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IMDbPro

JoBeth Williams

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0001316
JoBeth Williams
Luana is a 12-year-old girl struggling to grasp the world collapsing around her.
Play trailer1:53
What the Night Can Do (2020)
25 Videos
99+ Photos
The product of a musical family, (Margaret) JoBeth Williams was born on December 6, 1948, in Houston, Texas, to Frances Faye (Adams), a dietitian, and Fredric Roger Williams, a wire/cable company manager and opera singer. Her father encouraged her early interest in theater during high school.

She made her professional debut at age 18 in a Houston-based musical production, then studied at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, with the intentions of becoming a child psychologist. The acting bug hit her again, however, and she decided to pursue theater after receiving her B.A. in English in 1970. Working intensely to lose her Texas twang, her early training came as a member of the Trinity Repertory Company, where she stayed for two-and-a-half years.

In New York the lovely Jobeth became a daytime regular in the mid-1970s on both Somerset (1970) and in a vixenish role on Guiding Light (1952) before making a brief but memorable impact in a highly popular film at the end of the decade. In the Dustin Hoffman starring film Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Jobeth plays Hoffman's gorgeous sleepover who gets caught stark naked by his young, precocious son (Justin Henry) the following morning. She also impressed on the stage with major roles in "Moonchildren" and "A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking."

Her star maker would could in the form of the strong-willed mother of three who fights to save her brood from home-invading demons in Steven Spielberg's humongous critical and box-office hit Poltergeist (1982), which also made a major star out of movie husband Craig T. Nelson. Officially in the big leagues now, she joined the star ensemble cast of The Big Chill (1983), and appeared opposite Nick Nolte in Teachers (1984). Disappointing outcomes in the lackluster sequel Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and the intriguing but overlooked American Dreamer (1984) prodded her to search for more challenging work on TV.

It is the small screen, in fact, that has particularly shown off the range of Jobeth's talent over the years, particularly in domestic drama. Cast in some of the finest TV-movies served up, Jobeth won deserved Emmy nominations for her real-life mother of an ill-fated missing child in Adam (1983) and real-life surrogate mother in Baby M (1988). Other monumental mini-movie efforts include her nurse in the apocalyptic drama The Day After (1983); her magnetic performance opposite Terry Kinney as an adulterous worshiper and minister who carry out plans to kill their respective spouses in the gripping suspense show Murder Ordained (1987); alcoholic James Woods' long-suffering wife in My Name Is Bill W. (1989); a social worker trying to reach a deaf girl in Breaking Through (1996); and the overbearing mother whose son turns to drugs in Trapped in a Purple Haze (2000). She continues to balance both film and TV projects into the millennium.

Behind the scenes she was nominated for an Academy Award for her directorial debut of Showtime's On Hope (1994)and continues to seek out other directing projects. It doesn't hurt being married to a director for encouragement. She and John Pasquin, who directed her in the film Jungle 2 Jungle (1997) and on the short-lived TV series Payne (1999), have two children.

Into the millennium, Jobeth starred as a psychiatrist in the offbeat crime drama The Rose Technique (2002); then played a series of mom support roles -- Drew Barrymore's in Fever Pitch (2005), Reiko Aylesworth's in Crazylove (2005) and Adam Brody's in In the Land of Women (2007); plus roles in The Big Year (2011), Songs of Alchemy (2012), Barracuda (2017), Alex & The List (2017), SGT. Will Gardner (2019) and What the Night Can Do (2020). In addition to guest appearances on such popular program as "The Guardian," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Judging Amy," "Miss Match," "Numb3rs," "Criminal Minds," "The Nine," "Dexter," "NCIS," "The Good Doctor," and recurring roles on Private Practice (2007), Hart of Dixie (2011), Marry Me (2014) and Your Family or Mine (2015), she earned kudos as Sybil's mentally disturbed mother in a revived TV movie version of Sybil (2007).
BornDecember 6, 1948
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornDecember 6, 1948
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0001316
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar

