Tonya Lee Williams

Infobox actor
name = Tonya Lee Williams


caption = Williams as Olivia Barber Winters
birthdate = July 12th, 1958 (age 50)
location = London, England
notable role = Olivia Barber Winters on "The Young and the Restless"
naacpimageawards = NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
2000, 2002"
The Young and the Restless"

Tonya Lee Williams (born Tonya Maxine Williams on July 12, 1958 in London) is a black Canadian actress, best known for her role as Dr. Olivia Barber Winters on the American soap opera "The Young and the Restless", from 1990 to 2005, and for a brief time in 2007. Williams returned to the series in the fall of 2008.

Williams and her family lived in London and Kingston, Jamaica while she was a young child. At age 5, she contracted rheumatic fever; she and her mother went to live in Birmingham, England. In 1969, she and her family settled in Oshawa, Ontario. 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.

Her television debut was as a host of the Canadian children's show "Polka Dot Door" after graduating from Ryerson University 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..

She also appeared on "A Very Brady Christmas" as Cindy's roommate.

In March 2004, she hosted the special event programming "Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee", on the CBC. She is an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

Williams is also the founder and president of the [http://www.reelworld.ca] ReelWorld Film Festival, an annual film festival in Toronto that features talent from diverse visible communities.

Williams was married to Robert Simpson from 1983 to 1991. She has never remarried.

External links

* [http://www.cbc.ca/gospeljubilee/ Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee, from cbc.ca]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931845/ Tonya Lee Williams] at the Internet Movie Database