Personal details
Born:
- Birthday: 1948-12-06
- Born Place: Houston, Texas, USA
Also Known As:
ДжоБет Уильямс, جوبت ویلیامز
JoBeth Williams
JoBeth Williams is an acclaimed American actress and director whose career reached iconic status in the 1980s and has remained vibrant through five decades of industry shifts. Born on December 6, 1948, in Houston, Texas, she originally intended to become a child psychologist while attending Brown University, but her passion for performance led her to the Trinity Repertory Company and eventually to New York City. She broke into the mainstream with a memorable film debut in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and quickly became a household name as Diane Freeling in the supernatural classic Poltergeist (1982). Her reputation as a powerhouse of the "yuppie" era was solidified with her role in the ensemble masterpiece The Big Chill (1983), where she played a dissatisfied housewife, further demonstrating her ability to balance commercial appeal with grounded, authentic emotional depth. As her career progressed, Williams seamlessly transitioned into a respected character actress, earning three Primetime Emmy nominations for her work in the harrowing TV movie Adam, the miniseries Baby M, and a guest turn on Frasier. She also proved her talent behind the camera, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film for her directorial debut, On Hope (1994). Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, she became a mainstay on television with recurring roles in Dexter, Private Practice, and the sitcom Marry Me, while also serving a decade-long tenure as the President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation (now the SAG-AFTRA Foundation). Her leadership helped provide critical resources for performers, cementing her legacy as both a creative force and a dedicated advocate for her peers. In 2025 and 2026, Williams continues to demonstrate her longevity in Hollywood with a mix of dramatic and independent projects. She portrayed Marcia Schuyler, the mother of the protagonist, in the 2025 survival thriller Not Without Hope, a role that allowed her to return to the intense emotional stakes for which she first became famous. She also appeared in the 2024 film Cash for Gold and has remained active in the Los Angeles theater scene at venues like the Geffen Playhouse.
