Kelli Renee Williams (born June 8, 1970) is an American actress and director. She is known for her roles as lawyer Lindsay Dole on the ABC legal drama The Practice, psychologist and deception expert Dr. Gillian Foster on the Fox series Lie to Me, Jackie Clarke on the Lifetime series Army Wives, and Margaret Reed on the NBC drama series Found.
Early life & education
Kelli Williams was born in Los Angeles, California.
Williams earned her Screen Actors Guild card before her first birthday by appearing in a diapers commercial, and appeared in several other commercials as a child. She attended elementary school at Lycée Français,
In April 2011, she was cast in a guest role as Shelley Chamberlain, a grieving mother on a killing spree in the CBS series Criminal Minds. In October 2011, she was cast in a guest role as a kidnapped child's mother called Elizabeth Flint in the CBS series The Mentalist. In 2012, she landed the recurring role of Jackie Clarke in the Lifetime series Army Wives and was quickly promoted to a series regular.
On August 12, 2015, Ties That Bind, the first original series from the Up Network, debuted with Williams playing police detective Allison McLean. The series balances McLean's work and family.
From 2016 on, she worked primarily as a director on multiple TV shows, including The Fosters, The Resident, All American, and All American: Homecoming.
In 2020, she joined the cast of the new Paramount network series, Coyote, starring Michael Chiklis.
In 2022, she joined the cast of the NBC series, Found.
Personal life
Williams was married to author Ajay Sahgal from 1996 to 2017. She converted to Hinduism after marrying her husband. The couple has three children. Williams also speaks French and Spanish,
She has been in a relationship with performance artist, choreographer, and director Lynsey Peisinger since 2023.
Filmography
Director
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|2004
|The Practice
|"In Good Conscience"
|-
|2013
|Army Wives
|"Blood and Treasure"
|-
|2016–2017
|The Fosters
|3 Episodes: "Justify", "Welcome to the Jungler", and "Scars"
|-
|2017
|Rosewood
|"Clavicle Trauma & Closure"
|-
|rowspan=3|2019
|Good Trouble
| "Willful Blindness"
|-
|The Resident
| 2 episodes: "Snowed In" & "Woman Down"
|-
|Charmed
| "The Rules of Engagement"
|-
|2020
|Sweet Magnolias
| 2 episodes: "Give Drink to the Thirsty ", "Lay It All Down"
|-
|2021–2024
|All American
| 4 episodes: "My Mind's Playing Tricks on Me", "How Come", "Don't Sweat the Technique", "Trust Issues"
|-
|2021
|The Resident
| "Into the Unknown"
|-
| rowspan=3|2022
| All American: Homecoming
| "Under Pressure"
|-
| Walker
| "Champagne Problems"
|-
| Big Sky
| "The Woods Are Lovely, Dark and Deep"
|-
|2025
|Found
| "Missing While Grieving"
|-
|2026
|High Potential
| "The Faust and the Furious"
|}
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1990
|Zapped Again!
