The daughter of politician and traderLarry R. Williams, Williams began her career with television guest appearances and made her film debut in the family filmLassie in 1994. She gainedemancipation from her parents at age 15, and soon achieved recognition for her leading role asJen Lindley in the teen drama television seriesDawson's Creek (1998–2003). This was followed by low-profile films, before having her breakthrough with the drama filmBrokeback Mountain (2005), which earned Williams her first Academy Award nomination.
OnBroadway, Williams starred in revivals of the musicalCabaret in 2014 and the dramaBlackbird in 2016, for which she received a nomination for theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She is an advocate forequal pay in the workplace. Consistently private about her personal life, Williams has a daughter from her relationship with actorHeath Ledger and was briefly married to musicianPhil Elverum. She has three children with her second husband, theater directorThomas Kail.
Michelle Ingrid Williams[1] was born on September 9, 1980, inKalispell, Montana, to Carla, a homemaker, andLarry R. Williams, an author andcommodities trader.[2][3] She has Norwegian ancestry and her family has lived in Montana for generations.[4][5] Her father twice ran unsuccessfully for theUnited States Senate as aRepublican Party nominee.[3] In Kalispell, Williams lived with her three paternal half-siblings and her younger sister, Paige.[6] Although she has described her family as "not terribly closely knit", she shared a close bond with her father, who taught her to fish and shoot, and encouraged her to become a keen reader.[7][8][9] Williams has recounted fond memories of growing up in the vast landscape of Montana.[10] When she was nine, the family moved to San Diego, California.[6] She has said of the experience, "It was less happy probably by virtue of it being my preteen years, which are perhaps unpleasant wherever you go."[10] She mostly kept to herself and was self-reliant.[11] She said that growing up, she had a connection withJudaism due to being raised around San Diego Jewish families.[12]
Williams became interested in acting at an early age when she saw a local production ofThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer.[13] She performed in an amateur production of the musicalAnnie, and her parents would drive her from San Diego to Los Angeles to audition for parts. Her first screen appearance was as Bridget Bowers, a girl who tries to dateMitch Buchannon's son, Hobie, in a 1993 episode of the television seriesBaywatch.[7][14][15] The following year, she made her film debut in the family featureLassie, about the bond between thetitular dog and a young boy (played byTom Guiry). Williams played the love interest of Guiry's character, which led the criticSteven Gaydos to take notice of her "winning perf".[16][17] She next took on guest roles in the television sitcomsStep by Step andHome Improvement, and appeared as the child form of Sil, an alien played in adulthood byNatasha Henstridge, in the 1995 science fiction filmSpecies.[18][19][20]
By 1995, Williams had completed ninth grade atSanta Fe Christian Schools in San Diego.[21] She disliked going there as she did not get along well with other students. To focus on her acting pursuits, she left the school and enrolled inin-home tutoring.[11][22][23] At age fifteen, with her parents' approval, Williams filed foremancipation from them,[24] so she could better pursue her acting career with less interference fromchild labor work laws.[3][25] To comply with the emancipation guidelines, she completed her high school education in nine months through correspondence.[13][23] She later regretted not getting a proper education.[23]
Following her emancipation, Williams moved to Los Angeles and lived by herself inBurbank.[8][9] She said of her initial experience in the city, "There are some really disgusting people in the world, and I met some of them."[9] To support herself, she took assignments in low-budget films and commercials.[8] She had minor roles in the television filmsMy Son is Innocent (1996) andKilling Mr. Griffin (1997), and the dramaA Thousand Acres (1997), which starredMichelle Pfeiffer andJessica Lange.[26][27][28] Williams later described her early work as "embarrassing", saying she had taken those roles merely to support herself as she "didn't have any taste [or] ideals".[8] In 1997, unhappy with the roles she was being offered, Williams collaborated with two other actors to write a script titledBlink, about prostitutes living in a Nevada brothel, which despite being sold to a production company was never made.[29][30] Having learned to trade under her father's guidance, a seventeen-year-old Williams entered the Robbins World Cup Championship, afutures trading contest; with a return of 1,000%, she became the first woman to win the title and the third-highest winner of all time (her father ranks first).[31][32][33]
