Michelle Williams (actress) biography, high resolution photos and videos by Americola 
Michelle Williams (actress)
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Michelle Ingrid Williams (born September 9, 1980) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. Williams broke into stardom on the teen series Dawson's Creek and later graduated to full length features, such as Brokeback Mountain, for which she earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 Early life
- 1.2 Career
- 1.3 Personal life
- 2 Partial filmography
- 3 References
- 4 External links
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Biography
Early life
Born in Kalispell, Montana, she is the eldest of the five children of Larry Williams, a renowned commodities trader, and Carla Williams, a homemaker. She also has a half sister named Sara Williams, who is the vice principal of Loma Vista Elementary School, in Brentwood, California. When she was nine, her family moved to San Diego, California. At an early age, Williams took interest in acting. With her parents' disapproval, at age fifteen Williams emancipated herself from her parents and graduated from high school, in order to pursue her acting career.
Williams' father is a noted stock and commodities trader and had taught her about trading. In
1997 at age 16 she won the
Robbins World Cup Trading Championship, the same as her father won in
1987.
[1] She turned $10,000 into $110,000 over the course of a year and that gain (as of
2006) is the fourth highest in the competition (her father's being the highest).
[2]
Career
Williams' career began in television, appearing in programs such as the 90's version of Lassie, Baywatch and Home Improvement. Williams' first film role was in the motion picture Species. Soon after, she won additional roles, including the Jessica Lange-Michelle Pfeiffer film A Thousand Acres and the 1998 movie Halloween: H20. However, it was in 1998 when Williams was cast as Jen Lindley on the hit WB show Dawson's Creek, that helped to put her on the map.
During and after the show's six season run, Williams made strong turns in several notable indie films. Her first starring role was as Arlene in the film Dick, a satire of the Watergate scandal, opposite Kirsten Dunst. She starred opposite Christina Ricci in Prozac Nation, and also appeared in the HBO film If These Walls Could Talk 2, and several acclaimed indie pictures such as The United States of Leland, Me Without You and Imaginary Heroes with Sigourney Weaver. For her performance in The Station Agent, Williams along with the rest of the cast received a Screen Actors Guild award nomination for Best Acting Ensemble. It was in 2005 when critics and audiences took note of Williams' performance in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. For her performance, she won a Critic's Choice Award and received Golden Globe, BAFTA and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.
Since then, Williams has quickly gained employment in several highly anticipated films. Later in 2006, she will appear in the drama The Hawk is Dying, with Paul Giamatti. She recently wrapped The Hottest State opposite Ethan Hawke. She also completed filming on a Bob Dylan biopic titled I'm Not There by director Todd Haynes, which also features Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, and Heath Ledger, and is signed to film projects with directors Woody Allen, Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze.
Personal life
Williams was engaged to
Australian actor
Heath Ledger and gave birth to their daughter, Matilda Rose Ledger, on
October 28,
2005 in
New York City.
[3] Matilda's godfather is
Jake Gyllenhaal[4] while her godmother is
Busy Philipps, Michelle's co-star on
Dawson's Creek.
[5] The couple met on the set of the film
Brokeback Mountain, in which they played husband and wife. During their time together they lived in
Boerum Hill,
Brooklyn, New York. On
September 2,
2007,
People.com reported that Williams and Ledger had decided to split after three years together.
[6] On
September 4,
2007, Williams' father confirmed to
Sydney Daily Telegraph that Ledger and Williams had indeed split.
[7] Ledger died on
January 22,
2008.
[8]
Partial filmography
References
- ^ Larry Williams page at Global Investor
- ^ World Cup Trading Standings page at Robbins Trading
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1115599,00.html
- ^ Heath Ledger Chooses Jake Gyllenhaal as Daughter's Godfather
- ^ FIRST PICTURE: Michelle Williams and Matilda Arrive in Brooklyn
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20054428,00.html
- ^ http://www.hollywood.com/news/Williams_Father_Confirms_Ledger_Split/4753467
- ^ "Heath Ledger was found dead in US", BBC News, 2008-01-22. Retrieved on January 22, 2008.
