Olivia Williams
Biography
Olivia Haigh Williams is a British actress born on July 26, 1968, in Camden Town, London, England, United Kingdom. She has appeared in both British and American films and television productions. Williams studied drama for two years at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and subsequently spent three years at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her first significant screen role was portraying Jane Fairfax in the 1996 British television film Emma, which was based on the novel by Jane Austen. Her film debut followed in 1997 with The Postman, after which she appeared in Rushmore in 1998 and The Sixth Sense in 1999. Her later film credits include Lucky Break, The Heart of Me, An Education, The Ghost Writer, Hanna, and Anna Karenina.
Career overview
Olivia Haigh Williams is a British actress born on July 26, 1968, in Camden Town, London, England, UK. She studied drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for two years, which was followed by three years at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her career spans appearances in both British and American films and television. Her first significant screen role was portraying Jane Fairfax in the 1996 British television film Emma, which was based on the novel by Jane Austen.
Williams made her feature film debut in 1997 with The Postman. Following this debut, she appeared in Rushmore in 1998 and The Sixth Sense in 1999. Her subsequent film work includes roles in the British films Lucky Break in 2001, The Heart of Me in 2002, and An Education in 2009.
She continued her career with appearances in several additional films throughout the following decade. These later projects include The Ghost Writer in 2010, Hanna in 2011, and Anna Karenina in 2012. Across her career, Williams has accumulated 79 known acting credits in film and television.
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Career timeline
Full filmography
- The Good Daughter (2026) as Harriet 'Gamma' Quinn
- Monster: The Ed Gein Story (2025) as Alma Reville
- Dune: Prophecy (2024) as Reverend Mother Tula Harkonnen
- Pigs (2024) as Mum
- Unknown Belize (2024) as Narrator
- The Trouble with Jessica (2024) as Beth
- Another End (2024) as Juliette
- Funny Woman (2023) as Gloria Balderstone, Barbara's mother
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) as Winterbloom (voice)
- My Name Is Leon (2022) as Sylvia
- The Impact (2022) as The President
- The Wheel of Time (2021) as Queen Morgase Trakand
- The Nevers (2021) as Lavinia Bidlow
- The Father (2020) as The Woman
- Homemade (2020) as Queen (voice)
- Nyet! (2019) as Mrs. Pyke
- Counterpart (2017) as Emily Burton Silk
- Victoria & Abdul (2017) as Baroness Churchill
- The Halcyon (2017) as Lady Priscilla Hamilton
- The Escape (2017) as Sarah
- National Theatre Archive: Mosquitoes (2017) as Alice
- The Crown (2016) as Camilla Parker Bowles
- The White King (2016) as Sophia (voice)
- Man Up (2015) as Hilary
- Emma, Change the Locks (2015) as Emma
- Seventh Son (2014) as Mam Ward
- Manhattan (2014) as Liza Winter
- Maps to the Stars (2014) as Cristina Weiss
- Sabotage (2014) as Caroline
- Salting the Battlefield (2014) as Belinda Kay
- Altar (2014) as Meg
- Magpie (2014) as The Woman
- The Last Days on Mars (2013) as Kim Aldrich
- Justin and the Knights of Valour (2013) as Queen (voice)
- The Guest (2013) as Marguerite
- Playhouse Presents (2012) as Dorothy Green
- Anna Karenina (2012) as Countess Vronsky
- Now Is Good (2012) as Mother
- Hyde Park on Hudson (2012) as Eleanor Roosevelt
- OK! TV (2011)
- Hanna (2011) as Rachel
- Wild Bill (2011) as Kelly
- Case Sensitive (2011) as Charlie Zailer
- Collaborator (2011) as Emma Stiles
- Terriers (2010) as Miriam Foster
- The Ghost Writer (2010) as Ruth Lang
- Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010) as Betty Dury
- Dollhouse (2009) as Adelle DeWitt
- An Education (2009) as Miss Stubbs
- Flashbacks of a Fool (2008) as Grace Scott
- Broken Lines (2008) as Zoe
- Miss Austen Regrets (2008) as Jane Austen
- Damage (2007) as Michelle Cahill
- Krakatoa: The Last Days (2006) as Johanna Beijerinck
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) as Dr. Moira MacTaggert (uncredited)
- Valiant (2005) as Victoria (voice)
- Tara Road (2005) as Ria
- The Heart of Me (2004) as Madeleine
- The Hotel In Amsterdam (2004) as Annie
- Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures (2004) as Agatha Christie
- Peter Pan (2003) as Mary Darling
- To Kill a King (2003) as Lady Anne Fairfax
- Below (2002) as Claire
- The Man from Elysian Fields (2001) as Andrea
- Lucky Break (2001) as Annabel
- The Body (2001) as Sharon Golban
- Jason and the Argonauts (2000) as Hera
- The Making of 'Rushmore' (2000) as Self
- Four Dogs Playing Poker (2000) as Audrey
- Born Romantic (2000) as Eleanor
- Dead Babies (2000) as Diana
- The Sixth Sense (1999) as Anna Crowe
- Spaced (1999) as Irate Cyclist
- Rushmore (1998) as Rosemary Cross
- The Postman (1997) as Abby
- Emma (1996) as Jane Fairfax
- Friends (1994) as Felicity
- The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1987) as Jennifer Norris
- Van der Valk (1972) as Irene Kortman