Photos146

Heather O'Rourke, JoBeth Williams, and Craig T. Nelson in Poltergeist (1982)
Heather O'Rourke, JoBeth Williams, and Craig T. Nelson in Poltergeist (1982)
JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Richard Lawson, Zelda Rubinstein, and Beatrice Straight in Poltergeist (1982)
JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson in Poltergeist (1982)
JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, and Michael McManus in Poltergeist (1982)
Heather O'Rourke and JoBeth Williams in Poltergeist (1982)
Heather O'Rourke and JoBeth Williams in Poltergeist (1982)
JoBeth Williams in Poltergeist (1982)
JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson in Poltergeist (1982)
JoBeth Williams in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)
JoBeth Williams in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)
JoBeth Williams in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)

Known for

Heather O'Rourke in Poltergeist (1982)
Poltergeist
7.3
  • Diane Freeling(as Jobeth Williams)
  • 1982
Jeff Goldblum, Kevin Kline, Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, William Hurt, Meg Tilly, JoBeth Williams, and Mary Kay Place in The Big Chill (1983)
The Big Chill
7.1
  • Karen
  • 1983
Heather O'Rourke in Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)
Poltergeist II: The Other Side
5.6
  • Diane Freeling(as Jobeth Williams)
  • 1986
Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Kramer vs. Kramer
7.8
  • Phyllis Bernard(as Jobeth Williams)
  • 1979

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Chantilly Bridge
    • Post-production
  • Cash for Gold
    • Post-production
  • Aidan Gillen and Michael Malarkey in Project Blue Book (2019)
    Project Blue Book
  • What the Night Can Do (2020)
    What the Night Can Do
  • Station 19 (2018)
    Station 19
  • Dermot Mulroney, Gary Sinise, Robert Patrick, Max Martini, Elisabeth Röhm, Lily Rabe, Omari Hardwick, and Luis Bordonada in SGT. Will Gardner (2019)
    SGT. Will Gardner
  • Jay R. Ferguson in Living Biblically (2018)
    Living Biblically
  • Freddie Highmore in The Good Doctor (2017)
    The Good Doctor
  • Patrick Fugit and Jennifer Morrison in Alex & The List (2017)
    Alex & The List
  • Barracuda (2017)
    Barracuda
  • Within (2016)
    Within
  • Jacqueline Bisset, Dennis Hopper, JoBeth Williams, Leelee Sobieski, Chris Kattan, and Donnell Rawlings in The Last Film Festival (2016)
    The Last Film Festival
  • Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander in Rizzoli & Isles (2010)
    Rizzoli & Isles
  • Home
  • Melissa George in Heartbeat (2016)
    Heartbeat
    • (as Jobeth Williams)
  • Childrens Hospital (2008)
    Childrens Hospital
  • Your Family or Mine (2015)
    Your Family or Mine

Producer

  • The 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2022)
    The 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 27th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2021)
    27th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • The 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2020)
    The 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • The 25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2019)
    The 25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2018)
    24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • The 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2017)
    The 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2016)
    22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • The 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2015)
    The 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2014)
    20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • Cash for Gold (2013)
    Cash for Gold
    • (as Jobeth Williams)
  • 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2013)
    19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2012)
    18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2010)
    16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2009)
    15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

Director

  • Winona's Web
  • Paul Guilfoyle and Henry Rollins in Night Visions (2001)
    Night Visions
    • (segment The Doghouse)
  • Frankie & Hazel (2000)
    Frankie & Hazel
  • On Hope

Videos25

TiMER
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TiMER
TiMER
Clip 0:50
TiMER
Trailer
Trailer 2:05
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Trailer 2:32
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:25
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:53
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:21
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:04
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:38
Official Trailer
Timer
Trailer 2:10
Timer
Stir Crazy
Trailer 1:32
Stir Crazy
Desert Bloom
Trailer 1:13
Desert Bloom

Personal details

Edit
    • December 6, 1948
    • Houston, Texas, USA
    • John PasquinMarch 14, 1982 - present (2 children)
    • Will Pasquin
  • Other works
    (Fall 2007) "The Quality of Life" at The Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles, California, USA.
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Articles
    • 3 Pictorials

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Supposedly turned down the lead in the sitcom Murphy Brown (1988), which had been created by Diane English with JoBeth in mind.
  • Quotes
    "I live in a town where if you're a woman over 40, you're really passé. In the movies, a Sean Connery can get Catherine Zeta-Jones as a love interest. But Shirley MacLaine can't have Billy Crudup as a boyfriend".

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