American actress Michelle Williams' first screen appearance was at age thirteen in a 1993 episode of the television series Baywatch, and she made her film debut as the love interest of a teenage boy in Lassie (1994). She had guest roles in the sitcoms Step by Step and Home Improvement, and played the younger version of Natasha Henstridge's character in the science fiction film Species (1995). Greater success came to Williams for playing the sexually troubled teenager Jen Lindley in the teen drama series Dawson's Creek (1998–2003). In 1999, she made her stage debut with the Tracy Letts-written play Killer Joe.
In the 2000s, Williams eschewed parts in big-budget films in favor of roles with darker themes in independent productions such as Me Without You (2001) and The Station Agent (2003). Despite positive reviews, these films were not widely seen. 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; Williams gained a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her career did not progress much in the next few years, but Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy (2008), in which she starred as a drifter searching for her missing dog, was critically acclaimed. Martin Scorsese's thriller Shutter Island (2010), starring Leonardo DiCaprio, in which Williams had a supporting part, became her most widely seen film to that point.
Williams received two consecutive Oscar nominations for Best Actress for starring as an unhappily married woman in Blue Valentine (2010) and Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn (2011); she also won a Golden Globe Award for the latter. She next played Glinda in the commercially successful fantasy feature Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). On Broadway, she played Sally Bowles in a revival of the musical Cabaret in 2014, and a sexual abuse survivor in a revival of the play Blackbird in 2016. For the latter, she gained a Tony Award for Best Actress nomination. She earned another Academy Award nomination for playing a grieving mother in Manchester by the Sea (2016). The 2017 musical The Greatest Showman and the 2018 superhero film Venom emerged as two of her highest-grossing releases. She returned to television in 2019 to portray Gwen Verdon opposite Sam Rockwell's Bob Fosse in the FX miniseries Fosse/Verdon, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actress. Williams received her fifth Oscar nomination for starring as a troubled mother in Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical drama The Fabelmans (2022).
Film +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released + Year Title Role Notes 1994 Lassie 1995 Timemaster Annie Species Young Sil 1997 A Thousand Acres Pammy 1998 Halloween H20: 20 Years Later 1999 Dick But I'm a Cheerleader Kimberly 2001 Perfume Halley Crawford Me Without You Holly Rossman Prozac Nation Ruby 2003 The United States of Leland The Station Agent Emily 2004 Land of Plenty Lana Imaginary Heroes A Hole in One 2005 The Baxter Brokeback Mountain 2006 The Hawk Is Dying Betty The Hottest State Samantha / Sam 2007 I'm Not There 2008 Deception S Incendiary Young mother Synecdoche, New York Claire Elizabeth Keen Wendy and Lucy l 2009 Mammoth 2010 Blue Valentine Cynthia "Cindy" Heller Pereira Also executive producer Shutter Island Meek's Cutoff 2011 My Week with Marilyn Take This Waltz Margot2012 Ben Lee: Catch My Disease Herself Documentary film 2013 Oz the Great and Powerful Annie Gale / Glinda 2015 Suite Française 2016 Manchester by the Sea Randi Ellington Certain Women Project X Herself Voice; Short film 2017 Wonderstruck Elaine Wilson The Greatest Showman All the Money in the World 2018 I Feel Pretty Venom 2019After the Wedding 2020 That ClickHerselfDocumentary film 2021 Venom: Let There Be Carnage 2022 Showing Up 2023 Documentary film 2027 A Place in HellPost-production TBA Untitled Damien Chazelle film Filming
Television + Year Title Role Notes 1993 Baywatch Bridget Episode: "Race Against Time: Part 1" 1994 Step by Step J.J. Episode: "Something Wild" 1995 Home Improvement Episode: "Wilson's Girlfriend" Raising Caines Main role; season 1 1996 My Son Is Innocent Television film 1997 Killing Mr. Griffin Maya 1998–2003 Dawson's Creek Main role; 6 seasons 2000 If These Walls Could Talk 2 Linda Television film 2013 Cougar Town Laurie's foster sister Episode: "Blue Sunday" 2019 Fosse/Verdon Miniseries; lead role and executive producer 2025 Dying for Sex Molly Kochan
Theater Year Title Role Venue 1999 Killer Joe Dottie SoHo Playhouse 2002 Smelling a Rat Melanie-Jane Samuel Beckett Theatre 2004 The Cherry Orchard Varya Williamstown Theatre Festival 2014 Cabaret Sally Bowles Studio 54 2016 Blackbird Una Spencer Belasco Theatre 2025 Anna Christie Anna Christie St. Ann's Warehouse
Audiobook + Year Title Role 2023The Woman in MeNarrator
Music video Year Title Performer(s) Album 2012 "Paradise" Wild Nothing Nocturne
Discography SoundtrackYearSongLabel My Week with Marilyn2011 "When Love Goes Wrong, Nothin' Goes Right / Heat Wave" Sony Music "It's a Wrap, I Found a Dream" "That Old Black Magic"The Greatest Showman2017 "A Million Dreams"Atlantic Records "Tightrope"Fosse/Verdon2019 "Razzle Dazzle"
See also List of awards and nominations received by Michelle Williams (actress)
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