Kelli Williams

This article is about the actress. For other uses, see Kelly Williams (disambiguation).

Kelli Williams
Born	Kelli Renee Williams (1970-06-08) June 8, 1970 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1989–present
Spouse(s)	Ajay Sahgal (m. 1996; div. 2017)
Children	3

Kelli Renee Williams (born June 8, 1970) is an American actress and director. She is known for her roles as Lindsay Dole on the legal drama The Practice, psychologist and deception expert Dr. Gillian Foster on Lie to Me, and Jackie Clarke on Army Wives.

Early life

Kelli Williams was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actress Shannon Wilcox and plastic surgeon John Williams. Her parents divorced when she was 13. She has one brother and two half-brothers.

Williams earned her Screen Actors Guild card before her first birthday by appearing in a diapers commercial, and appeared in several other commercials as a child. She attended elementary school at Lycée Français, and graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1988. While attending school, she was active in the performing arts department. After starring opposite Steve Burton (who would go on to gain fame on General Hospital) in the school's production of Romeo and Juliet, she was signed by an agent.

Career

Williams began her career on television in 1989, with a role in an episode of the CBS series Beauty and the Beast and as the first victim of the Hillside Stranglers in NBC's made-for-TV film The Case of the Hillside Stranglers.

Her first feature film appearances were in Zapped Again! (1990) and There Goes My Baby (1994) opposite ER's Noah Wyle. She also appeared in The Young Riders in 1991. Also in 1994, she played Jennifer Stolpa in the TV movie Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story. She guest starred on the Fox teen drama Party of Five in its first season in 1994 as Annie Alcott. She guest-starred in the 1992 Law & Order episode "Sisters Of Mercy" as a meth addict who accuses a nun of sexually abusing her.

Beginning with episode 11, "Moon Cross" (aired on February 5, 1995), of the science-fiction series Earth 2, Williams appeared in a multiple episode story arc in the role of Mary, a human orphan raised on another planet by the indigenous alien species known as the Terrians.

In 1997, she took her most prominent role as Lindsay Dole Donnell on the ABC legal drama The Practice. She appeared in the series The Lyon's Den and Hack, as well as two episodes of Scrubs. Williams appeared as Dr. Natalie Durant on the NBC television show Medical Investigation which began in the fall of 2004 and ran for 20 episodes before being canceled. Also in 2004, she starred in the TV movie A Boyfriend for Christmas.

In 2000, Williams starred in the TV movie Flowers for Algernon, based on the novel/short story by Daniel Keyes.

In May 2007, she portrayed Holly Lauren/Kathleen Shaw in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent sixth-season finale episode, "Renewal," as a friendly neighbor of Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth); her character died toward the end of the episode. In August 2008, Williams was cast in a lead role as psychologist Dr. Gillian Foster in the Fox series Lie to Me, opposite Tim Roth as Dr. Cal Lightman, which ran for three seasons and ended in 2011.

In April 2011, she was cast in a guest role as Shelley Chamberlain, a grieving mother on a killing spree in the CBS series Criminal Minds. In October 2011, she was cast in a guest role as a kidnapped child's mother called Elizabeth Flint in the CBS series The Mentalist. In 2012, she landed the recurring role of Jackie Clarke in the Lifetime series Army Wives and was quickly promoted to a series regular.

On August 12, 2015, Ties That Bind, the first original series from the Up Network, debuted with Williams playing police detective Allison McLean. The series balances McLean's work and family.

In 2020, she joined the cast of the new Paramount network series, Coyote, starring Michael Chiklis.

Personal life

Williams was married to author Ajay Sahgal from 1996 to 2017. She converted to Hinduism after marrying her husband. The couple has three children. She told Marie Claire that she got breast implants when she was 19 and had them removed when she was 22. Williams speaks English, French, and Spanish, and has volunteered with the Young Storytellers Program.

