An attractive ingenue who invited comparisons with Elizabeth Taylor when she put a "modern woman" spin on Taylor's famous role in the 1991 remake of the 1950 sentimental comedy "Father of the Bride", Williams began acting in commercials as a teenager and got her first TV role as the Other Woman in "Stood Up" (1990), an "ABC Afterschool Special".
Williams was attending Northwestern University when she won the role of the daughter of Steve Martin and Diane Keaton in "Father of the Bride". She gained favorable notices for her wholesome, no-nonsense approach to the role. She returned to college, appearing only in such low-impact fare as the thriller "Secret Games" (1992) and the comedy "Indian Summer" (1993). Williams reprised her role as Annie Banks, this time as an expectant mother, in "Father of the Bride, Part II" (1994), loosely based on "Father's Little Dividend" (1951). In 1996, she appeared in "The War at Home" before making her TV series debut on ABC's romantic drama "Relativity" (1996-97).
- Also Credited As:
Kimberly Payne Williams, Kimberly Williams, Kimberly Williams-Paisley
- Born:
Kimberly Payne Williams on September 14, 1971 in Rye, New York, USA
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Job Titles:
Actress, Director, Writer
Family
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Brother: Jay Williams. Born in 1974
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Father: Gurney Williams.
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Mother: Linda Williams.
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Sister: Ashley Williams. Born in 1978; appeared on the CBS soap As the World Turns
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Son: Jasper Warren Paisley. Born April 17, 2009; father, Brad Paisley
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Son: William Huckleberry Paisley. Born Feb. 22, 2007; father, Brad Paisley
Significant Others
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Companion: Brad Paisley. married March 16, 2003, in Malibu, CA
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Companion: Pete Sampras. together from April 1997 to May 1999; born on August 12, 1970
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Companion: . met during the filming of The 10th Kingdom ; Williams has declined to identify him in interviews
Education
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Rye High School, Rye, NY, 1989
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Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, performance studies, BS, 1993
Milestones
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1985 Moved with her family to Rye, New York
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1985 Neighbor, actress Anna Holbrook (of Another World ), sent Williams photo to the William Morris Agency; Williams then appeared in commercials for Pizza Hut, Clearasil and o.b. Tampons (date approximate)
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1990 TV debut as a teenage other woman in ABC Afterschool Special, Stood Up ; billed as Kimberly Payne Williams
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1991 Feature film debut in Father of the Bride
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1992 Played the nervous bride in AT&T Calling Card commercial
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1993 Graduated college, moved to Los Angeles
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1996 Appeared with Father of the Bride co-star George Newbern in a series of commercials for Hallmark
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1997 Made Broadway debut in Alfred Uhry s award-winning The Last Night of Ballyhoo
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1999 Had featured role in Just a Little Harmless Sex
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1999 Portrayed the youthful incarnation of Sharon Stone s Rosie in Simpatico
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2000 Made London stage debut in Speed-the-Plow
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2000 Starred in the NBC fanatasy miniseries The 10th Kingdom
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2001 Co-starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production Follow the Stars Home (CBS)
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2001 Returned to series TV as co-star of the ABC fall sitcom According to Jim
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2006 Cast as Billy’s mom in the family comedy, How to Eat Fried Worms
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2006 Co-starred with Matthew McConaughey in the sports drama We Are Marshall directed by McG