Kelli Williams

American actress
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroAmerican actress
A.K.A.Kelli Renee Williams
A.K.A.Kelli Renee Williams
PlacesUnited States of America
isActor Television actor
Work fieldFilm, TV, Stage & Radio
Gender
Female
Birth8 June 1970, Los Angeles
Age54 years
Family
Spouse:Ajay Sahgal
The details

Biography

Kelli Renee Williams (born June 8, 1970) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Lindsay Dole on the legal drama The Practice, psychologist and deception expert Dr. Gillian Foster on Lie to Me, and Jackie Clark on Army Wives.

Early life

Kelli Williams was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actress Shannon Wilcox and plastic surgeon John Williams. Her parents divorced when she was 13. She has one brother and two half-brothers.

Williams earned her Screen Actors Guild card before her first birthday by appearing in a diapers commercial, and appeared in several other commercials as a child. She attended elementary school at Lycée Français, and graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1988. While attending school, she was active in the performing arts department. After starring opposite General Hospital's Steve Burton in the school's production of Romeo and Juliet, she was signed by an agent.

Career

Williams began her career on television in 1989, with a role in an episode of the CBS series Beauty and the Beast and as the first victim of the Hillside Stranglers in NBC's made-for-TV film The Case of the Hillside Stranglers. Her first feature film appearances were in Zapped Again! (1990) and There Goes My Baby (1994) opposite ER's Noah Wyle. She also appeared in The Young Riders in 1991. Also in 1994, she played Jennifer Stolpa in the TV movie Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story. She guest starred on the hit Fox teen drama Party of Five in its first season in 1994 as a woman named Annie Alcott. She also guest-starred in the season two Law & Order episode "Sisters Of Mercy" as a sexually abused meth addict in 1992.

Beginning with episode 11, titled "Moon Cross" (aired on February 5, 1995), of the science-fiction series Earth 2, Williams appeared in a multiple episode story arc in the role of Mary, a human orphan raised on another planet by the indigenous alien species known as the Terrians.

In 1997, she took her most prominent role as Lindsay Dole Donnell on the ABC legal drama The Practice. She appeared in the series The Lyon's Den and Hack, as well as two episodes of Scrubs. Williams appeared as Dr. Natalie Durant on the NBC television show Medical Investigation which began in the fall of 2004 and ran for 20 episodes before being canceled. Also in 2004, she starred in the TV movie A Boyfriend for Christmas.

In 2000, Williams starred in the TV Movie Flowers for Algernon, based on the novel/short story by Daniel Keyes.

In May 2007, she portrayed Holly Lauren/Kathleen Shaw in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent sixth season finale episode, "Renewal"; as a friendly neighbor of Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth), her character dies towards the end of the episode. In August 2008, Williams was cast in a lead role as psychologist Dr. Gillian Foster in the Fox series Lie to Me, which ran for three seasons and ended in 2011.

In April 2011, she was cast in a guest role as Shelley Chamberlain, a grieving mother on a killing spree in the CBS series Criminal Minds. In October 2011, she was cast in a guest role as a kidnapped child's mother called Elizabeth Flint in the CBS series The Mentalist. In 2012, she landed the recurring role of Jackie Clarke in the Lifetime series Army Wives and was quickly upgraded to series regular.

On August 12, 2015, Ties That Bind, the first original series from the Up Network, is scheduled to debut with Williams playing police detective Allison McLean. The series balances McLean's work and family.

Personal life

Williams married author Ajay Sahgal in 1996. The couple has three children: Kiran (born in 1998), Sarame (born in 2001), and Ravi (born in 2003). She told Marie Claire that she got breast implants when she was 19 and had them removed when she was 22. Williams speaks French and Spanish, and has volunteered with the Young Storytellers Program.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1990Zapped Again!Lucy KaminskyVideo
1993Mr. JonesKelli
1994There Goes My BabySunshine
1996E=mc2Claire Higgins
1999KismetKellyShort film
2000It's a Shame About RayAnnaShort film
2000Flowers for AlgernonAlice
2010The Space BetweenJunkie
2012Any Day NowMiss Flemming

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1989Beauty and the BeastYoung LisaEpisode: "Arabesque"
1989The Case of the Hillside StranglersMargaret WilsonMovie
1989Day by DayRoss' Girlfriend3 episodes
1989Out on the EdgeMelissaMovie
1989CBS Summer PlayhouseNatalieEpisode: "Curse of the Corn People"
1989Island SonElisa BordinetEpisode: "Sometimes They're Zebras"
1989Quantum LeapShannonEpisode: "Disco Inferno"
1990ElvisMattie Walker13 episodes
1990My Life as a BabysitterKellyMovie
1991CBS Schoolbreak SpecialCassie O'BrianEpisode: "But He Loves Me"
1991Switched at BirthIrisaMovie
1991Young Riders, TheThe Young RidersEmily MetcalfeEpisode: "The Presence of Mine Enemies"
1992Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story, AA Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick StoryKate BroderickMovie
1992Law & OrderMaggieEpisode: "Sisters of Mercy"
1992SistersSarah NolanEpisode: "Pandora's Box"
1992Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last ChapterKate BroderickMovie
1993For Their Own GoodErmaMovie
1993LifepodRena JahnusiaMovie
1994Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa StoryJennifer StolpaMovie
1994Party of FiveAnnie AlcottEpisode: "Thanksgiving"
1995Earth 2Mary2 episodes
1995New York NewsEllieMovie
1996Voice from the GraveYvonne ShusterMovie
1996Picket FencesHannah Mary BeilerEpisode: "To Forgive Is Devine"
1996Mary & TimJustine MelvilleMovie
1997–
2003
Practice, TheThe PracticeLindsay Dole145 episodes
Nominated: Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (1999)
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1998–2000)
1998Ally McBealLindsay DoleEpisode: "The Inmates"
1999SweetwaterCami CarlsonMovie
2000Flowers for AlgernonAlice KinianMovie
2002ScrubsKristen Murphy2 episodes
2003Lyon's Den, TheThe Lyon's DenAttorney Monica Crane3 episodes
2003HackCharlotte WestonEpisode: "My Fare Lady"
2004Boyfriend for Christmas, AA Boyfriend for ChristmasHolly GrantMovie
2004–05Medical InvestigationDr. Natalie Durant20 episodes
2005Third WatchDr. Natalie DurantEpisode: "In the Family Way"
2006Murder on Pleasant DriveDeanna WhelenMovie
2007Law & Order: Criminal IntentHolly Lauren / Kathleen ShawEpisode: "Renewal"
2007–08Men in TreesJulia Switzer6 episodes
2008One That Got Away, TheThe One That Got AwayJoannaMovie
2009–11Lie to MeDr. Gillian Foster48 episodes
2011Criminal MindsShelley ChamberlainEpisode: "Hanley Waters"
2011Mentalist, TheThe MentalistBeth FlintEpisode: "Pretty Red Balloon"
2012–13Army WivesJackie ClarkSeries regular (32 episodes)
2014/15NCISSpecial Agent Maureen CabotEpisodes: "Alleged" and "Viral"
2014Ties That BindAllison McLeanSeries regular (10 episodes)
2016The FostersJustina Marks9 episodes
2016Law & Order: Special Victims UnitMelanie HarperEpisode: "Making of a Rapist"

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