Megan Mingyu Williams (11 September 195617 April 2000) was an Australian actress and singer, who played a continuing role as Alice Sullivan in the television drama ''

The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...

'', and won a

Logie Award The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...

for her work in ''

Anzacs ANZAC, ''Anzacs'' (named for members of the all volunteer army formations) is a 1985 Australian five-part television miniseries set in World War I. The series follows the lives of a group of young Australian men who enlist in the 8th Battalion ( ...

'' (1985).

Early years

Williams was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, to David and Chin Yu Williams who appeared in a West End production of ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

''. Her mother was described as " half-Chinese". At six months old, Williams had a minor TV role as an abandoned baby on ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...

''. Williams' family moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, where she pursued an acting career.

Career

Actor

Williams' first major role was as an ongoing lead, Ann Watson, in the daily

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Class of '74 ''Class of '74'' (and subsequently ''Class of '75'') was a soap opera that screened on the Seven Network in Australia and produced by Reg Grundy Organisation, with Peter Maxwell as EP and sometime director, the series was created by John Edward ...

'' (1974). The long running role of Alice Watkins Sullivan in ''

'' (1978-1982) followed. A guest role as Carol Canning in ''The Outsiders'' (1976) episode 10 "Charlie Cole Esq." (broadcast 1977) had her appearing in a bikini. After ''The Sullivans'' ended she continued to act on Australian television, with a guest role in

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

drama-musical series ''

Sweet and Sour Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine, and cooking methods. It is commonly used in East Asia and Southeast Asia and has been used in English cuisine, England since the Middle Ages.Clarissa Dickson WDickson ...

'' (1984), a

winning role as Kate Baker in the miniseries ''

'' (1985), and an ongoing role of Cassie Jones in '' Return to Eden'' (1986). In the late 1980s she worked in the UK, appearing in one episode of British soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' (1989). Williams had a minor role in the movie ''Nightmare Man'' (1999). Williams appeared in an Australian production of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'' as Grizzabella. She appeared in the Australian comedy series ''All Together Now'', which starred

Jon English Jonathan James English (26 March 1949 – 9 March 2016) was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He emigrated from England to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for S ...

, as an electrician called Julie in the episode titled "I've Got to Be Me" (Season 3 - Episode 3). FILM TELEVISION

Singer

Megan Williams appeared in the Film Clip of "The Queen and Me" with

Mondo Rock Mondo Rock are an Australian rock band, formed in November 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria. Singer-songwriter Ross Wilson (musician), Ross Wilson founded the band, following the split of his previous band Daddy Cool (band), Daddy Cool. Guitarist Er ...

(1982). Williams provided backing vocals for " Flame Trees" on Cold Chisel's ''

Twentieth Century The 20th century began on 1 January 1901 (MCMI), and ended on 31 December 2000 (MM). It was the 10th and last century in the 2nd millennium and was marked by new models of scientific understanding, unprecedented scopes of warfare, new modes of ...

'' (1984). John Prior (drummer with

Matt Finish Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed in mid-1979 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Moffitt (1956–2003) and drummer, composer and producer John Prior. The 1981 line-up of Moffitt, Prior, Richard Grossman on bass guitar and ...

) wrote songs for Williams in the mid-1980s.

Pilates teacher

Williams was instrumental in bringing Pilates to Australia, as she was doing exercise/rehab for Sydney Dance Company and others. She was one of the founders of The Australian Pilates Method Association.The Australian Pilates Method Association: Our History
/ref>

Personal life

Williams was in a '' de facto'' relationship with Cold Chisel singer-guitarist

Ian Moss Ian Richard Moss (born 20 March 1955) is an Australian rock musician from Alice Springs. He is the founding mainstay guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel. In that group's initial eleven year phase from 1973 to 1984, Moss was recorded ...

for 11 years, before they separated in the 1990s. Williams had an operation for

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

in 1997; however, the disease was diagnosed again in December 1999. She died at

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

Sacred Heart Hospice,

, on 17 April 2000, aged 43.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Megan 1956 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Australian actresses 20th-century Australian women singers British emigrants to Australia Australian people of British descent Australian people of Chinese descent Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Australian stage actresses Australian television actresses Deaths from breast cancer in Australia Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Logie Award winners