Early life
Williams was born in London, England to Jamaican parents. She lived in London and Kingston, Jamaica as a young child. At age five, she contracted rheumatic fever; she and her mother then moved to Birmingham. In 1969 she and her family settled in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. As a teenager she modeled in Eaton's catalogues and danced on a television series called Boogie! which ran on Citytv. In 1977 Williams was crowned Miss Black Ontario. [1] She was a student in 1977 and wanted to be a lawyer. [1]
Williams was married to Robert Simpson from 1983 to 1991.
Career
Williams' television debut was as a host of the Canadian children's show Polka Dot Door , from 1980 to 1983, after graduating from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in 1979. Appearances on the television series Check it Out! and Generations followed. Her involvement on Generations snagged her a role on The Young and the Restless, and has become her most lucrative role. Williams won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in 2000 and 2002.
Williams appeared on A Very Brady Christmas as Cindy's roommate.
In March 2004, Williams hosted the special event program Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee on CBC Television. She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.
Williams is the founder, executive and artistic director of the Reelworld Film Festival, an annual film festival in Toronto that features talent from ethnically diverse communities. [2] In 2024, she was named as the recipient of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television's Changemaker Award at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards, for her work with Reelworld. [3]
In January 2025, Williams was named as the recipient of the Toronto Film Critics Association's Company 3 TFCA Luminary Award, in honour of her work with Reelworld and her other efforts to advocate on behalf of people of colour in the Canadian film industry. [4] She selected film and television producer Leena Minifie as the recipient of the award's "pay it forward" grant. [5]
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