Olivia Williams

Olivia Williams
Williams in July 2014
Born	Olivia Haigh Williams (1968-07-26) 26 July 1968 (age 48) Camden Town, London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present
Spouse(s)	Rhashan Stone (m. 2003)
Children	2

Olivia Haigh Williams (born 26 July 1968) is an English film, stage and television actress who has appeared in British and American films and television.

After studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for two years followed by three years at the Royal Shakespeare Company, her first significant role was as Jane Fairfax in the British television film Emma (1996), based on Jane Austen's novel. She made her film debut in 1997's The Postman, followed by Rushmore (1998) and The Sixth Sense (1999). Williams then appeared in several British films, including Lucky Break (2001), The Heart of Me (2002) and An Education (2009). In 2010, she won acclaim for her performance as Ruth Lang in Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer.

Williams was born in north London. Both of her parents are barristers. Williams was educated at South Hampstead High School, an independent school for girls in Hampstead in north London, followed by Newnham College at the University of Cambridge, from which she graduated with a degree in English literature. She then studied drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for two years and spent three years at the Royal Shakespeare Company.