Jessica Renee Williams is an American actress and comedian. She has appeared as a senior correspondent on The Daily Show, as cohost of the podcast 2 Dope Queens, and as Lally Hicks in the Fantastic Beasts film series.
Jessica Williams | |
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Williams in 2016 | |
| Born | Jessica Renee Williams |
| Alma mater | California State University, Long Beach |
| Occupation | Actress, comedian |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Jessica Renee Williams was born in Los Angeles County, California. She attended Nathaniel Narbonne High School where she flourished in the school's drama department.[citation needed] She made her television debut as a series regular on the Nickelodeon series Just for Kicks in 2006,[1] and in 2012, she became The Daily Show's youngest correspondent ever.[2][3] She attended California State University, Long Beach.[4] Results of a DNA test traced Williams's maternal ancestry to the Bamileke people of Cameroon.[5]
Williams made her Daily Show debut on January 11, 2012.[6] Williams is a frequent performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles.[4] Williams also made appearances on Season 3 of HBO's Girls.[7] She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York[8] and Los Angeles, California.[9] She appears in the film People Places Things. She co-hosted the comedy podcast 2 Dope Queens with Phoebe Robinson. Williams appears in an HBO special spun off from the podcast in February, 2018.[10] She appeared on her last Daily Show episode on June 30, 2016.[11] She is the star of the 2017 Netflix comedy movie The Incredible Jessica James, in which she portrays a character whom the Guardian described as "a struggling Brooklyn-based playwright navigating the murky waters of modern romance while waiting impatiently for her big break."[12] She appeared in the sequels of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, titled Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore as Lally Hicks, a teacher from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[13]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Crying in Public | Coffee Shop Crier | Short film |
| 2013 | Delivery Man | Tanya | |
| 2015 | People Places Things | Kat | |
| Hot Tub Time Machine 2 | Herself | Cameo role | |
| Tap Shoes & Violins | Charlie | Short film | |
| 2017 | The Incredible Jessica James | Jessica James | Also executive producer |
| 2018 | Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald | Lally Hicks | |
| 2019 | Corporate Animals | Jess | |
| Booksmart | Miss Fine | ||
| 2020 | Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia | TBA | |
| 2022 | Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore | Lally Hicks | |
| Entergalactic (TV special) | Meadow Watson | Voice role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Just for Kicks | Vida Atwood | 13 episodes |
| 2012–2016 | The Daily Show | Herself (correspondent) | 141 episodes |
| 2014 | Girls | Karen | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | 2 Dope Queens | Herself | Episode: All |
| 2019 | The Twilight Zone | Rei Tanaka | Episode: "Six Degrees of Freedom" |
| 2021 | I Heart Arlo | Elena | Voice role |
| Love Life | Mia Hines | Main role | |
| TBA | Shrinking | Gaby | Main role, upcoming series |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–2018 | 2 Dope Queens | Herself (co-host) | Also co-creator, writer, executive producer |
| General | |
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| National libraries | |