Lia Williams

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Lia Williams
Born (1964-11-26) 26 November 1964 (age 56)
OccupationActor, director
Years active1984–present
Children1

Lia Williams (born 26 November 1964) is an English actress and director, known for stage, film, and television appearances. She is noted for her role as Wallis Simpson in The Crown.

Theatre career[]

Williams's breakthrough performance came in 1991 when she appeared in The Revengers' Comedies, for which she won the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer and an Olivier Award nomination for Best Comedy Performance. In 1993, she created the role of Carol in the London production of David Mamet's Oleanna. In 1997, Williams appeared opposite Michael Gambon in London's West End and on Broadway in David Hare's Skylight, (Olivier and Tony Award nominations). In 2001, Williams appeared again in the West End and on Broadway, playing Ruth in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming. Her long standing collaboration with Harold Pinter included roles in The Collection, Celebration, The Room, The Lover, The Hothouse and Old Times.

Other leading theatre performances include Rosalind in As You Like It for the RSC, Alan Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular, Henryk Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea, and Pinter's Old Times, in which she alternated the roles of Anna and Kate with Kristin Scott Thomas.

As Klytemnestra in Robert Icke's 'Oresteia' Williams was nominated for both Olivier and Evening Standard Awards. Also for Robert Icke, she alternated the roles of Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart with Juliet Stevenson in 'Mary Stuart'.

In 2019, she played the role of Hannah Jelkes in the West End theatre production of Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana at the Noel Coward Theatre opposite Clive Owen.

In Dublin, Williams appeared at the Gate Theatre as Alma in The Eccentricities of a Nightingale and Blanche du Bois in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. She won The Irish Times best Actress Award for both roles.

Film and television[]

In 1993, Williams made her film debut in Michael Winner's Dirty Weekend. Winner chose her after seeing her in an Alan Ayckbourn play.[1] Subsequent film appearances have included supporting roles in Firelight (1997), Shot Through the Heart (1998), The King Is Alive (2000), Girl from Rio (2001), and The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey (2007).

Leading television roles include Seaforth starring Williams and Linus Roache, The Russian Bride opposite Sheila Hancock and Douglas Hodge and the ITV comedy drama series Doc Martin with Martin Clunes.

Williams played the lead role in May 33rd for the BBC for which she won a FIPA Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA.

She played Wallis, Duchess of Windsor in the Netflix series The Crown, Nadia Herz in the second series of The Missing and starred in Kiri, a Channel 4 series, alongside Sarah Lancashire and Steven Mackintosh. Most recently she has played Dr Cooper in His Dark Materials and DCI Garland in the BBC six-part mystery thriller, The Capture.

Director[]

Williams has been directing short films since 2002, her debut being Feathers (2002), which was based on a short story by Raymond Carver. In 2008, her short film The Stronger (2007) was nominated for the Best Short Film at the BAFTA Film Awards, and won Best Short Film at Raindance. In 2009, Williams directed Dog Alone, a dialogue-free short film which was broadcast as part of British Sky Broadcasting's Ten Minute Tales season. In 2016 she directed Nanabozhung, a feature-length documentary about the Batchewana First Nations, Canada.

On stage, she has also directed The Matchbox by Frank McGuinness for Liverpool Playhouse and the Tricycle Theatre and Ashes to Ashes as part of the Harold Pinter Season in the West End (2019).

Personal life[]

Lia Williams lives in Portobello, London.

Work[]

Selected stage credits[]

Year Play Role Awards and Nominations
1991 The Revengers' Comedies Karen Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer
1993 Oleanna Carol
1996 Skylight[2] Kyra Hollis Theatre World Special Award for Best Ensemble Performance (shared with Michael Gambon and Christian Camargo)
Nominated – Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Nominated – Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress
Nominated – Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
2001 The Homecoming Ruth
2005 As You Like It Rosalind
2007 Absurd Person Singular Eva
2008 The Lady from the Sea Ellida Wangel
2009 God of Carnage Véronique
2010 Earthquakes in London Sarah
2013 Old Times Kate/Anna
2014 The Father Anne
2015 Oresteia Clytemnestra Nominated - Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress

Nominated - Evening Standard Award for Best Actress

2016 Mary Stuart Queen Elizabeth I / Mary, Queen of Scots
2018 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Jean Brodie
2019 The Night of the Iguana Hannah Jelkes

Selected television credits[]

Year Title Role Awards and Nominations
1984 Annika Karen
1992 Nightingales Mary
1993 Mr Wroe's Virgins Joanna
1994 Seaforth Paula Longman
1997 The Uninvited Melissa Gates
2001 The Russian Bride Natasha Cherniavskaya Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels Award for Best Actress
2003 Sparkling Cyanide Ruth Lessing
2004 May 33rd Ella Wilson Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Actress
Nominated – Royal Television Society Award for Best Actress
2006 Marple: By the Pricking of My Thumbs Nellie Bligh
2009 Doc Martin Edith Montgomery Series Regular, Season 4
2012 Secret State Laura Duchenne
2013 Lewis Emma Barnes Guest Star, 2 episodes
2015 Midsomer Murders Maggie Markham Guest Star, 1 episode
2016 The Crown Wallis, Duchess of Windsor
2016 The Missing Nadia Herz
2019 The Capture DSU Gemma Garland
2019 His Dark Materials Dr Cooper
2020 Riviera Dr Emilie Mathieu Season 3, 2 episodes
2021 Death in Paradise Grace Verdinikov Guest Star, 2 episodes

Selected filmography[]

Year Title Role
1993 Dirty Weekend Bella
1996 Different for Girls Defence Solicitor
1997 The Fifth Province Diana de Brie
Firelight Constance
1998 Shot Through the Heart Maida
2000 The King is Alive Amanda
2001 Chica de Rio Cathy
2007 Blanche-Neige, la suite Sleeping Beauty
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey Joan Tyler
TBA Benediction

References[]

  1. ^ Winner Takes All: A Life of Sorts by Michael Winner, p.269.
  2. ^ "Skylight". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 7 August 2011.

External links[]

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