In 1998, Williams began starring in the teen drama television seriesDawson's Creek, created byKevin Williamson and co-starringJames Van Der Beek,Katie Holmes, andJoshua Jackson. The series aired for six seasons from January 1998 to May 2003 and featured her asJen Lindley, a precocious New York-based teenager who relocates to the fictional town of Capeside. The series was shot inWilmington, North Carolina, where she lived for the six years of filming.[34] Reviewing the first season forThe New York Times,Caryn James called it a soap opera that was "redeemed by intelligence and sharp writing" but found Williams to be "too earnest to suit this otherwise shrewdly tongue-in-cheek cast".[35]Ray Richmond ofVariety labeled it "an addictive drama with considerable heart" and considered all four leads appealing.[36] The series was a ratings success and raised Williams's profile.[9][34] Her first film release since the debut ofDawson's Creek was theJamie Lee Curtis-starring slasher pictureHalloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)—the seventh installment in theHalloween film series—in which she played one of several teenagers traumatized by the murdererMichael Myers.[37] It grossed $55 million domestically against its $17 million budget.[38]
Williams creditedDawson's Creek as "the best acting class", but also admitted to not having fully invested herself in the show as "my taste was in contradiction to what I was doing every single day."[18][29][39] She would film the series for nine months each year and spend the remaining time playing againsttype in independent features, which she considered a better fit for her personality.[30][39] She said the financial stability of a steady job empowered her to act in such films.[40] Williams found her first such role in the comedyDick (1999), a parody of theWatergate scandal, in which she andKirsten Dunst played teenagers obsessed withRichard Nixon.[8][30] Praising the film's political satire,Lisa Schwarzbaum ofEntertainment Weekly credited both actresses for playing their roles with "screwball verve".[41]Dick failed to recoup its $13 million investment.[42] In the same year Williams played a small part inBut I'm a Cheerleader, a satirical comedy aboutconversion therapy.[43]
Keen to play challenging roles in adult-oriented projects, Williams spent the summer of 1999 starring in anoff-Broadway play titledKiller Joe.[44][45] Written byTracy Letts, it is a black comedy about a dysfunctional family who kills their matriarch for insurance money; she was cast as the family's youngest daughter. The production featured gruesome violence and required Williams to perform a nude scene.[7] Her socially conservative parents were displeased with it, but she said she found it "cathartic and freeing".[7][30][46] Her next role was in theHBO television filmIf These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000), a drama about three lesbian couples in different time periods. Williams signed on to the project after ensuring that a sex scene with co-starChloë Sevigny was pertinent to the story and not meant to titillate.[46] In a mixed review of the film,Ken Tucker criticized Williams for overplaying her character's eagerness.[47] When asked about playing a series of sexual roles, she stated, "I don't think of any of them as sexy, hot girls. They were just defined at an early age by the fact that others saw them that way."[9] She subsequently made an effort to play roles that were not sexualized.[7]
2001–2005: Independent films andBrokeback Mountain
The British filmMe Without You (2001), about an obsessive female friendship, starred Williams andAnna Friel. Williams played Holly, an insecure bibliophile, a part that came close to her personality.[9] The writer-directorSandra Goldbacher was initially reluctant to cast an American in a British part but was impressed by Williams's self-deprecating humor and a "European stillness".[9]Roger Ebert praised Williams's British accent and found her to be "cuddly and smart both at once".[48] Williams returned to the stage the following year in a production ofMike Leigh's farceSmelling a Rat.[49] Her part, that of a scatterbrained teenager exploring her sexuality, led Karl Levett ofBackstage to label her "a first-class creative comedienne".[50] She played a supporting role in theChristina Ricci-starringProzac Nation, a drama about depression based onElizabeth Wurtzel'smemoir.[51]
Dawson's Creek completed its run in 2003, and Williams was satisfied with how it had run its course. She relocated to New York City soon after.[52] She had supporting parts in two art-house films that year, the dramaThe United States of Leland and the comedy-dramaThe Station Agent. In the former, starringRyan Gosling, she played the grieving sister of a murdered boy; it was described byThe Globe and Mail's Liam Lacey as "neither an insightful nor well-made film".[53]The Station Agent, about a lonely dwarf (played byPeter Dinklage), featured Williams as a librarian who develops an attraction towards him. Critically acclaimed, the film's cast was nominated for theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast.[54][55] On stage, Williams played Varya in a 2004 production ofAnton Chekhov's dramaThe Cherry Orchard, alongsideLinda Emond andJessica Chastain, at theWilliamstown Theatre Festival.[56] The theater criticBen Brantley credited her for "cannily play[ing] her natural vibrancy against the anxiety that has worn the young Varya into a permanent high-strung sullenness."[57]
