeback Mountain, a drama about star-crossed gay lovers, which became a critical and commercial success, and gained Williams a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[12][13][14] She did not find success in the dramas The Hottest State (2006) and Incendiary (2008), but Kelly Reichardt's small-scale drama Wendy and Lucy (2008), in which she played a drifter in search of her missing dog, was critically acclaimed.[10][11][15]

Martin Scorsese's psychological thriller Shutter Island (2010), starring Leonardo DiCaprio, in which Williams had a supporting part, became her most widely seen film to that point.[11][14] She went on to receive two consecutive Oscar nominations for Best Actress for her roles in Blue Valentine (2010) and My Week with Marilyn (2011), and also won a Golden Globe Award for the latter.[16][17][18] In the former, she starred opposite Ryan Gosling as a woman struggling with an unhappy marriage, and in the latter, she portrayed the actress Marilyn Monroe.[19][20] Williams' highest-grossing release came in 2013 with the role of Glinda the Good Witch in the $493 million-grossing fantasy feature Oz the Great and Powerful.[21][22] She made her Broadway debut with the role of Sally Bowles in a revival of the musical Cabaret in 2014, and played a victim of sexual abuse in a revival of the play Blackbird in 2016.[23] For the latter, she gained a Tony Award for Best Actress nomination.[24] Also in 2016, Williams portrayed a tragic wife in the drama Manchester by the Sea and reunited with Reichardt in the ensemble drama Certain Women, both of which garnered praise from critics.[25][26]

Film

A head-shot of Michelle Williams
Williams at an event for Shutter Island in 2010
Key
Films that have not yet been released Denotes films that have not yet been released
Film roles of Williams
Title Year[lower-alpha 1] Role Director(s) Notes Ref(s)
Lassie 1994 April Porter Daniel Petrie [2]
Timemaster 1995 Annie James Glickenhaus [27]
Species 1995 Young Sil Dennis Feldman [28]
Thousand Acres, AA Thousand Acres 1997 Pammy Jocelyn Moorhouse [29]
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later 1998 Molly Cartwell Steve Miner [5]
Dick 1999 Arlene Lorenzo Andrew Fleming [30]
But I'm a Cheerleader 1999 Kimberly Jamie Babbit [31]
Perfume 2001 Halley Hunter Carson/
Michael Rymer
[32]
Me Without You 2001 Holly Sandra Goldbacher [7]
Prozac Nation 2001 Ruby Erik Skjoldbjærg [8]
United States of Leland, TheThe United States of Leland 2003 Julie Pollard Matthew Ryan Hoge [33]
Station Agent, TheThe Station Agent 2003 Emily Tom McCarthy [34]
Land of Plenty 2004 Lana Wim Wenders [35]
Imaginary Heroes 2004 Penny Travis Dan Harris [36]
Hole in One, AA Hole in One 2005 Anna Watson Richard Ledes [37]
Baxter, TheThe Baxter 2005 Cecil Mills Michael Showalter [38]
Brokeback Mountain 2005 Alma Beers del Mar Ang Lee [39]
Hawk Is Dying, TheThe Hawk Is Dying 2006 Betty Julian Goldberger [40]
Hottest State, TheThe Hottest State 2006 Samantha Ethan Hawke [41]
I'm Not There 2007 Coco Rivington Todd Haynes [42]
Deception 2008 S Marcel Langenegger [43]
Incendiary 2008 Young Mother Sharon Maguire [44]
Synecdoche, New York 2008 Claire Charlie Kaufman [45]
Wendy and Lucy 2008 Wendy Carrol Kelly Reichardt [46]
Mammoth 2009 Ellen Vidales Lukas Moodysson [47]
Blue Valentine 2010 Cindy Derek Cianfrance Also executive producer [19]
Shutter Island 2010 Dolores Chanal Martin Scorsese [48]
Meek's Cutoff 2011 Emily Tetherow Kelly Reichardt [49]
My Week with Marilyn 2011 Marilyn Monroe Simon Curtis [20]
Take This Waltz 2012 Margot Sarah Polley [50]
Oz the Great and Powerful 2013 Annie / Glinda[lower-alpha 2] Sam Raimi [52]
Suite Française 2015 Lucille Angellier Saul Dibb [53]
Manchester by the Sea 2016 Randi Kenneth Lonergan [54]
Certain Women 2016 Gina Lewis Kelly Reichardt [55]
Wonderstruck Film has yet to be released 2017 TBA Todd Haynes Filming [26]

