Since her arrival on the entertainment scene more than 30 years ago, JoBeth Williams has been on both sides of the camera as an actor, producer and director. She has been nominated for numerous awards, including an Oscar®, two Golden Globes and several Emmy® Awards. Born and raised in Houston, Williams attended Brown University, where she received her B.A. in English. She worked at the Trinity Repertory Theatre for two years before going to New York, where she has done numerous plays over the years.
Williams began working in film, starting with the award-winning “Kramer vs. Kramer” with Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep and “Stir Crazy” with Gene Wilder. In 1982, Williams was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress for her performance in “Poltergeist,” produced by Steven Spielberg. She also starred in “Endangered Species,” “The Big Chill” with Glenn Close, “American Dreamer,” which won Williams a Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, “Teachers,” “Dutch,” Disney’s “Jungle 2 Jungle” with Tim Allen and Martin Short, “Wyatt Earp” and “Fever Pitch.” Williams has also starred in numerous independent films, including “Just Write,” “Little City” with Jon Bon Jovi, and “In the Land of Women.” This year, she adds two more films to her already extensive résumé: “TiMER” and “The Last Film Festival.”
Williams has also made her mark on the small screen, starring in two series, CBS’s “The Client” and “Payne” with John Laroquette. Other television appearances includes “Frasier” for NBC, which garnered her an Emmy® nomination, NBC’s “Miss Match,” as well as “Numb3rs,” “The Nine,” “24” and Showtime’s “Dexter.” Williams has also starred in numerous TV movies, including “Adam” and “Baby M,” for which she was nominated for an Emmy® and a Golden Globe, “My Name is Bill W” with James Garner and James Woods, “Child in the Night” with Tom Skerritt and Elijah Wood, ABC’s “Trapped in a Purple Haze” and “The Ponder Heart” for PBS, among others.
Behind the camera, Williams produced and directed “On Hope,” a short film that was nominated for an Oscar. She also directed “Night Visions” for Warner Bros. and Showtime’s “Frankie and Hazel,” with Mischa Barton.
Williams was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in March 2006. She is married to John Pasquin, and they have two sons.