German filmmakerWim Wenders wrote the filmLand of Plenty (2004), which investigates anxiety and disillusionment in a post-9/11 America, with Williams in mind.[58]Kevin Thomas of theLos Angeles Times praised Wenders's thoughtful examination of the subject and noted Williams's screen appeal.[59] She received anIndependent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead nomination for the film.[60] The actor next appeared inImaginary Heroes, a drama about a family coping with their son's suicide, and played an impressionable young woman fixated on mental health in the period filmA Hole in One.[61][62] Williams returned to the comedy genre withThe Baxter, in which she played a geeky secretary. The film received negative reviews;Wesley Morris ofThe Boston Globe wrote, "Only when Williams is around does the movie seem human, true, and funny. Even in her slapstick, there's pain."[63][64] As with her other films during this period, it received only a limited release and was not widely seen.[65][66]
Her film breakthrough came later in 2005 when Williams appeared inAng Lee's dramaBrokeback Mountain, about the romance between two men,Ennis andJack (played byHeath Ledger andJake Gyllenhaal, respectively). Impressed with her performance inThe Station Agent, the casting directorAvy Kaufman recommended Williams to Lee. He found a vulnerability in her and cast her as Alma, the wife of Ennis, who discovers her husband's homosexual infidelity.[67] The actor was emotionally affected by the story and, despite her limited screen time, she was drawn to the idea of playing a woman constricted by the social mores of the time.[22] Deeming her the standout among the cast, Ed Gonzalez ofSlant Magazine commended Williams for "fascinatingly spiking [Alma's] unspoken resentment for her sham of a marriage with a hint of compassion for Ennis's secret suffering".[68]Brokeback Mountain proved to be her most widely seen film to that point, grossing $178 million against its $14 million budget, and she received a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[69][70]
Williams had two film releases in 2006. She first featured oppositePaul Giamatti in the dramaThe Hawk Is Dying.[8] Five months after giving birth to her daughter, she returned to work onEthan Hawke's directorial ventureThe Hottest State, based on his own novel. Leslie Felperin ofVariety found her role too brief.[71] Following the awards-season success ofBrokeback Mountain, Williams was unsure of what to do next. After six months of indecision, she agreed to a small part inTodd Haynes'sI'm Not There (2007), a musical inspired by the life ofBob Dylan.[72] She was then drawn to the part of an enigmatic seductress named S in the 2008 crime thrillerDeception.[8][73] The film, which co-starredHugh Jackman andEwan McGregor, was considered by critics to be middling and predictable.[74] In her next release,Incendiary, based onChris Cleave'snovel of the same name, Williams reteamed with McGregor to play a woman whose family is killed in a terrorist attack. A reviewer forThe Independent called the film "sloppy" and added that Williams deserved better.[75]
Williams's two other releases of 2008 were better received. The screenwriterCharlie Kaufman was impressed with her comic timing inDick and thus cast her in his directorial debutSynecdoche, New York, an ensemble experimental drama headlined byPhilip Seymour Hoffman.[58] It was abox office bomb and polarized critics, although Roger Ebert named it the best film of the decade.[76][77][78] Two days after finishing work onSynecdoche, New York, Williams began filmingKelly Reichardt'sWendy and Lucy, playing the part of a poor and lonesome young woman traveling with her dog and looking for employment.[79] With a shoestring budget of $300,000, the film was shot on location inPortland, Oregon, with a largely volunteer crew.[79] She was pleased with Reichardt's minimalistic approach and identified with her character's self-sufficiency and fortitude.[79][80] Sam Adams of theLos Angeles Times considered her performance to be "remarkable not only for its depth but for its stillness" andMick LaSalle commended her for effectively conveying a "lived-in sense of always having been close to the economic brink".[81][82]
Her next projectMammoth was directed by the Swedish directorLukas Moodysson and featured Williams andGael García Bernal as a couple dealing with issues stemming fromglobalization. Her role was that of an established surgeon, a part she deemed herself too young to logically play.[72] In the same year, she co-starred withNatalie Portman in aRoman Polanski-directed faux perfume commercial calledGreed.[83] For her next project,Martin Scorsese cast her oppositeLeonardo DiCaprio in the psychological thrillerShutter Island. Based onDennis Lehane'snovel, it featured her as a depressed housewife who drowns her own children. The high-profile production marked a departure for her, and she found it difficult to adjust to the slower pace of filming.[84] In preparation, she read case studies on infanticide.[58]Shutter Island was released in 2010 and was a commercial success, earning over $294 million worldwide.[85]
