Tonya Williams

For the former volleyball player sometimes known as Tonya Williams, see Teee Sanders.

Tonya Williams
Williams at the 2013 Zanzibar Film Festival
Born	Tonya Maxine Williams (1958-07-12) July 12, 1958 (age 66) London, England
Nationality	British, Canadian, American
Other names	Tonya Lee Williams
Alma mater	Ryerson University
Occupation(s)	Actress, producer, director, activist
Years active	1977–present
Spouse	Robert Simpson ​ ​ (m. 1983; div. 1991)​

Tonya Williams (born July 12, 1958) is a Canadian actress, producer, and activist. Sometimes credited as Tonya Lee Williams, she is best known for her role as Dr. Olivia Barber Winters on the American daytime drama The Young and the Restless from 1990 to 2005 and 2007 to 2012. She is the founder and executive director of Reelworld Film Festival.

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.

Williams was married to Robert Simpson from 1983 to 1991, but she has never remarried.

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.^[1] 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.^[2]

Filmography

Film and television appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980–1983	Polka Dot Door	Host
1984	Seeing Things		Episode: "Second Sight"
1985	Check it Out!	Jennifer Woods	22 episodes
1986	As Is	TV Commentator	TV movie
1987	What's Happening Now!!	Michelle	Episode: "The New Employee"
	The Liberators	Jenny	On Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
	Street Legal	Belinda / Reporter	2 episodes
	Gimme a Break!	Judy Mitchell	Episode: "Parents' Week: Part 1"
	Hill Street Blues	Shirley	Episode: "It Ain't Over Till It's Over"
	Falcon Crest	Chase's Secretary / Lois	3 episodes
	Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future	Chelsea Chandler	Episode: "And Study War No More"
1988	A Very Brady Christmas	Belinda	TV movie
1989–1990	Generations	Linda Dukes	unknown episodes
1989	Matlock	Dana Williams	Episode: "The Starlet"
	Nasty Boys	unknown	Nasty Boys (pilot)
	A Peaceable Kingdom	Colleen	3 episodes
1990–2005, 2007–2012	The Young and the Restless	Olivia Winters	May 1990–September 7, 2005 April 12–13, 2007 October 23, 2008–February 15, 2012
1990	Spaced Invaders	Ernestine
	Piece of Cake	Tanya	TV movie
1991	The Borrower	Desk Nurse
1993	Counterstrike	Denise	Episode: "The Contender"
	Getting By	Janet	Episode: "Shop till You Drop"
1994	Silk Stalkings	Loretta Cole	Episode: "The Last Campaign"
1998	PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal	Carole Sanderson	Episode: "Bad Dreams"
2000	Seventeen Again	Monique Donovan
2004	Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee	Host	TV special
2005	A Perfect Note	Jasmine	TV movie
2007	Poor Boy's Game	Ruth Carvery
	Finding Father's Toe	Carole	Short film
2009–2010	The Border	Octavia Jones	5 episodes
2010	My Name is Khan	News Anchor
2011	She's the Mayor	Maxine Williams	13 episodes[3]
	The Bold and the Beautiful	Olivia Winters	Guest: 2 episodes (February 1-2, 2011)
2012	Cybergeddon	Donna Berg	2 episodes

Executive producer

Year	Title	Notes
2001	Maple	TV movie
2004	Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee	TV movie
2004	Da Kink in My Hair	TV movie

Director

Year	Title	Notes
2004	Da Kink in My Hair	TV movie

Writer

Year	Title	Notes
2004	Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee	Contributing writer; TV special

Awards and nominations

• 1996: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Nomination
• 1996: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 1997: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 1998: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 1999: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 2000: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Nomination
• 2000: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Win
• 2001: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 2002: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Win
• 2003: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 2004: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 2005: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 2005: ACTRA National Award of Excellence
• 2006: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 2009: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 2010: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 2011: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 2012: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series – Nomination
• 2012: Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award for her film and television artistic contributions.
• 2012: Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award Winner^[4]
• 2024: Changemaker Award, 12th Canadian Screen Awards - Winner^[2]

References

1. Byron Armstrong, "Tonya Williams Marks 19 Years Celebrating Black Stories On Screen At ReelWorld Film Festival". ByBlacks, October 10, 2019.
2. Connie Thiessen, "Marilyn Denis, John Brunton among Canadian Academy ‘Special Award’ recipients". Broadcast Dialogue, March 19, 2024.
3. "She's the Mayor finds laughs in Hamilton". Hamilton Spectator, April 16, 2010.
4. "Canada's Top 25 Immigrants 2012". Canadian Immigrant. Retrieved 2021-06-18.

External links

• Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee, from cbc.ca
• Tonya Williams at IMDb