A native of Houston, Texas, JoBeth Williams pursued a career in acting after graduating from Brown University. Ms. Williams first achieved popularity on the TV series “Somerset” and then on the daytime drama “The Guiding Light.” Other notable TV roles include “Adam” (for which Ms. Williams received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress), “The Day After,” “My Name is Bill W.” and “From the Earth to the Moon.” For her portrayal of Marybeth Whitehead in “Baby M,” Ms. Williams earned both an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination. A guest appearance on the comedy series “Frasier” earned her a third Emmy nomination in 1995.

Ms. Williams has been equally successful as a feature film actress with roles in such films as Kramer vs. Kramer, The Big Chill, the enormously successful Poltergeist series, Wyatt Earp and Jungle 2 Jungle. In 1995, Ms. Williams was nominated for an Academy Award for her short film On Hope. Recently, Ms. Williams has been a recurring guest star on the new series “Miss Match.”