Williams had first read the script forDerek Cianfrance's romantic dramaBlue Valentine at age 21. When funding came through after years of delay, she was reluctant to accept the offer as filming in California would take her away from her daughter for too long.[86][87] Keen to have her in the film, Cianfrance decided to shoot it near Brooklyn, where Williams lived.[87] Co-starring Ryan Gosling,Blue Valentine traces the tribulations faced by a disillusioned married couple. Before production began, Cianfrance had Williams and Gosling live together for a month on a stipend that matched their characters' income. This exercise led to conflicts between them, which proved conducive for filming their characters' deteriorating marriage.[88] On set, she and Gosling practicedmethod acting by improvising several scenes.[45] The film premiered at the2010 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.[89]The New York Times's reviewerA. O. Scott found Williams to be "heartbreakingly precise in every scene" and commended the duo for being "exemplars of New Method sincerity, able to be fully and achingly present every moment on screen together".[90] She receivedAcademy Award andGolden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress.[91][92]
In her final film project of 2010, she reunited with Kelly Reichardt for the westernMeek's Cutoff. Set in 1845, it is based on an ill-fated historical incident on theOregon Trail, in which the frontier guideStephen Meek led a wagon train through a desert. Williams starred as one of the passengers on the wagon, a feisty young mother who is suspicious of Meek. In preparation, she took lessons on firing a gun and learned to knit.[93][94] Filming in extreme temperatures in the desert proved arduous for her, though she enjoyed the challenge.[94] Writing forThe Arizona Republic, Bill Goodykoontz praised the subtlety both in the film and in Williams's performance.[95]
In 2011, Williams portrayedMarilyn Monroe inMy Week with Marilyn, a drama depicting the troubled production of the 1957 comedyThe Prince and the Showgirl, based on accounts byColin Clark, who worked on the latter film. Initially skeptical about playing Monroe, as she had little in common with her looks or personality, Williams spent six months researching her by reading biographies, diaries and notes, and studying her posture, gait, and mannerisms.[96][97] She also gained weight for the part, bleached her hair blonde, and on days of filming, underwent over three hours of makeup.[98] She sang three songs for the film's soundtrack and recreated a performance of Monroe singing and dancing to "Heat Wave".[99][100] Roger Ebert considered Williams's performance to be the film's prime asset and credited her for successfully evoking multiple aspects of Monroe's personality.[101]Peter Travers opined that despite not physically resembling Monroe, she had "with fierce artistry and feeling [illuminated] Monroe's insights and insecurities about herself at the height of her fame".[102] For her portrayal, she won theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress and received a second consecutive Oscar nomination.[103]
InSarah Polley's romanceTake This Waltz (2011), co-starringSeth Rogen andLuke Kirby, Williams played a married writer attracted to her neighbor. Though the actor considered it to be a light-hearted film, Jenny McCartney ofThe Daily Telegraph found a darker undertone to it and favorably compared its theme to that ofBlue Valentine.[104][105] To play a part that would appeal to her daughter, Williams starred asGlinda inSam Raimi's fantasy pictureOz the Great and Powerful (2013). Based on theOz children's books, it served as a prequel to the 1939 classic filmThe Wizard of Oz.[6] It marked her first appearance in a film involving special effects and she credited Raimi for making her comfortable with the process.[106] The film earned over $490 million worldwide to rank as one of her highest-grossing releases.[107]Suite Française, a period drama that Williams filmed in 2013, was released in a few territories in 2015 but was not theatrically distributed in America.[108] She later admitted to being displeased with how the film turned out, adding that she found it hard to predict the quality of a project during production.[109] Eager to work in a different medium and finding it tough to obtain film roles that enabled her to maintain her parental commitments, Williams spent the next few years working on the stage.[110][111]
