Michelle Williams
Actress , ProducerAbout
Michelle Williams’ performances have established her as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after and respected award-winning actors. Born in Kalispell, Montana, she began her career starring in television series and obtained her first film role in Daniel Petrie’s comedy Lassie (1994). At the end of the 1990s, she played one of the main female roles in the series Dawson, then starred in parallel in independent productions such as Andrew Fleming’s Dick (1999), Sandra Goldbacher’s Me Without You (2000), Tom McCarthy’s The Station Agent (2003) and Wim Wender’s Land of Plenty (2004).
In 2005, Michelle Williams gained international recognition for her role alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, which earned her the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress but also Oscars, Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards’ nominations in that same category. Three years later, the actress played her first leading role in Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy, before working together again with Meek’s Cutoff (2011), Certain Women (2016) and more recently, Showing Up, presented in competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. After starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island (2010), she co-starred with Ryan Gosling in Derek Cianfrance’s drama Blue Valentine and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress in 2011. That same year, the actress played Marilyn Monroe in Simon Curtis’ My Week with Marilyn, which earned her another Oscar nomination and for which she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a comedy.
Michelle Williams then continued in independent cinema and notably starred in Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz (2011), Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea (2016), for which she was once again nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, or Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck (2017). She was also moving towards Hollywood productions including Sam Raimi’s Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman (2017) and Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World (2017). In 2018, she joined the Marvel universe in Ruben Fleischer’s Venom, then returned to television the following year with the mini-series Fosse/Verdon, about the romantic and creative partnership between choreographer Bob Fosse and Broadway dancer Gwen Verdon, which allowed her to win a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for Best Actress.
On stage, Williams starred in David Harrower’s Olivier Award-winning Drama “Blackbird” opposite Jeff Daniels with Joe Mantello directing and Scott Rudin producing. Her depiction of “Una” garnered her a Tony nomination for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play.” She made her Broadway debut as “Sally Bowles” in the Roundabout Theatre Company production of “Cabaret”. Her previous theatre credits include the Off-Broadway productions of Mike Leigh’s “Smelling a Rat”, Tracy Letts’s “Killer Joe”, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival production of “The Cherry Orchard”.
After reuniting with Tom Hardy in Andy Serkis’ Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), Michelle Williams was chosen by Steven Spielberg to play his fictional mother in the semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans (2022). For her nuanced performance, the actress was once again nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a drama film.
Related films
-
Brokeback Mountain
By Ang Lee- Deauville Talent Award Michelle Williams
-
Wendy and Lucy
By Kelly Reichardt- Deauville Talent Award Michelle Williams
-
Blue Valentine
By Derek Cianfrance- Deauville Talent Award Michelle Williams
-
My Week with Marilyn
By Simon Curtis- Deauville Talent Award Michelle Williams
-
Manchester by the Sea
By Kenneth Lonergan- Deauville Talent Award Michelle Williams
-
The Fabelmans
By Steven Spielberg- Deauville Talent Award Michelle Williams
I’m booking my place !
Join us to follow the competition and meet the guest talents of the Festival!