|Lucy Kaminsky
|
|-
|1993
|Mr. Jones
|Kelli
|
|-
|1994
|There Goes My Baby
|Sunshine
|
|-
|1996
|E=mc2
|Claire Higgins
|
|-
|1999
|Kismet
|Kelly
|Short film
|-
|2000
|It's a Shame About Ray
|Anna
|Short film
|-
|2010
|The Space Between
|Junkie
|
|-
|2012
|Any Day Now
|Miss Flemming
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1989
|Beauty and the Beast
|Young Lisa
|Episode: "Arabesque"
|-
|1989
|The Case of the Hillside Stranglers
|Margaret Wilson
|TV movie
|-
|1989
|Day by Day
|Ross' Girlfriend
|3 episodes
|-
|1989
|Out on the Edge
|Melissa
|TV movie
|-
|1989
|CBS Summer Playhouse
|Natalie
|Episode: "Curse of the Corn People"
|-
|1989
|Island Son
|Elisa Bordinet
|Episode: "Sometimes They're Zebras"
|-
|1989
|Quantum Leap
|Shannon
|Episode: "Disco Inferno"
|-
|1990
|Elvis
|Mattie Walker
|13 episodes
|-
|1990
|My Life as a Babysitter
|Kelly
|TV movie
|-
|1991
|CBS Schoolbreak Special
|Cassie O'Brian
|Episode: "But He Loves Me"
|-
|1991
|Switched at Birth
|Irisa
|TV movie
|-
|1991
|'
|Emily Metcalfe
|Episode: "The Presence of Mine Enemies"
|-
|1992
|A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story
|Kate Broderick
|TV movie
|-
|1992, 2026
|Law & Order
|Maggie Corson, Ann Merrick
|Episodes: "Sisters of Mercy" (1992), "Ride or Die" (2026)
|-
|1992
|Sisters
|Sarah Nolan
|Episode: "Pandora's Box"
|-
|1992
|Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter
|Kate Broderick
|TV movie
|-
|1993
|For Their Own Good
|Erma
|Movie
|-
|1993
|Lifepod
|Rena Jahnusia
|TV movie
|-
|1994
|Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story
|Jennifer Stolpa
|TV movie
|-
|1994
|Party of Five
|Annie Alcott
|Episode: "Thanksgiving"
|-
|1995
|Earth 2
|Mary
|2 episodes
|-
|1995
|New York News
|Ellie
|13 episodes
|-
|1996
|Voice from the Grave
|Yvonne Shuster
|TV movie
|-
|1996
|Picket Fences
|Hannah Mary Beiler
|Episode: "To Forgive Is Devine"
|-
|1996
|Mary & Tim
|Justine Melville
|TV movie
|-
|1997–2003
|'
|Lindsay Dole
|145 episodes<br>Nominated: Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (1999)<br>Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1998–2000)
|-
|1998
|Ally McBeal
|Lindsay Dole
|Episode: "The Inmates"
|-
|1999
|Sweetwater
|Cami Carlson
|TV movie
|-
|2000
|Flowers for Algernon
|Alice Kinian
|TV movie
|-
|2002
|Scrubs
|Kristen Murphy
|2 episodes
|-
|2003
|'
|Attorney Monica Crane
|3 episodes
|-
|2003
|Hack
|Charlotte Weston
|Episode: "My Fare Lady"
|-
|2004
|'
|Holly Grant
|Hallmark TV movie
|-
|2004–05
|Medical Investigation
|Dr. Natalie Durant
|20 episodes
|-
|2005
|Third Watch
|Dr. Natalie Durant
|Episode: "In the Family Way"
|-
|2006
|Murder on Pleasant Drive
|Deanna Whelen
|TV movie
|-
|2007
|Law & Order: Criminal Intent
|Holly Lauren/Kathleen Shaw
|Episode: "Renewal"
|-
|2007–08
|Men in Trees
|Julia Switzer
|6 episodes
|-
|2008
|'
|Joanna
|TV movie
|-
|2009–11
|Lie to Me
|Dr. Gillian Foster
|48 episodes
|-
|2011
|Criminal Minds
|Shelley Chamberlain
|Episode: "Hanley Waters"
|-
|2011
|'
|Beth Flint
|Episode: "Pretty Red Balloon"
|-
|2012–13
|Army Wives
|Jackie Clark
|Series regular (32 episodes)
|-
|2014–15
|NCIS
|Special Agent Maureen Cabot
|Episodes: "Alleged" and "Viral"
|-
|2014
|Ties That Bind
|Allison McLean
|Series regular (10 episodes)
|-
|2016
|The Fosters
|Justina Marks
|6 episodes
|-
|2016
|Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
|Melanie Harper
|Episode: "Making a Rapist"
|-
|2017
|Early Release
|Taylor Reynolds
|TV movie
|-
|2017
|A Song for Christmas
|Jennifer Flynn
|TV movie
|-
|2021
|Coyote
|Jill Kerr
|TV series
|-
|2023–25
|Found
|Margaret Reed
|TV series
|}
References
External links
- Kelli Williams at LieToMe.com