Michelle Williams: Snapshot
- Name
- Michelle Williams
- Birth Date
- September 09, 1980
- Birth Place
- Kalispell, Mont.
Before Brokeback, Williams played Jen Lindley for six seasons on the WB's Dawson Creek. When the series ended in 2003, she worked in smaller films, like The United States of Leland and The Station Agent. The actress, who'll star alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island and Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine, made a radiant return to the spotlight at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
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Michelle Williams: Five Fun Facts
- During her days on Dawson's Creek, Michelle Williams' costar Joshua Jackson would reprimand her for smoking. "He's constantly flicking cigarettes out of my hand, stomping on them and hitting me," she told PEOPLE. "It drives me crazy".
- After making her film debut in 1994's Lassie, Michelle Williams' classmates at Santa Fe Christian High School barked at her and asked if she played the role of the dog.
- Director Ang Lee, who hadn't seen Dawson's Creek, admitted that if he knew Michelle Williams' TV work, he wouldn't have considered her for Brokeback Mountain.
- Michelle Williams began falling for Heath Ledger during an early scene in Brokeback Mountain, where they crashed while tobogganing down a hill. Williams tore a ligament in her knee, an injury Ledger blamed on himself. "I felt I always had to look after her after that," Ledger told Rolling Stone.
- The Sound of Music made a lasting impression on Michelle Williams as a kid. "I thought that all acting required singing," she told PEOPLE.
Michelle Williams: Biography 
- 1994
Independent Darling
At 14, Williams makes her feature debut in Lassie (pictured with costar Thomas Guiry). By 15, the budding actress graduates high school, is legally emancipated from her parents (to avoid California's child-labor laws) and moves to Burbank on her own. Of acting, Williams tells PEOPLE, "There's never really been anything else."
- 1998
Heading to Capeside
Williams, 17, plays the girl with a past, Jen Lindley, on the WB teen drama Dawson's Creek. "She's this stable, happy-go-lucky girl still wrestling with demons," Williams tells USA Today of her character. "She grew up quickly at a real fast pace. Of course, I can relate to it." The show becomes a hit with the WB crowd, making household names of its four stars, including Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, and James Van Der Beek.
Oh, the Horror!
With Jamie Lee Curtis and Josh Hartnett (left), Williams stars in the horror sequel Halloween H20. "I was worried about being a good screamer," Williams tells PEOPLE. Curtis says of Williams, "She's a very deep well of a human being. There's a lot that's not on the surface." The following year, she costars with Kirsten Dunst in the Richard Nixon-era comedy Dick, and makes her Off-Broadway debut in Killer Joe.
Photo Credits
Top Left: Mark Von Holden/WireImage
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Everett Collection; Everett Collection
