Tonya Lee Williams
Encyclopedia
Tonya Lee Williams is a Canadian
actress, best known for her role as Dr. Olivia Barber Winters on the American
soap opera
The Young and the Restless
, from 1990 to 2005, and for a brief time in 2007. She returned to the series in the fall of 2008.
, England
to Jamaica
n parents. She lived in London and Kingston, Jamaica
as a young child. At age 5, she contracted rheumatic fever
; she and her mother went to live in Birmingham
. In 1969, she and her family settled in Oshawa
, Ontario
, Canada. As a teenager, she modeled in Eaton's
catalogues and danced on a television series called Boogie! which ran on Citytv
. In 1977, Williams was crowned Miss Black Ontario.
Williams was married to Robert Simpson from 1983 to 1991. She has not remarried since.
after graduating from Ryerson University
in 1979. Appearances on the television series Check it Out!
and Generations followed. Her involvement on Generations snagged her a role on The Young and the Restless, and has become her most lucrative role. Williams won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
in 2000 and 2002.
She also appeared on A Very Brady Christmas
as Cindy's roommate.
In March 2004, she hosted the special event programming Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee, on CBC Television
. She is an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho
sorority.
Williams is also the founder and president of the ReelWorld Film Festival, an annual film festival in Toronto that features talent from diverse visible communities.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
actress, best known for her role as Dr. Olivia Barber Winters on the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
, from 1990 to 2005, and for a brief time in 2007. She returned to the series in the fall of 2008.
Early life
Williams was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n parents. She lived in London and Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
as a young child. At age 5, she contracted rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that occurs following a Streptococcus pyogenes infection, such as strep throat or scarlet fever. Believed to be caused by antibody cross-reactivity that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain, the illness typically develops two to three weeks after...
; she and her mother went to live in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. In 1969, she and her family settled in Oshawa
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada. As a teenager, she modeled in Eaton's
Eaton's
The T. Eaton Co. Limited was once Canada's largest department store retailer. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices across the globe, and a catalogue...
catalogues and danced on a television series called Boogie! which ran on Citytv
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...
. In 1977, Williams was crowned Miss Black Ontario.
Williams was married to Robert Simpson from 1983 to 1991. She has not remarried since.
Career
Her television debut was as a host of the Canadian children's show Polka Dot DoorPolka Dot Door
Polka Dot Door was a long-running children's television series produced and broadcast by TVOntario from 1971 until 1993. The show, which aired Monday to Friday, was set in a large playhouse...
after graduating from Ryerson University
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
in 1979. Appearances on the television series Check it Out!
Check it Out!
Check it Out! is a Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CTV from September 1985 to April 1988. The series also aired in the United States in syndication and on the USA Network.-Synopsis:...
and Generations followed. Her involvement on Generations snagged her a role on The Young and the Restless, and has become her most lucrative role. Williams won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
The NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series:...
in 2000 and 2002.
She also appeared on A Very Brady Christmas
A Very Brady Christmas
A Very Brady Christmas is a 1988 movie based on the television series The Brady Bunch, featuring all of the original actors who appeared in the series except Susan Olsen who was on her honeymoon when the film was being made; Jennifer Runyon took her place as Cindy...
as Cindy's roommate.
In March 2004, she hosted the special event programming Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee, on CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
. She is an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...
sorority.
Williams is also the founder and president of the ReelWorld Film Festival, an annual film festival in Toronto that features talent from diverse visible communities.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Polka Dot Door Polka Dot Door Polka Dot Door was a long-running children's television series produced and broadcast by TVOntario from 1971 until 1993. The show, which aired Monday to Friday, was set in a large playhouse... |
Host | unknown episodes |
| 1983 | Skullduggery Skullduggery (1983 film) Skullduggery is a 1983 Canadian horror film directed by Ota Richter.-Plot:It is about a man named Adam, the descendant of a long line of cursed men. He, too, falls under the curse and begins a killing spree.... |
unknown | uncredited |
| 1985 | Check it Out! Check it Out! Check it Out! is a Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CTV from September 1985 to April 1988. The series also aired in the United States in syndication and on the USA Network.-Synopsis:... |
Jennifer Woods | Ep."No Cause for Alarm" |
| 1986 | As Is As Is (film) As Is is a 1986 film adapted by William M. Hoffman from his play of the same title, that set its focus on the effect AIDS, then a fairly new epidemic, has on a group of friends living in New York City. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the film stars Jonathan Hadary, Robert Carradine, and Colleen... |
TV Commentator | TV |
| 1987 | What's Happening Now!! What's Happening Now!! What's Happening Now!! is an American television sitcom spinoff of What's Happening!!. It ran in syndication from 1985 to 1988. Like the previous series, What's Happening Now!! is loosely based on the motion picture Cooley High... |
Michelle | Ep."The New Employee" |
| The Liberators | Jenny | TV | |
| Street Legal Street Legal (TV series) Street Legal is a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1987 to 1994.-Synopsis:A spinoff from the 1985 television movie Shellgame, Street Legal focused on the professional and private lives of the partners in a small Toronto, Ontario law firm, Barr, Robinovitch and Tchobanian... |
