Who is Olivia Haigh Williams? The acting world knows her as Olivia Williams, she is an English film, stage and television actress who has appeared in British and American films. As of 2009 she stars in the Joss Whedon sci-fi drama Dollhouse. 
After graduation, Williams worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in both Stratford-upon-Avon and London and in 1995 toured the United States in a production of Shakespeare's Richard III starring Ian McKellen. Her first significant appearance before the cameras was as Jane Fairfax in the British TV film Emma (1996), based on Jane Austen's 1816 novel, which aired in the US on the A&E Network.
Williams made her film debut in 1997's The Postman, after doing a screen test for Kevin Costner. She later won the lead role of Rosemary Cross in Wes Anderson's Rushmore (1998).[3] She then starred as Bruce Willis' wife in the blockbuster The Sixth Sense (1999). Since then, Williams has appeared in several British films, including Lucky Break (2001) and The Heart of Me (2002), for which she won the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress. She also played Mrs. Darling in the latest film adaptation of Peter Pan. Williams was uncredited for her role as Dr. Moira MacTaggert in the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand. On TV, Williams portrayed British author Jane Austen in Miss Austen Regrets (2008) and currently stars as a principal character in Joss Whedon's new show Dollhouse, which premiered on February 13, 2009 on Fox.[4]
In 2000 she wrote and read the short story The Significance Of Hair for BBC Radio.
On 2 November 2003, Williams married American stage actor and playwright Rhashan Stone.[9][10] The couple have two children, Esmé Ruby (born 6 April 2004)[1][11] and Roxana May (born 7 April 2007).[10]
Williams practises Bikram Yoga and rides a bicycle to sets when working on films.[1][12] After filming The Postman, she spent time in Bolivia studying spectacled bears in the rainforest.[13][14] Since 2006, she has written occasional travel reports for the "Independent Traveller" section of the British newspaper The Independent on Sunday.[1]
Selected works
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Beck | Karen Quinn | |
| Gaston's War | Nicky | ||
| The Postman | Abby | ||
| 1998 | Rushmore | Rosemary Cross | |
| 1999 | The Sixth Sense | Anna Crowe | |
| 2000 | Four Dogs Playing Poker | Audrey | |
| Born Romantic | Eleanor | ||
| Dead Babies aka Mood Swingers | Diana | ||
| 2001 | The Body | Sharon Golban | |
| A Knight's Tale | Phillipa Chaucer (uncredited) | ||
| Lucky Break | Annabel Sweep/Lady Hamilton in show |
| |
| The Man from Elysian Fields | Andrea | ||
| 2002 | The Heart of Me | Madeleine |
|
| Below | Claire | ||
| 2003 | To Kill a King | Lady Anne Fairfax | |
| Peter Pan | Mrs. Darling | ||
| 2005 | Valiant | Victoria (voice) | |
| Tara Road | Ria | ||
| Mockingbird | Mother | ||
| 2006 | X-Men: The Last Stand | Moira MacTaggert (uncredited) | |
| 2008 | Flashbacks of a Fool | Grace Scott | |
| Broken Lines | Zoe | ||
| 2009 | An Education | Miss Stubbs | |
| 2010 | The Ghost | Ruth Lang | |
| Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll | TBA |
Some information in this table was obtained from "Olivia Williams : Filmography". Internet Movie Database (IMDb). http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931404/. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
Television
| Year(s) of appearance | Film or series | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 (1 episode) | Van der Valk (1972–1973, 1977, 1991–1992) "Still Waters" | Irene Kortman | |
| 1992 (1 episode) | The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1987–2000) "The Speaker of Mandarin" | Jennifer Norris | |
| 1996 | Emma | Jane Fairfax | |
| 1998 (2 episodes) | Friends (1994–2004) "The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 1" and "The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 2" | Felicity | |
| 2000 | Jason and the Argonauts | Hera | |
| 2001 (1 episode) | Spaced (1999, 2001) "Help" | Knocked-down Cyclist | |
| 2004 | Agatha Christie – A Life in Pictures | Agatha Christie | |
| 2006 | Krakatoa – The Last Days | Johanna Beijerinck | |
| 2007 | Damage | Michelle Cahill | |
| 2008 | Miss Austen Regrets | Jane Austen | |
| 2009 | Dollhouse | Adelle DeWitt |
Some information in this table was obtained from "Olivia Williams : Filmography". Internet Movie Database (IMDb). http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931404/. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
Theatre
| Year(s) of appearance | Production | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Richard III (c. 1591) by William Shakespeare | ||
| 2003 | Love's Labour's Lost (c. 1595–1596)[6] by William Shakespeare Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London | The Princess | |
| 2003 | The Hotel in Amsterdam (first performed 1968)[7] by John Osborne Donmar Warehouse, London | Annie | |
| 2006 | The Changeling (1653)[8] by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley Cheek by Jowl production at the Barbican Centre, London | Beatrice-Joanna |