JoBeth Williams

ActorDirectorProduction Dec 6 (age 77) Houston, Texas, USA 1951–2026 (75 year career)

6.3 avg rating

Biography

Margaret JoBeth Williams (born December 6, 1948) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Emmy nominated American film and television actress and director, and current President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. Williams rose to prominence appearing in such films as Stir Crazy (1980), Poltergeist (1982), The Big Chill (1983), The Day After (1983), Teachers (1984), and Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986). A three-time Emmy Award nominee, she was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a …

Known For

Film

Kramer vs. Kramer

Phyllis Bernard

Film

Poltergeist

Diane Freeling

Film

Wyatt Earp

Bessie Earp

Film

The Big Chill

Karen Bowens

Film

The Day After

Nurse Nancy Bauer

Film

Fever Pitch

Maureen Meeks

Film

The Big Year

Edith

Film

Stir Crazy

Meredith

Filmography

Acting (118)

Movies (77)

She Was Here

2026

as Self

Not Without Hope

2025

as Marcia

6.2

SEGAL

2025

as Self

Cash for Gold

as Boots

Chantilly Bridge

as Natalie

1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever!

2022

as Self

7.5

What the Night Can Do

as Bettye Sue Dryer

SGT. Will Gardner

as Sherry

Alex & the List

as Mrs. Stern

Barracuda

as Patricia

The Last Film Festival

as Mayor

Within

as Rosemary Fletcher

In My Dreams

as Charlotte Smith

The Big Year

as Edith

Love's Christmas Journey

as Beatrice

Uncorked

as Sophia Browning

TiMER

as Marion

Sybil

as Hattie Dorsett

In the Land of Women

as Agnes Webb

Fever Pitch

as Maureen Meeks

Crazylove

as Mrs. Mayer

Into the Fire

as June Sickles

14 Hours

as Jeanette Makins

The Curse of Poltergeist

2002

Repossessed

2002

8.0

Searching for Debra Winger

as Self

The Rose Technique

as Dr. Lillian Rose

The Ponder Heart

as Edna Earle Ponder

Trapped in a Purple Haze

as Sophie Hanson

It Came from the Sky

as Alice Bridges

Justice

as Jane Newhart

Jackie's Back!

as Jo Face (Jackie's Vocal Coach)

6.5

The Big Chill: A Reunion

1999

as Self

4.5

A Chance of Snow

1998

as Madeline 'Maddie' Parker

Just Write

as Sidney Stone

Jungle 2 Jungle

as Dr. Patricia Cromwell

5.3

When Danger Follows You Home

1997

as Anne Werden

1.0

After the SIlence

1996

as Pam Willis (as Jobeth Williams)

Ruby Jean and Joe

as Rose

A Season of Hope

as Elizabeth Hackett

Wyatt Earp

as Bessie Earp

Parallel Lives

as Winnie Winslow

Voices from Within

as Nancy Parkhurst

Sex, Love and Cold Hard Cash

as Sarah Gallagher

Chantilly Lace

as Natalie

Final Appeal

as Christine Biondi

Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot

1992

as Lt. Gwen Harper

5.3

Jonathan: The Boy Nobody Wanted

1992

as Ginny Moore

Me, Myself and I

1992

as Crazy / Sane Diane

5.7

Commercial Entertainment Product

as Diane Freeling

Dutch

as Natalie Standish

Switch

as Margo Brofman

Victim of Love

as Tess Harper

Child in the Night

as Dr. Hollis

Timeless Tales: The Elves and the Shoemaker

1990

as Bettina (voice)

Welcome Home

as Sarah

My Name Is Bill W.

as Lois Wilson

Memories of Me

as Lisa

Murder Ordained

as Lorna Anderson

Poltergeist II: The Other Side

as Diane Freeling

Desert Bloom

as Lily Chismore

Adam: His Song Continues

as Reve Walsh

Kids Don't Tell

as Claudia Ryan

American Dreamer

as Cathy Palmer

Teachers

as Lisa Hammond

The Big Chill

as Karen Bowens

The Day After

as Nurse Nancy Bauer

Adam

as Reve Walsh

Poltergeist

as Diane Freeling

Endangered Species

as Harriet Purdue

Joe Dancer: The Big Black Pill

as Tiffany Farinpour

Stir Crazy

as Meredith

The Dogs of War

as Jessie

Fun and Games

as Laura Weston

Kramer vs. Kramer

as Phyllis Bernard

The World Beyond

as Marian Faber

Feasting with Panthers

1974

as Constance Wilde

Television (41)

Josh Gates Tonight

as Self

Station 19

as Reggie

A Million Little Things

as Lana Strobe

The Good Doctor

as Ruth

Heartbeat

as Isobel Dixon

Your Family or Mine

as Ricky

Extant

as Leigh Kern

Marry Me

as Myrna

Scandal

as Sandra Harding

Perception

as Margaret Pierce

Hart of Dixie

as Candice Hart

Against the Wall

as Emily

Rizzoli & Isles

as Tilly Dunn

Law & Order: LA

as Mrs. Walker

Childrens Hospital

as Linda

Private Practice

as Bizzy Forbes

Dexter

as Gail Brandon

The Nine

Twenty Good Years

as Kate

Criminal Minds

as Professor Ursula Kent

Numb3rs

as Margaret Eppes

NCIS

as Leona Phelps

Las Vegas

as Liz

Miss Match

as Lianne Fox

as Miriam Henderson

The Guardian

as Sarah

Strong Medicine

as Margie

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

as Mrs. Rawley

Judging Amy

as Gemma Lawnsdale

Payne

as Constance Payne

From the Earth to the Moon

1998

as Marge Slayton

8.1

E! True Hollywood Story

The Client

as Reggie Love

Frasier

as Danielle (voice)

Batman: The Animated Series

1992

as May and June (voice)

Fish Police

Baby M

as Marybeth Whitehead

Murder Ordained

as Lorna Anderson

The White Shadow

as Paula Harris

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962

as Self

7.4

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

as Lois Wilson

8.6

Crew (4)

Movies (3)

Frankie & Hazel

Director

On Hope

Director

Bump in the Night

Co-Executive Producer

5.8

Television (1)

Night Visions

2001

Director

7.2