Jessica Williams
Williams in 2016
Born
Jessica Renee Williams

1989 (age 34–35)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materCalifornia State University, Long Beach
Occupation(s)Actress, comedian
Years active2006–present

Jessica Renee Williams[1] is an American actress and comedian. She has appeared as a senior correspondent on The Daily Show, as cohost of the podcast 2 Dope Queens, as Lally Hicks in the Fantastic Beasts film series, as Gaby in Shrinking, and as Meadow in Entergalactic.

Early life

Jessica Renee Williams was born in Los Angeles County, California. She attended Nathaniel Narbonne High School where she flourished in the school's drama department. She made her television debut as a series regular on the Nickelodeon series Just for Kicks in 2006,[2] and in 2012, she became The Daily Show's youngest correspondent ever at 22 years old.[3][4] She attended California State University, Long Beach.[5] Results of a DNA test traced Williams's maternal ancestry to the Bamileke people of Cameroon.[6]

Career

Williams made her Daily Show debut on January 11, 2012.[7] Williams is a frequent performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles.[5] Williams also made appearances on Season 3 of HBO's Girls.[8] She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York[9] and Los Angeles, California.[10] She appears in the film People Places Things. She cohosted the comedy podcast 2 Dope Queens with Phoebe Robinson. Williams appears in an HBO special spun off from the podcast in February, 2018.[11] She appeared on her last Daily Show episode on June 30, 2016.[12] She is the star of the 2017 Netflix comedy movie The Incredible Jessica James, in which she portrays a character whom the Guardian described as "a struggling Brooklyn-based playwright navigating the murky waters of modern romance while waiting impatiently for her big break."[13] She appeared in the sequels of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, titled Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore as Lally Hicks, a teacher from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[14] In 2023, Williams had a starring role in the Apple TV+ show Shrinking.[15] For her performance, she earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series nomination.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Crying in Public Coffee Shop Crier Short film
2013 Delivery Man Tanya
2015 People Places Things Kat
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Herself Cameo role
Tap Shoes & Violins Charlie Short film
2017 The Incredible Jessica James Jessica James Also executive producer
2018 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Lally Hicks
2019 Corporate Animals Jess
Booksmart Miss Fine
2020 Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia TBA
2022 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Lally Hicks
2024 Road House TBA Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Just for Kicks Vida Atwood 13 episodes
2012–2016 The Daily Show Herself (correspondent) 141 episodes
2014 Girls Karen 4 episodes
2018 2 Dope Queens Herself Episode: All
2019 The Twilight Zone Rei Tanaka Episode: "Six Degrees of Freedom"
2021 I Heart Arlo Elena Voice role
Love Life Mia Hines Main role
2022 Entergalactic Meadow Watson Voice role, television film
2023 Shrinking Gaby Main role

Podcast

Year Title Role Notes
2016–2018 2 Dope Queens Herself (cohost) Also co-creator, writer, executive producer

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2023 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Shrinking Pending [16]

References

  1. ↑ Ira Madison III & Louis Virtel (March 22, 2023). ""Scream and the City" w. Jessica Williams". Keep It (Podcast). Crooked. Retrieved March 30, 2023. Oh, that's Harrison Ford. Oh, I was born in 1989. Oh, you know, Indiana Jones Last Crusade came out in 1989.
  2. ↑ Gilbert, Matthew (April 7, 2006). "'Just for Kicks' shows girls how to get along". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012.
  3. ↑ Del Signore, John (January 19, 2012). "Jon Stewart: SOPA Will Drive Us To Libraries "Like A Common Masturbator"". Gothamist. Archived from the original on June 2, 2012.
  4. ↑ Czajkowski, Elise (February 27, 2014). "Talking to 'Daily Show' Correspondent Jessica Williams". Splitsider. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Jessica Williams". Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  6. ↑ The Daily Show Correspondents Discover Their African Ancestry
  7. ↑ "Indecision 2012 - In the South of Madness". The Daily Show. January 11, 2012.
  8. ↑ Williams, Lauren (January–February 2014). "The Daily Show's Jessica Williams on Race, Comedy, and Her Role in "Girls."". Mother Jones. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  9. ↑ "FACES: THE DAILY SHOW'S JESSICA WILLIAMS INTERVIEW". Nixon. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
  10. ↑ 2 Dope Queens Podcast, Episode 28, A Sex Toy in Every Port
  11. ↑ "'2 Dope Queens' Jessica Williams, Phoebe Robinson on Taking HBO by Storm". Rolling Stone. February 2, 2018. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  12. ↑ Rahman, Ray (June 29, 2016). "Jessica Williams is leaving The Daily Show — exclusive". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  13. ↑ Nevins, Jake (July 26, 2017). "The incredible Jessica Williams: 'Great comedy comes from feeling like you've gotten punched up'". The Guardian. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Jessica Williams Joins J.K. Rowling to Announce Her Fantastic Beasts Character". Vulture. April 22, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Jessica Williams on becoming the standout star of Apple TV Plus' Shrinking". The A.V. Club. February 27, 2023.
  16. ↑ "75th Primetime Emmy Awards". Emmy Awards. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
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