Allison Williams (actress)

Allison Williams

Williams in July 2012
Born (1988-04-13) April 13, 1988
New Canaan, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater Yale University
Occupation Actress, comedian, singer
Years active 2004–present
Spouse(s) Ricky Van Veen (m. 2015)
Relatives Brian Williams (father)

Allison Williams (born April 13, 1988)[1] is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for her role as Marnie Michaels on the HBO comedy-drama series Girls and her critically acclaimed performance in the horror film Get Out.

Early life

Williams was born and raised in New Canaan, Connecticut,[2] the daughter of former NBC Nightly News anchor and managing editor Brian Williams[3] and TV producer Jane Gillan Stoddard. She attended New Canaan Country School and Greenwich Academy,[4] then graduated from Yale University.[3] While at Yale, Williams was a member of the improv comedy troupe Just Add Water for four years,[5] was also involved in the YouTube series College Musical,[6] and was inducted by St. Elmo.[7]

Career

In 2010, Williams performed a mashup of "Nature Boy" set to RJD2's "A Beautiful Mine", the theme song for the television series Mad Men.[8] The YouTube video of the performance received widespread praise on the Internet,[9] and convinced Judd Apatow that she should be given a part in the HBO series Girls.[3] She was cast shortly after and credited her experience at Just Add Water for passing the audition.[5][10] Girls premiered on April 15, 2012.

Williams wrote a series of Funny or Die sketches, in which she starred as newlywed Kate Middleton,[3] with English actor and model Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.[11] Williams appeared as Danielle in an episode of the third season of The League titled "The Guest Bong."

Williams has appeared as a recurring character, Cheryl, in the CollegeHumor series Jake and Amir.[12][13]

On December 4, 2014 she starred in the title role on NBC's live television presentation of the musical Peter Pan Live![14] Premiering in November 2016, Williams appeared in Past Forward, a short film collaboration between David O. Russell and Prada.

In 2017, Williams starred in the hit horror film Get Out, directed by Jordan Peele, who became convinced she was right for the role of Rose after seeing her performance in Peter Pan Live! [15]

Personal life

Williams began dating Ricky Van Veen, co-founder of CollegeHumor, in 2011. They became engaged in 2014[16] and married on September 19, 2015 in a private ceremony in Saratoga, Wyoming.[17] Tom Hanks officiated the ceremony.[18] She and her husband live in Chelsea, New York.[19][20]

Advocacy

Williams is an ambassador for Horizons National. She led the 2016 "10 Days of Giving" campaign to raise awareness and funds for the organization's educational goals and is expected to revisit this role in 2017.[21] Williams recently talked about her political views, advocacy, millennial activism, and women in Hollywood, on the Politico podcast, ''Women Rule''.[22]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Past Forward Woman #1 Short film
2017 Get Out Rose Armitage

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2004 American Dreams Deborah 2 episodes
2011 Will & Kate: Before Happily Ever After Kate Middleton 4 episodes; also writer
2011–2012 Jake and Amir Cheryl 2 episodes
2011 League, TheThe League Danielle Episode: "The Guest Bong"
2012–2017 Girls Marnie Michaels Main cast
2013 Mindy Project, TheThe Mindy Project Jillian 3 episodes
2014 Peter Pan Live! Peter Pan Television special
2015 The Simpsons Candace's friend (voice) Episode: "Every Man's Dream"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref(s)
2016 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Girls Nominated [23]
2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Villain Get Out Nominated [24]

References

  1. ↑ "Celebrity birthdays on April 13". The Miami Herald. April 13, 2014. Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014. Actress Allison Williams ('Girls') is 26.
  2. ↑ "Allison Williams taps some regional memories". The Boston Globe. March 8, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Schuster, Dana (August 5, 2011). "Anchor's away". New York Post. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Allison Williams flies high". New Canaan Advertiser. December 4, 2014.
    • “I went to the New Canaan Nature Center for preschool,” she said. “I was so into that world, and still think about it all the time. It established my love for nature and animals.” "New Canaan Country School and Greenwich Academy followed."
  5. 1 2 Serna, Danny (January 11, 2011). "HBO picks up new television series starring Allison Williams '10/". Yale Daily News. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  6. ↑ Farris, Emily A. (July 19, 2010). "Brian Williams' Daughter Plays Sensual TA in College Musical Web Series". Gawker. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  7. ↑ Klein, Alex (May 5, 2010). "WEB EXCLUSIVE: Every Yale Secret Society, 2009–2010 (or, A Tribute to Rumpus)". IvyGate. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ Shea, Danny (October 13, 2010). "Allison Williams, Brian Williams' Daughter, Sings 'Mad Men' Theme Song (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  9. ↑ Sklar, Rachel (October 14, 2010). "Allison Williams, This Week The Biggest Star In Her Family (Sorry, BriWi)". Mediaite. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  10. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (October 28, 2010). "Trio Cast In Lena Dunham's HBO Pilot, Including Brian Williams' Daughter Allison". Deadline.com. PMC. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Allison Williams". Funny or Die. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Jake and Amir / Cheryl". CollegeHumor. December 1, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Jake and Amir / Cheryl Part 2 (starring Allison Williams)". CollegeHumor. August 14, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  14. ↑ Sneticker, Marc (July 30, 2014). "Allison Williams to play Peter Pan in NBC's 'Peter Pan Live'". Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  15. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (November 4, 2015). "Allison Williams To Star In Jordan Peele’s Horror Movie ‘Get Out’". deadline.com. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  16. ↑ Blumm, K.C.; Jordan, Julie (February 26, 2014). "Allison Williams Engaged to Ricky Van Veen". People. Time. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Allison Williams and Ricky Van Veen Are Married". People.com. September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Allison Williams and Ricky Van Veen's honeymoon was 'heavenly'". HELLO! US. Hello. 2015-10-06. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
  19. ↑ "Chelsea 'Girl': Allison Williams makes her home on Manhattan's West side". Brick Underground. February 18, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Allison Williams Might Be the Most Boring Person in New York". Gawker. February 11, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Allison Williams Sets the Stage for Horizons Giving Day". Horizonsnational.org]. Horizons National (Charitable Organization). May 4, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Allison Williams re-imagines ‘Girls’ in the Trump era". Politico.com. Politico (News Media). June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  23. ↑ Lincoln, Ross (November 14, 2016). "Critics’ Choice TV Nominations Unveiled". deadline.com. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  24. ↑ Bell, Crystal (April 6, 2017). "Here Are Your 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards Nominations: See The Full List". MTV. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
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