Television

Television roles of Williams
Title Year Role Notes Ref(s)
Baywatch 1993 Bridget Episode: "Race Against Times: Part 1" [56]
Step by Step 1994 J.J. Episode: "Something Wild" [57]
Home Improvement 1995 Jessica Lutz Episode: "Wilson's Girlfriend" [58]
Raising Caines 1995 Trish Caines Main role; season 1 [59]
My Son Is Innocent 1996 Donna Winston Television movie [60]
Killing Mr. Griffin 1997 Maya Television movie [61]
Dawson's Creek 1998–2003 Jen Lindley Main role; 6 seasons [62]
If These Walls Could Talk 2 2000 Linda Television movie [63]
Cougar Town 2013 Unnamed Episode: "Blue Sunday" [64][65]

Stage

Stage roles of Williams
Production Year Role Theater Ref(s)
Killer Joe 1999 Dottie SoHo Playhouse [66]
Smelling a Rat 2002 Melanie-Jane Samuel Beckett Theatre [67]
The Cherry Orchard 2004 Varya Williamstown Theatre Festival [68]
Cabaret 2014 Sally Bowles Studio 54 [69]
Blackbird 2016 Una Belasco Theatre [70]

Footnotes

  1. Refers to the film's earliest release
  2. She played dual roles in the film.[51]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Heath, Chris (January 17, 2012). "Some Like Her Hot". GQ. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Crossan, Ashley (July 22, 2014). "14-Year-Old Michelle Williams is Adorable on the Set of 'Lassie'". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Teeman, Tim (January 26, 2011). "Michelle Williams is kinda blue". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  4. James, Caryn (July 7, 1995). "Film Review; Singles Bars And Single Half-Aliens". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Ebert, Roger (August 5, 1998). "Halloween: H20 Move Review". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Lim, Dennis (September 4, 2008). "For Michelle Williams, It’s All Personal". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Holden, Stephen (July 5, 2002). "Film Review; Best Friends Who Are Also Worst Enemies Struggle in a Web of Emotions". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  8. 1 2 McCarthy, Todd (September 10, 2001). "Review: 'Prozac Nation'". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  9. Ebert, Roger (April 2, 2004). "The United States of Leland". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  10. 1 2 "Michelle Williams". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 "Michelle Williams Movie Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  12. "List of Academy Award Winners and Nominees". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  13. Tzioumakis, Yannis (2012). Hollywood's Indies: Classics Divisions, Specialty Labels and the American Film Market. Edinburgh University Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-7486-4012-6.
  14. 1 2 Anthony, Andrew (March 8, 2009). "'I don't want any more paparazzi outside my door'". The Guardian. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  15. Knegt, Peter (December 9, 2008). ""I Think I've Come a Long Way": "Wendy and Lucy" Actress Michelle Williams". Indiewire. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  16. "The 83rd Academy Awards (2011) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  17. "The 84th Academy Awards (2012) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  18. Chen, Joyce (January 16, 2012). "Golden Globes winner Michelle Williams: I'm inspired by my daughter's 'bravery and exuberance'". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  19. 1 2 Bradshaw, Peter (January 13, 2011). "Blue Valentine – review". The Guardian. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  20. 1 2 Gritten, David (November 5, 2011). "My Week with Marilyn: the true story". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  21. "Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  22. Miller, Julie (March 5, 2013). "How Is Michelle Williams’s Glinda the Good Witch in Oz the Great and Powerful Different from Billie Burke’s Classic?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  23. Green, Adam (February 5, 2016). "Michelle Williams and Jeff Daniels Bring Blackbird’s Unsettling Seduction to Broadway". Vogue. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  24. "See Full List of 2016 Tony Award Nominations". Playbill. May 3, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  25. Setoodeh, Ramin (January 23, 2016). "Sundance: Michelle Williams On How She Prepared for ‘Manchester By the Sea’ and ‘Certain Women’". Variety. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  26. 1 2 Kroll, Justin (April 8, 2016). "Michelle Williams to Star With Julianne Moore in Todd Haynes’ ‘Wonderstruck’". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  27. "Timemaster (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  28. Mainon, Dominique; Ursini, James (2006). Modern Amazons: Warrior Women on Screen. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 377. ISBN 978-0-87910-327-9.
  29. "A Thousand Acres (1997)". British Film Institute. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  30. "Dick: Details and Credits". Metacritic. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  31. Cameron-Wilson, James (December 1, 2001). Film Review 2001-2002: The Definitive Film Yearbook. Reynolds & Hearn.
