Zelda Williams
{{Short description|American actress and director (born 1989)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Zelda Williams
| image = Zelda_Williams_Outkast_Red_Carpet_(22702108417)_(cropped).jpg
| caption = Williams in 2015
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1989|7|31}}
|birth_name = Zelda Rae Williams
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| occupation = {{Hlist|Actress|director|producer|writer}}
| years_active = 1994–present
| father = Robin Williams
| mother = Marsha Garces Williams
}}
Zelda Rae Williams (born July 31, 1989){{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/zeldawilliams/status/491345980801830913|title=So Jackson Heywood...|publisher=Zelda Williams verified Twitter page|date=July 21, 2014|access-date= September 2, 2014|quote=I turn 25 on the 31st.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217223917/https://twitter.com/zeldawilliams/status/491345980801830913|archive-date=2014-12-17}} is an American actress and director. She is the daughter of actor Robin Williams and film producer Marsha Garces Williams. As a voice actress, she is best known for voicing Kuvira in the Nickelodeon series The Legend of Korra.
Early life
Williams was born in New York City to Robin and Marsha Garces Williams. Her father stated that he named her after Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda video game series. Her mother is of Filipino and Finnish descent. Zelda, the older of Williams' children by his second wife, has a younger brother and an older half-brother.
Career
Williams made her acting debut at age five. At 15, she acted in the 2004 film House of D opposite her father and actor Anton Yelchin as the latter's young first love, Melissa Loggia.
In June 2011, Zelda and Robin Williams were featured in a television commercial for the Nintendo 3DS game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. On October 25, 2011, she was the special guest host at the London Zelda Symphony Concert at the Hammersmith Apollo, marking the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda franchise.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UZrUY19O2o |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/1UZrUY19O2o |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Zelda Williams "Hyrule!" Zelda's 25th Anniversary Symphony London|date=2011-10-26|website=YouTube|last=Laith|first=Waquel}}{{cbignore}} On November 17, 2011, subscribers to Nintendo emails received an email of her and her father playing The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii console.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDY3UJWiAcw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/JDY3UJWiAcw |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword: Robin & Zelda Williams commercial|website=via YouTube}}{{cbignore}} She appears in an interview with Nintendo representatives in which she says that one of her favorite things to do in her free time is play Super Smash Bros. Melee with her friends, always playing as the character Sheik.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHVdKxhD6UA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/aHVdKxhD6UA |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=[E3 2011] Zelda Williams at the Nintendo Booth|website=via YouTube|date=June 12, 2011 }}{{cbignore}}
She appeared in People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People issue for 2007. She appears in the Wynter Gordon music video for "Buy My Love"{{Citation|title=Wynter Gordon - Buy My Love [Official Video] {{!}}{{!}}{{!}} AVAILABLE NOW ON NEON {{!}}{{!}}{{!}}| date=September 12, 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGBdlqLl1BU|language=en|access-date=2021-07-29}} and has a cameo in the Cobra Starship music video "You Make Me Feel", alongside her father.
