ACTOR
Michelle Williams
47 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (47)
- #001
Michelle Williams was legally emancipated from her parents at age 15.
- #002
At age 16, she won the Robbins Trading Company World Cup Futures Trading Championship, turning $10,000 into $100,000. It was the second-highest profit in the tournament's history.
- #003
She collects rare books. Among others, she owns a first edition of The Great Gatsby.
- #004
Her daughter Matilda's godparents are Jake Gyllenhaal (her co-star in Brokeback Mountain (2005)) and Busy Philipps (her co-star in Dawson's Creek (1998)).
- #005
Her former fiancé and the father of her daughter Matilda, Heath Ledger, died on January 22, 2008.
- #006
Michelle and her fiancé Heath Ledger had a daughter named Matilda Ledger on October 28, 2005, in Brooklyn, New York.
- #007
As of 2022, she is the most Oscar-nominated actor born in the 1980s, with 4 nominations.
- #008
She had a relationship with Heath Ledger, whom she met on the set of Brokeback Mountain (2005) (June 2004-September 2007). Both were nominated for an Oscar for their performances in the film.
- #009
She was once roommates with Jessica Chastain. Both were nominated for an Oscar in 2012 and have remained good friends.
- #010
She spent the early years of her childhood in Kalispell, Montana, where she was born, discovering a love of nature. In a recent interview, Williams said she hopes her daughter has a similar childhood, "discovering snake skins, arrowheads, rocks, plants and abandoned houses and having a sense of freedom and safety in the world."
- #011
She has appeared in three films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Brokeback Mountain (2005), Manchester by the Sea (2016) and The Fabelmans (2022).
- #012
She was nominated for the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in "Blackbird." She lost the award to Jessica Lange for her performance in "Long Day's Journey into Night."
- #013
She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her daughter Matilda Ledger.
- #014
She is the first cast member of Dawson's Creek (1998) to receive an Oscar nomination.
- #015
In June 2020, at age 39, she gave birth to her second child, Hart Kail. The child's father is her second husband, Thomas Kail.
- #016
She had a relationship with Conor Oberst (1999-2001). Some songs by his band Bright Eyes are about her.
- #017
She was roommates with Christina Ricci while filming Prozac Nation (2001).
- #018
When she finished filming Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), she was five months pregnant with her son Hart.
- #019
She enjoys reading in her spare time.
- #020
Michelle Williams has been the face of Louis Vuitton bags and jewelry since 2013.
- #021
Katharine Hepburn is one of her favorite actresses.
- #022
She returned to work five months after giving birth to her daughter Matilda to begin filming The Hottest State (2006).
- #023
She dated singer-songwriter Andy Herod (of "The Comas") for two years. His last album, "Conductor", is about their relationship and the heartbreak he experienced after it ended. Michelle also appears in the short film of the same name.
- #024
She had a relationship with Spike Jonze, whom she met on the set of Where the Wild Things Are (2009) (July 2008-September 2009).
- #025
On January 7, 2012, she received the Desert Palm Achievement Award for an Actress at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
- #026
She was on director Baz Luhrmann's shortlist for the role of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (2013). The role went to Carey Mulligan.
- #027
She appeared in two films with Ryan Gosling: The United States of Leland (2003) and Blue Valentine (2010). While filming Blue Valentine in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, they lived in the same house for four weeks.
- #028
Her father, Larry, is a former Republican candidate for the Montana State Senate.
- #029
She was director Liv Ullmann's first choice for the lead role in Miss Julie (2014), but had to leave due to scheduling conflicts.
- #030
She lives in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, New York.
- #031
(April 19, 2019) She had separated from her husband of nine months, Phil Elverum.
- #032
She gave birth to her third child in October 2022 at the age of 42. The child's father is her second husband, Thomas Kail.
- #033
She has one younger sister, Paige, and three half-siblings from her father's first marriage: Jason, Kelley and Sara.
- #034
She was offered the role of Miss San Antonio in Machete Kills (2013) but turned it down. The role went to Amber Heard.
- #035
The longest gap between her Oscar nominations was the 5 years between Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Blue Valentine (2010).
- #036
In 2003, she was named one of Elle Girl's 25 Favorite Hot, Young, Talented New Stars.
- #037
Two of her films premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival: Manchester by the Sea (2016) and Certain Women (2016). She was unable to attend the festival because she was in rehearsals for the Broadway play "Blackbird".
- #038
In 1999, she was named one of Teen People Magazine's "21 Hottest Stars Under 21."
- #039
She was considered for the role of Daisy Domergue in The Hateful Eight (2015). Jennifer Jason Leigh was cast instead.
- #040
Michelle Williams's father is half Norwegian, one-quarter German and about one-quarter English, with distant Scottish roots. Her mother is three-eighths Norwegian, and her mother's other ancestry is Swedish, Swiss-German, Danish, English, Welsh and Scottish.
- #041
Michelle Williams appeared in three films directed by Kelly Reichardt: Wendy and Lucy (2008), Meek's Cutoff (2010) and Certain Women (2016).
- #042
Twelve months after giving birth to her son Hart, Michelle Williams returned to work to begin filming Showing Up (2022).
- #043
Michelle Williams and Leonardo DiCaprio, her co-star in Shutter Island (2010), both appeared in Lassie productions. DiCaprio appeared in two episodes of The New Lassie (1989) at age 15, while Williams made her film debut in Lassie (1994) at age 13.
- #044
Michelle Williams was cast as Kay in Gold (2016) but left the role, and Bryce Dallas Howard replaced her.
- #045
In 2013, Michelle Williams was set to star alongside Joel Edgerton in The Double Hour, a remake of the 2009 Italian film of the same name, but the project fell through.
- #046
Michelle Williams's father, Larry, is a commodities trader and is divorced from her mother, Carla.
- #047
In 2000, Michelle Williams was included in Entertainment Weekly's annual It List.
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