Star Facts
- Michelle has been nominated for two Oscars
- Jake Gyllenhaal and actress Busy Phillips are the godparents of her daughter Matilda Rose
- At the age of 15, Michelle Williams emancipated herself from her parents
- Michelle was so badly bullied at school that she was home-schooled from 10th grade onwards
Biography:
Born in rural Kalispell, Montana, in September 1980, Michelle Williams is a small town girl who hit the big time. At the age of nine her family relocated to San Diego in California and her interest in acting began. She was so badly bullied during her freshman term at high school that she was home schooled from the 10th grade onwards, graduating early in the process.
At the age of 15 Michelle emancipated herself from her parents. She won bit parts on TV during her early teens, but it was when she moved to LA that things really started to happen. Her first major role was as Jen Lindley alongside then-unknowns Katie Holmes and James Van Der Beek in the megahit teen TV series Dawson’s Creek.
From TV she gradually made a name for herself as a movie actress, tending to stick to quirky, interesting roles and independent films. Her big movie break came with Brokeback Mountain, where she met Heath Ledger and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Michelle and Heath began dating in 2004 and on 28 October 2005 she gave birth to their daughter Matilda Rose. The couple split amicably in September 2007 prior to Heath's tragic death from an accidental drugs overdose in January 2008.
Since then Michelle has been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Blue Valentine, dated Spike Jonze and finished filming My Week With Marilyn, playing screen goddess Marilyn Monroe.