Allison Howell Williams (born April 13, 1988) is an American actress. She began her career in comedy and rose to prominence as a horror queen beginning in the late 2010s. Her accolades include a National Board of Review Award and nominations at the Critics' Choice, GMSA and SAG Awards.
After performing on YouTube and with the improv troupe Just Add Water, Williams gained her first starring role in the comedy drama series Girls (2012–2017). She rose to wider prominence for co-starring in the psychological horror film Get Out (2017), and the science fiction horror films M3GAN (2022) and M3GAN 2.0 (2025)—both of which she produced. She also starred in the psychological horror film The Perfection (2018), the historical series Fellow Travelers (2023) and the romantic comedy film Regretting You (2025).
Williams began her career as a member of the improv comedy troupe Just Add Water, working with them for four years and acting in the YouTube series College Musical.[13][14] The project featured Sam Tsui and was directed by Kurt Hugo Schneider, both of whom also attended Yale.[14]
"If I was cast on Girls now, the experience would be much more stressful, [...] We were so young and it was loud in the way of watercooler and thinkpieces [sic] and Gawker was, like, obsessed with us and it was the heyday of that kind of thing but I didn't have any sense of how to calibrate how big any of it really was."
– Williams speaking of her Girls casting in 2023[15]
In 2017, Williams starred in the horror film Get Out, which was her feature film debut.[29] Director Jordan Peele was convinced she was right for the role of Rose after seeing her performance in Peter Pan Live! and cast her in order to "disorient audiences".[30][31][32] Williams said that she had been "looking for a role that would weaponize everything that people take for granted about me. So I instantly signed on to it."[33] To prepare for the role, Williams isolated herself from the cast and crew during production in order to understand the psychopathic nature of her character.[34] The film received critical acclaim, and the performances of the acting ensemble were praised.[35] Johnny Hoffman of MovieWeb praised her for being "suspicious and charming from beginning to end" and wrote that "Williams proved, with this character, that she is perfectly capable of portraying an effective villain."[36] The film earned her several accolades, including nominations for the MTV Award for Best Villain and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.[37][38]
That same year, Williams was cast in the role of Charlotte on the Netflix horror film The Perfection,[39] released on May 24, 2019, to mixed reviews[40] though her performance was called "compelling".[41][42] In 2018, she was cast as Kit Snicket in the Netflix comedy-drama series A Series of Unfortunate Events, a recurring character throughout the show's second and third seasons.[43] Two years later, Williams appeared in the Swedish thriller film Horizon Line.[44][45]
Three years after Get Out, Williams reteamed with Blumhouse to executive produce and star in M3GAN.[46][47][48] She plays Gemma, a roboticist and creator of the titular robot.[49] The film was released on January 6, 2023, to commercial success, becoming the second highest-grossing film of her career.[50][51] Williams was also critically lauded for her performance. Jason Zinoman of The New York Times said that she had a "knack for playing it straight" and further wrote that she "capably updates the mad-scientist archetype, refusing to pause and ask questions while inventing a doll of the future, one who pairs with a child and adjusts to their needs, filling in as best friend and big sister."[52] Fletcher Peters of The Daily Beast wrote that Williams "conquers her role" and further praised her ability "to play off the absurdity with such finesse is incredible [...] Williams excels in the gruesome scenes just as well as she does with the comedy".[53] Kristy Puchko of Mashable said that she "solidly grounds the human drama within this scary sci-fi premise of a killer doll."[54] Also in 2023, Williams starred in the miniseries Fellow Travelers.[55]
Williams was announced in early 2022 to reprise the role of Gemma in M3GAN 2.0, which she would also produce.[56] The film was released in June 2025 and failed to replicate the success of its predecessor;[57] however, The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney believed it gave Williams an opportunity to "step into the fray with gusto".[58] Her next film, Regretting You (2025), was a commercial success but was panned by critics.[59][60] Adrian Horton of The Guardian believed it wasted having Williams in the lead.[61]
Personal life and public image
Williams began dating Ricky Van Veen, the co-founder of CollegeHumor, in 2011. They were engaged in 2014[62] and married on September 19, 2015, in a private ceremony in Saratoga, Wyoming.[63]Tom Hanks officiated the ceremony.[64] On June 27, 2019, Van Veen and Williams released a joint statement announcing their separation.[65]
In late 2019, Williams began dating German actor Alexander Dreymon, whom she met while filming Horizon Line. In late 2021, they had a son.[66] In December 2022, it was reported that the couple had become engaged.[67] In June 2025, it was announced that the couple had married quietly in 2023.[68][69]
Following her roles in Get Out, The Perfection and the M3GAN films, Williams was deemed a horror queen by several media outlets.[70][71][72][73] In 2025, The Guardian deemed her "an underrated actor".[61]
"I went to the New Canaan Nature Center for preschool," she said. "I was so into that world, and still think about it all the time. It established my love for nature and animals." "New Canaan Country School and Greenwich Academy followed."
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