In 2018, Williams wrote and directed the short film Shrimp, which she also starred in alongside Conor Leslie, Paulina Singer, Frances Fisher, and Jake Abel. The film depicts the lives of dominatrices in a Los Angeles BDSM den. Williams later entered into a deal with Gunpowder & Sky to develop the short film into a half-hour series.{{cite web|title=Zelda Williams 'Shrimp' Short About BDSM Scene to Become Half-Hour Series With Gunpowder & Sky|url=https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/zelda-williams-shrimp-series-gunpowder-sky-1203023791/ |website=Variety|first=Todd |last=Spangler |date=November 9, 2018 |access-date=June 27, 2019}}
She directed the 2024 film Lisa Frankenstein, her feature-length debut.{{cite web
| url =https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/female-filmmakers-to-watch-2023/netflix-fysee-hosts-varietys-storytellers-event/
| title =28 Rising Female Filmmakers to Watch in 2023
| last =Bergenson
| first =Samantha
| date =2023-03-08
| publisher = Indie Wire
| access-date =2024-04-16}}
Personal life
Williams has described herself as an avid athlete{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} and video game player, and a fan of her namesake The Legend of Zelda series. She has stated that The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is her favorite game and voiced support of its release on the Nintendo 3DS by supporting the fan campaign Operation Moonfall.{{cite tweet|last=Williams|first=Zelda|user=zeldawilliams|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130012040/https://twitter.com/zeldawilliams/status/105126254738554880|number=105126254738554880|date=August 20, 2011|archive-date=November 30, 2017|title=So wanted to tweet one out to the @opmoonfall folks. Majora's Mask is my favorite Zelda game, I'd love a 3D version! #FightOnGuys}}
From 2013 until 2016, Williams dated actor Jackson Heywood.{{cite AV media|url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=Bgj8dQzFow4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/Bgj8dQzFow4 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Zelda Williams Live Chat - TORN Tuesdays|date=March 26, 2014|access-date=April 7, 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} She is openly bisexual.{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2016/07/13/dead-summer-zelda-williams-transgender-drew/|title=Zelda Williams on 'Dead of Summer,' transgender character, her father, Robin Williams|date=July 13, 2016|magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}
Acting credits
=Film=
=Television=
=Music videos=
class="wikitable" |
Year
! Title ! Artist ! Role ! {{Abbr|Ref.|References}} |
---|
2011
| |
2013
|"I Believed In God" |Woman |
2014
| "Imagine" {{small|(UNICEF: World version)}} | Various | Herself | style="text-align: center;"| {{cite web|last=Rowles|first=Dustin|date=2014-11-21|title='Imagine' Gets the Star-Studded 'We Are The World' Treatment for UNICEF|url=https://www.pajiba.com/videos/imagine-gets-the-starstudded-we-are-the-world-treatment-for-unicef.php|access-date=2021-05-24|website=Pajiba}} |
=Video games=
class="wikitable sortable" | |||
Year
! Title ! Voice role ! Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|
2016 | King's Quest - Chapter III: Once Upon A Climb | Amaya Blackstone | {{Cite web|last=Saed|first=Sherif|date=2015-05-11|title=King's Quest cast includes Back to the Future's Christopher Lloyd, Zelda Williams - watch|url=https://www.vg247.com/2015/05/11/new-kings-quest-voice-cast-reveal-trailer/|access-date=2021-07-23|website=VG247|language=en-US}} |
2022
|Emma |
Filmmaking credits
=Film=
class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;" |
scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Director ! scope="col" | Writer ! scope="col" | Producer ! scope="col" class=unsortable | Notes |
---|
scope="row" | 2018
| Shrimp | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |Also actor |
scope="row" | 2020
| Kappa Kappa Die | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | |
scope="row" | 2024
| {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | |
=Music videos=
class="wikitable" |
Year
! Title ! Artist ! Role ! {{Abbr|Ref.|References}} |
---|
2016
|"Save My Soul" |JoJo | rowspan="6" |Director |
2018
|"Invisible" | rowspan="3" |Anna Clendening |
rowspan="2" |2019
|"Dead End" |
"Bend & Break" |
rowspan="2" |2020
|"Lonely Hearts" | rowspan="2" |JoJo |
"Think About You" |
References
{{reflist|refs=
{{cite news |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20062104,00.html |title=Generation Next: Look Who's Stepping Out of Hollywood's Spectacular Gene Pool |work=People |date=May 7, 2007 |volume=67 |issue=18 |page=164 |location=New York City |access-date=August 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812211539/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20062104,00.html |archive-date=August 12, 2014}}
{{cite web | url = https://www.scotsman.com/news/profile-robin-williams-actor-and-comedian-2508508 | title = Profile: Robin Williams, actor and comedian | date = September 25, 2010 | access-date = January 3, 2022 | website = The Scotsman | publisher = Johnston Publishing Ltd. | location = Edinburgh }}
}}
External links
{{commons category|Zelda Williams}}
- {{IMDb name|0931958}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Zelda}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people
Category:Actresses from Los Angeles
Category:Actresses from New York City
Category:Actresses from San Francisco
Category:American actresses of Filipino descent
Category:American bisexual actresses
Category:American child actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:American LGBTQ people of Asian descent
Category:American people of Finnish descent
Category:American television actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:LGBTQ people from New York (state)