JoBeth Williams

Biography: The daughter of an opera singer, Williams went to Brown University with the hopes of becoming a child psychologist but decided to pursue an acting career instead. After landing a starring role on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light, the stage-trained actress made an unforgettable film debut in the buff in the 1979 drama Kramer vs. Kramer. Bigger parts in other movies followed, notably as a mother in the supernatural chiller Poltergeist and as a thirty-something reuniting at a funeral with college friends in The Big Chill. She later appeared in myriad series and TV-movies, earning multiple Emmy nods in the process. Williams also branched out into directing and garnered an Oscar nod for her 1994 short film On Hope. She continues her prolific output with a host of guest spots on popular shows such as Law & Order: SVU, Dexter and Private Practice.