Her desire to star in a musical led Williams to the role ofSally Bowles in a 2014 revival ofCabaret, which was staged atStudio 54 and marked herBroadway debut.[112] Jointly directed bySam Mendes andRob Marshall, it tells the story of a free-spirited cabaret performer (Williams) in 1930s Berlin during the rise of theNazi Party. Before production began, she spent four months privately rehearsing with music and dance coaches. She read the works ofChristopher Isherwood, whose novelGoodbye to Berlin inspired the musical, and visited Berlin to research Isherwood's life and inspirations.[113] Her performance received mixed reviews;[114] Jesse Green ofVulture praised her singing and commitment to the role, butNewsday's Linda Winer thought her portrayal lacked depth.[115][116] The rigorousness of the assignment led Williams to considerCabaret her toughest project.[117]
Challenged by her work onCabaret, Williams was eager to continue working on the stage.[110][118] She found a part in a 2016 revival of theDavid Harrower playBlackbird. Set entirely in the lunchroom of an office, it focuses on a young woman (Williams), who confronts a much older man (played byJeff Daniels) for his sexual abuse of her when she was twelve years old. Williams, who had not seen previous stagings of the play, was drawn to the ambiguity of her role and found herself unable to detach from it after each performance.[119]Hilton Als ofThe New Yorker considered her "daring and nonjudgmental embodiment of her not easily assimilable character" to be the production's highlight.[120] She received aTony Award for Best Actress in a Play nomination forBlackbird.[121]
Williams returned to film in 2016 with supporting roles in two small-scale dramas,Certain Women andManchester by the Sea.[117] The former marked her third collaboration with Kelly Reichardt and told three interconnected narratives based on the short stories ofMaile Meloy. As with their previous collaborations, the film featured minimal dialogue and required Williams to act through silences.[5]Kenneth Lonergan'sManchester by the Sea starredCasey Affleck as Lee, a depressed man who separates from his wife, Randi (Williams), following the tragic death of their children. Williams agreed to the project to work with Lonergan, whom she admired, and despite the film's bleakness she found a connection with her character's desire to reclaim her life in the face of tragedy.[117][5] In preparation, she visitedManchester to interview local mothers about their lives and worked with a dialect coach to speak in aMassachusetts accent.[117][122] Several critics hailed Williams's climactic monologue, in which Randi confronts Lee, as the film's highlight;Justin Chang termed it an "astonishing scene that rises from the movie like a small aria of heartbreak."[123][124] She received her fourth Oscar nomination, her second in the Best Supporting Actress category.[125]
Following a brief appearance in Todd Haynes's dramaWonderstruck (2017),[126] Williams appeared in the musicalThe Greatest Showman. Inspired byP. T. Barnum's creation of theBarnum & Bailey Circus, the film featured her as Charity, the wife of Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman).[127] She likened her character's joyful disposition to that ofGrace Kelly,[110] and she sang two songs for thefilm's soundtrack.[128] The film emerged as one of her most successful, earning over $434 million worldwide.[129]
Ridley Scott's crime thrillerAll the Money in the World (2017) was Williams's first leading role in film since 2013.[130] She starred as Gail Harris, whose son,John Paul Getty III, is kidnapped for ransom. She considered it a major opportunity, since she had not headlined a big-budget Hollywood production before.[131] A month prior to the film's release,Kevin Spacey, who originally playedJ. Paul Getty, was accused of sexual misconduct; he was replaced withChristopher Plummer, and Williams reshot her scenes days before the release deadline.[132][133] The criticDavid Edelstein bemoaned that Williams's work had been overshadowed by the controversy and went on to commend her "marvelous performance", noting how she conveyed her character's grief through "the tension in her body and intensity of her voice".[134] She received her fifth Golden Globe nomination for the role.[135] It was later reported that her co-starMark Wahlberg had been paid $1.5 million to Williams's $1,000 for the reshoots, which sparked a discourse ongender pay gap amongst Hollywood.[136]
Her first film role of the year was as a haughty but insecure executive in theAmy Schumer-starring comedyI Feel Pretty, which satirizes body image issues among women. The comedic role, which required her to speak in a high-pitched voice, led Peter Debruge ofVariety to term it "the funniest performance of her career".[137][138] The film was a modest box office success.[139] In a continued effort to work on different genres, Williams playedAnne Weying in the superhero filmVenom, co-starringTom Hardy as thetitular antihero.[140][141] Influenced by theMeToo movement, she provided off-screen inputs regarding her character's wardrobe and dialogue, but the criticPeter Bradshaw found it to be "an outrageously boring and submissive role".[141][142]Venom earned over $855 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in which Williams has appeared.[143]