  32. McCarthy, Todd (January 31, 2001). "Review: 'Perfume'". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  33. Willis, John A. (2005). John Willis' Screen World. Applause Books. p. 55.
  34. Berra, John (2010). American Independent. Intellect Books. pp. 255–257. ISBN 978-1-84150-368-4.
  35. Campbell, Neil (October 1, 2013). Post-Westerns. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 251–253. ISBN 978-0-8032-4827-4.
  36. Gritten, David (2008). The Movies That Matter: From Bogart to Bond and All the Latest Film Releases. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. ISBN 978-0-00-727106-1.
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  38. Ebert, Roger (September 8, 2005). "The Baxter Move Review". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  39. "Brokeback Mountain (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  40. Catsoulis, Jeannette (March 29, 2007). "Crumpled Manhood Revisited". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  41. "The Hottest State (2007)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  42. Bennett, Ray (September 2, 2007). "I'm Not There". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  43. Hicks, Erin (April 23, 2008). "Michelle Williams stars in first movie since Heath Ledger's death". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  44. "Incendiary (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  45. LaRocca, David (May 27, 2011). The Philosophy of Charlie Kaufman. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 219–222. ISBN 0-8131-3392-0.
  46. Gilbey, Ryan (March 5, 2009). "One woman and her dog". New Statesman. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  47. Stenport, Anna Westerståhl (August 1, 2012). Lukas Moodysson’s Show Me Love. University of Washington Press. pp. 135–136. ISBN 978-0-295-80421-7.
  48. Wernblad, Annette (December 3, 2010). The Passion of Martin Scorsese: A Critical Study of the Films. McFarland. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-7864-6232-2.
  49. Powers, Thomas (June 20, 2011). "‘In Such a Place, A Person Might Die in a Day’". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  50. French, Philip (August 19, 2012). "Take This Waltz – review". The Guardian. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  51. Wickman, Kase (March 11, 2013). "7 'Wizard of Oz' Easter Eggs Hidden in 'Oz the Great and Powerful'". MTV. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  52. "Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  53. Macnab, Geoffrey (March 13, 2015). "Suite Française, film review: A romantic but discordant dispatch on love and war". The Independent. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  54. McCarthy, Todd (January 23, 2016). "‘Manchester by the Sea’: Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  55. Springer, Alex (January 30, 2016). "Sundance Film Review: Certain Women". SLUG Magazine. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  56. "Baywatch – Season 4, Episode 1: Race Against Time (1)". TV.com. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  57. "Step by Step – Season 4, Episode 6: Something Wild". TV.com. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  58. "Home Improvement – Season 4, Episode 26: Wilson's Girlfriend". TV.com. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  59. "Raising Caines". TV.com. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  60. "My Son Is Innocent (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  61. Television Guide. Triangle Publications. 1997.
  62. "Michelle Williams won't go back to 'Dawson's Creek'". Entertainment Weekly. December 15, 2005. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  63. "If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  64. Harnick, Chris (January 9, 2013). "Michelle Williams On ‘Cougar Town’ Season 4 Premiere, Shimmying And Using An Accent". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  65. Sepinwall, Alan (January 8, 2013). "Season premiere review: 'Cougar Town' - 'Blue Sunday': Wine Guy and Coffee Bitch". HitFix. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  66. McGrath, Seth; Lefkowitz, David (April 20, 1999). "Lori Petty, Seth Ullian & Michelle Williams Join Killer Joe, April 20". Playbill. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  67. Ehren, Christine (April 8, 2002). "New Group Is Smelling a Rat with Michelle Williams May 7-June 16". Playbill. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  68. Rizzo, Frank (August 16, 2004). "Review: 'The Cherry Orchard'". Variety. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  69. Asare, Andrew (September 4, 2014). "Michelle Williams to make Broadway debut with Cabaret". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  70. Soloski, Alexis (April 4, 2016). "Michelle Williams and Jeff Daniels on the scared, desperate tale of Blackbird". The Guardian. Retrieved May 4, 2016.

External links

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