# Kelli Williams

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

Kelli Williams was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actress Shannon Wilcox and plastic surgeon John Williams. Her parents divorced when she was 13. She has one brother and two half-brothers.
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, and graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1988. While attending school, she was active in the performing arts department. After starring opposite Steve Burton (who would go on to gain fame on General Hospital) in the school's production of Romeo and Juliet, she was signed by an agent.

## Career

Williams began her career on television in 1989, with a role in an episode of the CBS series Beauty and the Beast and as the first victim of the Hillside Stranglers in NBC's made-for-TV film The Case of the Hillside Stranglers.
Her first feature film appearances were in Zapped Again! (1990) and There Goes My Baby (1994) opposite ER star Noah Wyle. She also appeared in The Young Riders in 1991. Also in 1994, she played Jennifer Stolpa in the TV movie Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story. She guest starred on the Fox teen drama Party of Five in its first season in 1994 as Annie Alcott. She guest-starred in the 1992 Law & Order episode "Sisters Of Mercy" as a meth addict who accuses a nun of sexually abusing her.
Beginning with episode 11, "Moon Cross" (aired on February 5, 1995), of the science-fiction series Earth 2, Williams appeared in a multiple episode story arc in the role of Mary, a human orphan raised on another planet by the indigenous alien species known as the Terrians.
In 1997, she took her most prominent role as Lindsay Dole Donnell on the ABC legal drama The Practice. She appeared in the series The Lyon's Den and Hack, as well as two episodes of Scrubs. Williams appeared as Dr. Natalie Durant on the NBC television show Medical Investigation which began in the fall of 2004 and ran for 20 episodes before being canceled. Also in 2004, she starred in the TV movie A Boyfriend for Christmas.
In 2000, Williams starred in the TV movie Flowers for Algernon, based on the novel/short story by Daniel Keyes.
In May 2007, she portrayed Holly Lauren/Kathleen Shaw in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent sixth-season finale episode, "Renewal," as a friendly neighbor of Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth); her character died toward the end of the episode. In August 2008, Williams was cast in a lead role as psychologist Dr. Gillian Foster in the Fox series Lie to Me, opposite Tim Roth as Dr. Cal Lightman, which ran for three seasons and ended in 2011.
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 speaks French and Spanish, and has volunteered with the Young Storytellers Program.
She has been in a relationship with performance artist, choreographer, and director Lynsey Peisinger since 2023.

## Filmography
### Director

| Year | Title | 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" |
| 2019 | Good Trouble | "Willful Blindness" |
| 2019 | The Resident | 2 episodes: "Snowed In" & "Woman Down" |
| 2019 | 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" |
| 2022 | All American: Homecoming | "Under Pressure" |
| 2022 | Walker | "Champagne Problems" |
| 2022 | Big Sky | "The Woods Are Lovely, Dark and Deep" |
| 2025 | Found | "Missing While Grieving" |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | 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

| Year | Title | Role | 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 | The Young Riders | Emily Metcalfe | Episode: "The Presence of Mine Enemies" |
| 1992 | A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story | Kate Broderick | TV movie |
| 1992 | Law & Order | Maggie | Episode: "Sisters of Mercy" |
| 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 | The Practice | Lindsay Dole | 145 episodes Nominated: Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (1999) 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 | The Lyon's Den | Attorney Monica Crane | 3 episodes |
| 2003 | Hack | Charlotte Weston | Episode: "My Fare Lady" |
| 2004 | A Boyfriend for Christmas | 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 | The One That Got Away | Joanna | TV movie |
| 2009–11 | Lie to Me | Dr. Gillian Foster | 48 episodes |
| 2011 | Criminal Minds | Shelley Chamberlain | Episode: "Hanley Waters" |
| 2011 | The Mentalist | 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–present | Found | Margaret Reed | TV series |