World Artist: Kimberly Williams

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Kimberly Williams

Kimberly Williams-Paisley (born September 14, 1971) is an American actress and director, who is perhaps best known for her co-starring role on the ABC sitcom, According to Jim, as well as her breakthrough performance in the popular comedy film, Father of the Bride, for which she was nominated for several awards (along with its sequel, Father of the Bride Part II). Throughout her acting career, she has guest-starred on television shows including Tales From The Crypt, George Lopez Show and Less Than Perfect. She is also well-known for her roles in made-for-television films, including Safe House, The Christmas Shoes, and Lucky 7. and also her role as Laura Parker in Shade, a short film she also wrote and directed. Williams is married to country music singer Brad Paisley, with whom she has two sons; actress Ashley Williams is her sister. Kimberly Williams was born in Rye, New York, the daughter of Linda Barbara (née Payne), a fund-raiser, and Gurney Williams III, a health and science writer. She has a sister, Ashley, also an actress, and a brother, Jay. Williams has been in show business since the age of 13.

In 1989 she directed the Rye High School Musical Revue. She left Northwestern University during her sophomore year to appear in the 1991 film version of Father of the Bride but returned to complete her degree in drama. While there she was a sister of the Alpha Phi sorority. Williams Paisley is known for her role as Annie Banks in Father of the Bride (1991) and Father of the Bride Part II (1995), with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton. She starred as Virginia in the NBC mini-series The 10th Kingdom. She also played Dana in the ABC sitcom According to Jim for seven years, from 2001 to 2008 . She left the show after its seventh season, but returned for the show's final episode in 2009. Kimberly Paisley replaced Arija Bareikis as Sunny in the Tony Award winning play The Last Night of Ballyhoo written by Alfred Uhry (of Driving Miss Daisy fame) sometime later in the play's February 1997 to June 1998 run. In the late 1990s, she dated tennis star Pete Sampras. In March 2003, Williams married country music singer Brad Paisley. On February 22, 2007, she gave birth to her and Paisley's first child, a son named William Huckleberry Paisley, also known as "Huck," in Nashville, Tennessee. On April 17, 2009, they welcomed their second son, Jasper Warren Paisley.