Filmography

Director

Year	Title	Notes
2004	The Practice	"In Good Conscience"
2013	Army Wives	"Blood and Treasure"
2016-2017	The Fosters	3 Episodes: "Justify", "Welcome to the Jungler" & "Scars"
2017	Rosewood	"Clavicle Trauma & Closure"
2019	Good Trouble	"Willful Blindness"
	The Resident	2 episodes: "Snowed In" & "Woman Down"
	Charmed	"The Rules of Engagement"
2020	Sweet Magnolias	2 episodes: "Give Drink to the Thirsty "& "Lay It All Down"
2021	All American	2 episodes "My Mind's Playing Tricks on Me" & "How Come"
	The Resident	"Into the Unknown"
2022	All American: Homecoming	"Under Pressure"
	Walker	"Champagne Problems"

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Zapped Again!	Lucy Kaminsky	Video
1993	Mr. Jones	Kelli
1994	There Goes My Baby	Sunshine
1996	E=mc2	Claire Higgins
1999	Kismet	Kelly	Short film
2000	It's a Shame About Ray	Anna	Short film
2000	Flowers for Algernon	Alice
2010	The Space Between	Junkie
2012	Any Day Now	Miss Flemming
2017	Early Release	Taylor Reynolds

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Beauty and the Beast	Young Lisa	Episode: "Arabesque"
1989	The Case of the Hillside Stranglers	Margaret Wilson	Movie
1989	Day by Day	Ross' Girlfriend	3 episodes
1989	Out on the Edge	Melissa	Movie
1989	CBS Summer Playhouse	Natalie	Episode: "Curse of the Corn People"
1989	Island Son	Elisa Bordinet	Episode: "Sometimes They're Zebras"
1989	Quantum Leap	Shannon	Episode: "Disco Inferno"
1990	Elvis	Mattie Walker	13 episodes
1990	My Life as a Babysitter	Kelly	Movie
1991	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Cassie O'Brian	Episode: "But He Loves Me"
1991	Switched at Birth	Irisa	Movie
1991	The Young Riders	Emily Metcalfe	Episode: "The Presence of Mine Enemies"
1992	A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story	Kate Broderick	Movie
1992	Law & Order	Maggie	Episode: "Sisters of Mercy"
1992	Sisters	Sarah Nolan	Episode: "Pandora's Box"
1992	Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter	Kate Broderick	Movie
1993	For Their Own Good	Erma	Movie
1993	Lifepod	Rena Jahnusia	Movie
1994	Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story	Jennifer Stolpa	Movie
1994	Party of Five	Annie Alcott	Episode: "Thanksgiving"
1995	Earth 2	Mary	2 episodes
1995	New York News	Ellie	13 episodes
1996	Voice from the Grave	Yvonne Shuster	Movie
1996	Picket Fences	Hannah Mary Beiler	Episode: "To Forgive Is Devine"
1996	Mary & Tim	Justine Melville	Movie
1997– 2003	The Practice	Lindsay Dole	145 episodes Nominated: Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (1999) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1998–2000)
1998	Ally McBeal	Lindsay Dole	Episode: "The Inmates"
1999	Sweetwater	Cami Carlson	Movie
2000	Flowers for Algernon	Alice Kinian	Movie
2002	Scrubs	Kristen Murphy	2 episodes
2003	The Lyon's Den	Attorney Monica Crane	3 episodes
2003	Hack	Charlotte Weston	Episode: "My Fare Lady"
2004	A Boyfriend for Christmas	Holly Grant	Hallmark Movie
2004–05	Medical Investigation	Dr. Natalie Durant	20 episodes
2005	Third Watch	Dr. Natalie Durant	Episode: "In the Family Way"
2006	Murder on Pleasant Drive	Deanna Whelen	Movie
2007	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Holly Lauren / Kathleen Shaw	Episode: "Renewal"
2007–08	Men in Trees	Julia Switzer	6 episodes
2008	The One That Got Away	Joanna	Movie
2009–11	Lie to Me	Dr. Gillian Foster	48 episodes
2011	Criminal Minds	Shelley Chamberlain	Episode: "Hanley Waters"
2011	The Mentalist	Beth Flint	Episode: "Pretty Red Balloon"
2012–13	Army Wives	Jackie Clark	Series regular (32 episodes)
2014–15	NCIS	Special Agent Maureen Cabot	Episodes: "Alleged" and "Viral"
2014	Ties That Bind	Allison McLean	Series regular (10 episodes)
2016	The Fosters	Justina Marks	6 episodes
2016	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Melanie Harper	Episode: "Making a Rapist"
2017	Early Release	Taylor Reynolds	TV Movie
2017	Christmas Solo	Jennifer Flynn	TV Movie

External links

• Kelli Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• Kelli Williams at LieToMe.com