Belinda / Reporter | 2 episodes | |
| Gimme a Break! Gimme a Break! Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from October 29, 1981, until May 12, 1987. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters.-Premise:... |
Judy Mitchell | Ep."Parents' Week: Part 1" | |
| Hill Street Blues Hill Street Blues Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ... |
Shirley | Ep."It Ain't Over Till It's Over" | |
| Falcon Crest Falcon Crest Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced.... |
Chase's Secretary / Lois | 3 episodes | |
| Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future is a 1987–88 science fiction/action television series, merging live action with animation based on computer-generated images, that ran for 22 episodes in Canadian/American syndication... |
Chelsea Chandler | Ep." | |
| 1988 | A Very Brady Christmas A Very Brady Christmas A Very Brady Christmas is a 1988 movie based on the television series The Brady Bunch, featuring all of the original actors who appeared in the series except Susan Olsen who was on her honeymoon when the film was being made; Jennifer Runyon took her place as Cindy... |
Belinda | TV |
| 1989-1990 | 'Generations | Linda Dukes | unknown episodes |
| 1989 | Matlock Matlock (TV series) Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar... |
Dana Williams | Ep."The Starlet" |
| Nasty Boys Nasty Boys (TV series) The Nasty Boys was a television action drama series based on the real life Narcotics Officers of the North Las vegas Police Department.-Background:... |
unknown | Nasty Boys (Original Pilot) | |
| A Peaceable Kingdom A Peaceable Kingdom A Peaceable Kingdom is an American television drama series that aired in 1989. The series was short-lived and was cancelled after only seven episodes .-Series history:... |
Colleen | 3 episodes | |
| 1990–2005,2007,2008–present | The Young and the Restless The Young and the Restless The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin... |
Dr. Olivia Barber Winters | Role Since:May 1990-September 7, 2005 April 12–13, 2007 October 23, 2008–present recurring role |
| 1990 | Spaced Invaders Spaced Invaders Spaced Invaders is a 1990 science fiction comedy directed by Patrick Read Johnson and starring Douglas Barr, Royal Dano and Ariana Richards.-Plot:... |
Ernestine | TV |
| Piece of Cake | Tanya | TV | |
| 1991 | The Borrower The Borrower The Borrower is a 1991 American science fiction / horror film directed by John McNaughton. The film is a B-movie about an alien serial killer, who is sent to Earth to live among humans as a form of penalty... |
Desk Nurse | |
| 1993 | Counterstrike | Denise | Ep."The Contender" |
| Getting By Getting By Getting By is an American sitcom produced by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett, with the format created by William Bickley and Michael Warren. The show debuted on ABC's TGIF block, running its first twelve-episode season from March 5, 1993 through May 21, 1993. Shortly after the spring season... |
Janet | Ep."Shop till You Drop" | |
| 1994 | Silk Stalkings Silk Stalkings Silk Stalkings is a TV crime drama originally shown on CBS in 1991 as part of the network's late-night Crimetime After Primetime programming package, and rebroadcast on the USA Network. After CBS ended the Crimetime experiment in 1993, the series ran exclusively on USA until its finale in the... |
Loretta Cole | Ep."The Last Campaign" |
| 1998 | PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal is a Canadian science fiction drama television series which was filmed in and around Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and aired 88 episodes over four seasons from 1996 to 2000... |
Carole Sanderson | Ep."Bad Dreams" |
| 2000 | Seventeen Again Seventeen Again Seventeen Again is a fantasy–comedy film. It first aired on Showtime on November 12, 2000, and was released on DVD on April 9, 2002. The films stars Sister Sisters Tia & Tamera, and their brother Tahj Mowry from Smart Guy.-Plot:... |
Monique Donovan | Disney Channel Movie |
| 2004 | Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee | Host | |
| 2005 | A Perfect Note | Jasmine | TV |
| 2007 | Poor Boy's Game Poor Boy's Game Poor Boy's Game is a Canadian feature film directed by Clement Virgo. Co-written with Nova Scotian writer/director Chaz Thorne , it is the story of class struggle, racial tensions and boxing, set in the Canadian east coast port city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The film premiered on February 11, 2007,... |
Ruth Carvery | |
| Finding Father's Toe | Carole | |- | |
| 2009–2010 | The Border The Border (TV series) The Border is a Canadian drama airing on CBC Television and 20 other TV networks worldwide. It was created by Peter Raymont, Lindalee Tracey, Janet MacLean and Jeremy Hole of White Pine Pictures. The Executive in Charge of Production is Janice Dawe. Episodes in the first season were directed by... |
Octavia Jones | TV |
| 2010 | My Name is Khan My Name is Khan My Name Is Khan ; commonly referred to as MNIK, is a 2010 Bollywood film directed by Karan Johar, with a screenplay by Shibani Bathija, produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Gauri Khan, and starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, who reunite after nine years... |
News Anchor | Film |
| 2011 | She's the Mayor She's the Mayor She's the Mayor is a Canadian television sitcom, scheduled to start on Vision TV from October 4, 2011. The show will star Janet-Laine Green as Iris Peters, a woman in her 60s who is newly elected as the mayor of the fictional city of Fairfax.... |
Maxine Williams | TV |
Producer
| Year | Title | Credit | Note(s) |
| 2001 | Maple | executive producer | |
| 2004 | Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee | TV | |
| Da Kink in My Hair Da Kink in My Hair Da Kink in My Hair is a play by Trey Anthony, which debuted at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2001.The play's central character is Novelette, the Caribbean Canadian owner of Letty's, a Toronto hair salon... |
TV |
Director
| Year | Title | Credit | Note(s) |
| 2004 | Da Kink in My Hair Da Kink in My Hair Da Kink in My Hair is a play by Trey Anthony, which debuted at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2001.The play's central character is Novelette, the Caribbean Canadian owner of Letty's, a Toronto hair salon... |
Director | TV |
Writer
| Year | Title | Credit | Note(s) |
| 2004 | Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee | contributing writer | TV |
External links
- Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee, from cbc.ca
- Tonya Lee Williams at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...