Williams returned to the Sundance Film Festival in 2019 withAfter the Wedding, a remake ofSusanne Bier's Danishfilm of the same name, in which she andJulianne Moore played roles portrayed by men in the original.[144] Benjamin Lee ofThe Guardian considered the low-key part to be a better fit than her previous few roles.[145]Fosse/Verdon, anFX miniseries about the troubled personal and professional relationship betweenBob Fosse andGwen Verdon, marked her first leading role on television sinceDawson's Creek.[146] Williams felt her Broadway run inCabaret helped prepare her to portray Verdon.[147] She also served as an executive producer on the series, and was pleased not to have to negotiate to receive equal pay to her co-starSam Rockwell.[140]John Doyle ofThe Globe and Mail lauded Williams for "play[ing] Verdon with a wonderfully controlled sense of the woman's total commitment to her art and craft while always standing on the edge of an emotional abyss."[148] She won thePrimetime Emmy Award andGolden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Miniseries.[149][150]
In 2021, Williams reprised the role of Anne Weying in the superhero sequelVenom: Let There Be Carnage.[151] It received mixed reviews, but grossed over $500 million worldwide.[152][153] In her fourth collaboration with Kelly Reichardt, Williams starred in the dramaShowing Up (2022). For her role as a sculptor in it, she shadowed the artistCynthia Lahti.[154] Tim Robey ofThe Independent opined that Williams "thrives more intelligently than ever under Reichardt's watch here".[155] Later in 2022, Williams starred inThe Fabelmans,Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film about his childhood, in which she played Mitzi Fabelman, a character inspired by his mother.[156] Spielberg had her in mind for the part after seeing her performance inBlue Valentine; in preparation, she heard recordings and watched home movies of his childhood.[157][154] The film received critical acclaim;[158] Pete Hammond ofDeadline Hollywood labeled Williams "gut-wrenchingly great" and Kyle Buchanan ofThe New York Times wrote that she "really goes for it, attacking this part like someone who knows she’s been handed her signature role".[159][157] She received further Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globe and Academy Award ceremonies.[160][161]
After filmingThe Fabelmans, Williams took a two-and-a-half year break from acting.[162] In 2023, she was enlisted by singerBritney Spears to narrate the audiobook version of her memoirThe Woman in Me.[163] A clipping from the audiobook, in which Williams imitatesJustin Timberlake speaking in "blaccent" went viral on social media.[164] She returned to acting withDying for Sex (2025), an FX miniseries based on the podcast of the same name, about a married woman who begins to explore her sexuality after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.[162] Williams was drawn to the project's theme ofsex positivity as well as for its focus on female friendship. For the sex scenes in it, she worked with anintimacy coordinator for the first time in her career.[165]Time's Judy Berman took note of the "impish vivacity and quiet resolve" in her performance, and was pleased that the portrayal "bear[ed] little resemblance to the Hollywood archetype of the beautiful young woman dying of cancer".[166]
Describing Williams's off-screen persona, Debbie McQuoid ofStylist magazine wrote in 2016 that she is "predictably petite but her poise and posture make her seem larger than life".[111] The journalistAndrew Anthony has described her as unpretentious, low-key, and unassuming.[84] Charles McGrath ofThe New York Times considers her to be unlike a movie star and has called her "shy, earnest, thoughtful, and [...] a little wary of publicity".[112] Williams has spoken about how she tries to balance her desire to be private and her wish to use her celebrity to speak out on issues such as sexism, gender pay gap, and sexual harassment.[168] OnEqual Pay Day in 2019, she utilized the pay gap controversy surrounding her filmAll the Money in the World to deliver an address at theUnited States Capitol urging passage of thePaycheck Fairness Act.[169] During her 2020 Golden Globe acceptance speech forFosse/Verdon, she advocated for the importance ofwomen's andreproductive rights.[170][171]
In the aftermath of her ex-partner Heath Ledger's death in January 2008, Williams became the subject of intense media scrutiny and was frequently stalked by paparazzi.[84][172] She disliked the attention, saying it interfered with her work and made her self-conscious.[10][173] Although reluctant to publicly discuss her romantic relationships, Williams was forthright in expressing her grief over Ledger's death, saying it had left a permanent hole in both her and her daughter's life.[3][174] She has since affirmed her determination to look after her daughter in spite of her difficulties as a single parent.[110] In 2018, she opened up about her relationship and marriage toPhil Elverum to provide grieving women with inspiration.[140]
Williams prefers acting in small-scale independent films to high-profile, mainstream productions, finding this to be "a very natural expression of [her] interest".[112][175] Elaine Lipworth ofThe Daily Telegraph has identified a theme of "dark, often tragic characters" in her career, and Katie O'Malley ofElle writes that she specializes in "playing strong, independent and forthright female characters".[6][176] Susan Dominus ofThe New York Times considers her to be a "tragic embodiment of grief, in life and in art".[177] Regarding her selection of roles, Williams has said she is drawn toward "people's failings, blind spots, inconsistencies".[6] She believes that her own unconventional adolescence informs these choices.[162] She agrees to a project on instinct, calling it an "un-thought out process".[176] Describing her acting process in 2008, she stated:
Acting sometimes reminds me of therapy in that the more you talk about a traumatic or profound event, the more it loses its emotional tension. [The trick is] to live in so much mystery, to rely on a feeling, an instinct, on faith, really, that everything I need is already inside me, and best I just don't block the exit.[58]
Erica Wagner ofHarper's Bazaar has praised Williams for combining "startlingly emotional performance with a sense of groundedness" and the criticDavid Thomson opines that she "can play anyone, without undue glamour or starriness".[168][178]Adam Green ofVogue considers Williams's ability to reveal "the inner lives of her characters in unguarded moments" to be her trademark, and credits her for not "trading on her sex appeal" despite her willingness to perform nude scenes.[96] HerManchester by the Sea director Kenneth Lonergan has stated that her versatility allows her to be "transformed, in her whole person" by the role she plays.[179] Dominus also believes that she physically transforms herself "as if all her molecules have fallen apart and been reassembled to create a slightly different version of herself, the material attributes the same but the essence transformed".[177] Describing her career in 2016, Boris Kachka ofElle termed it a metamorphosis from "celebrated indie ingenue to muscular, chameleonic movie star".[174] In a 2022 readers' poll byEmpire magazine, Williams was voted one of the 50 greatest actors of all time.[180] The magazine attributed her success to playing "damaged, broken and hurt characters with such heartbreaking sensitivity, you can never see the seams".[180]
Thesaffron Vera Wang gown Williams wore to the78th Academy Awards in 2006 is regarded as one of the greatest Oscar dresses of all time.[181][182] Williams has featured as the brand ambassador for the fashion labelBand of Outsiders and the luxury brandLouis Vuitton.[183][184] She has appeared in several advertisement campaigns for the latter company, and in 2015, she starred alongsideAlicia Vikander in their short film namedThe Spirit of Travel.[185]
In January 2008, when Williams was filming in Sweden for her movie,Mammoth (2009), news broke that Ledger had died of an accidentalintoxication from prescription drugs.[34][58] Although Williams continued filming, she later said, "It was horrible. I don't remember most of it."[7] In her first public statement, a week after his death, she expressed her heartbreak and described Ledger's spirit as surviving in their daughter.[189] She attended his memorial and funeral services later that month.[190] After finishing work on the filmShutter Island in 2008, Williams admitted that playing a series of troubled women coupled with her own personal difficulties had taken an emotional toll. She took a year off work to focus on her daughter.[58][84]
Williams dated filmmakerSpike Jonze from July 2008 to September 2009.[191][192] In 2011, she dated American filmmakerCary Joji Fukunaga[193] but they never publicly confirmed the relationship.[194] Williams began dating American actorJason Segel in February 2012,[195] and they broke up in February 2013.[196] She then dated American artistDustin Yellin from April 2013[197] to May 2014,[198] and American novelistJonathan Safran Foer from July 2015 to 2016.[199][200] In July 2017, Williams started dating financial consultant Andrew Youmans.[201] They became engaged in January 2018,[202] but broke up soon after.[203]
In December 2019, Williams became engaged to the theater directorThomas Kail, with whom she worked onFosse/Verdon;[207][208] they married in March 2020.[209] She gave birth to their son later in 2020 and another child in 2022.[209][210] They welcomed their third child, Michelle's fourth overall, via surrogacy, in 2025.[211]
^Cunningham, John M. (December 16, 2024)."Michelle Williams".Encyclopedia Britannica. RetrievedDecember 27, 2024.Also known as: Michelle Ingrid Williams
^Williams, Alex (September 30, 2007)."Brooklyn's Fragile Eco-System".The New York Times.Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2019.
^Greene, Jayson (November 12, 2019)."Mount Eerie's Phil Elverum Starts Over, Again".Pitchfork.Archived from the original on November 20, 2019. RetrievedMay 4, 2020.[Elverum]'s not married to Williams anymore either; they quietly filed for divorce this April, after less than a year of marriage.
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