Kimberly Payne Williams-Paisley (née Williams; born September 14, 1971) is an American actress known for her co-starring roles on ''

According to Jim ''According to Jim'' is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children (and then five children, starting with the seventh season finale). It originally ran on ABC from October ...

'' and '' Nashville,'' as well as her breakthrough performance in '' Father of the Bride'' (1991), for which she was nominated for several awards, and its sequel, ''

Father of the Bride Part II ''Father of the Bride Part II'' is a 1995 American comedy film starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, and Martin Short. It is a sequel to '' Father of the Bride'' and a remake of the 1951 film '' Father's Little Dividend'', the sequel to the origi ...

'' (1995). Throughout her acting career, she has guest-starred on TV shows including '' Tales from the Crypt'', ''

George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American comedian and actor. He is known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican American culture. Lopez has rece ...

'' and ''

Less Than Perfect ''Less than Perfect'' is an American television sitcom created by Terri Minsky and starring Sara Rue and Sherri Shepherd which originally aired on ABC from October 1, 2002, to June 20, 2006. It follows Claude (Rue), who works at a television ne ...

''. She is also known for her roles in made-for-TV movies, including ''

Safe House A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger. It may also be a metaphor. Histori ...

'', '' The Christmas Shoes'', and '' Lucky 7'', and also her role as Laura Parker in ''Shade'', a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

that she also wrote and directed. Williams is married to country musician

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...

, with whom she has two sons; actress Ashley Williams is her sister.

Early life

Williams-Paisley was born in

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

, the daughter of Linda Barbara (née Payne), a fund-raiser, and Gurney Williams III, a health and science writer. She has a sister,

Ashley Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsc'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

, also an actress, and a brother, Jay. Williams has been in show business since the age of 13. In 1989 she directed the Rye High School Musical Revue. She left

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

during her sophomore year to appear in the 1991 film version of ''Father of the Bride'' but returned to complete her degree in drama. While there, she was a sister of the

Alpha Phi Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity (, also known as APhi) is an international sorority with 172 active chapters and over 250,000 initiated members. Founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York on September 18, 1872, it is the fo ...

sorority.

Career

Williams-Paisley's breakthrough role was Annie Banks in ''Father of the Bride'' (1991) and ''Father of the Bride Part II'' (1995), with

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

and

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (''née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Glo ...

. She later appeared in ''

Indian Summer An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or more s ...

'' (1993), '' Coldblooded'' (1995), '' The War at Home'' (1996), and in 1996 landed the lead role in the ABC drama series '' Relativity''. She won critical acclaim for her performance, but the series was canceled after 17 episodes due to low ratings. In 2000, Williams-Paisley starred as

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in the fantasy miniseries ''

The 10th Kingdom ''The 10th Kingdom'' is an American fairytale fantasy miniseries written by Simon Moore and produced by Britain's Carnival Films, Germany's Babelsberg Film und Fernsehen, and the US's Hallmark Entertainment. It depicts the adventures of a young ...

''. From 2001 to 2008, Williams-Paisley played the role of Dana in the ABC sitcom ''

'', opposite

Jim Belushi James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Jim on the sitcom ''According to Jim'' (2001–2009). His other television roles include ''Saturday Night Live'' (1983–1985), '' Total Security'' ...

and

Courtney Thorne-Smith Courtney Thorne-Smith (born November 8, 1967) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Alison Parker on ''Melrose Place'', Georgia Thomas on '' Ally McBeal'', Cheryl Mabel in ''According to Jim'' and her recurring role on ...

. She left the show after its seventh season, but she came back for the show's final episode in 2009. On stage, Williams-Paisley replaced

Arija Bareikis Arija Allison Bareikis is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Officer Chickie Brown in the TV crime drama '' Southland''. She is also known for the films '' Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo'' and ''The Purge''. Early life and educ ...

as Sunny in ''

The Last Night of Ballyhoo ''The Last Night of Ballyhoo'' is a play by Alfred Uhry that premiered in 1996 in Atlanta. The play is a comedy/drama, which is set in Atlanta, Georgia, in December 1939. Plot The play is set in the upper class German-Jewish community living in ...

'', written by

Alfred Uhry Alfred Fox Uhry (born December 3, 1936) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has received an Academy Award, two Tony Awards and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for dramatic writing for ''Driving Miss Daisy''. He is a member of the Fellowship ...

(of '' Driving Miss Daisy'' fame) sometime later in the play's February 1997 to June 1998 run. During the 2000s, she also starred in number of made for television movies, and also guest starred on ''

Less than Perfect ''Less than Perfect'' is an American television sitcom created by Terri Minsky and starring Sara Rue and Sherri Shepherd which originally aired on ABC from October 1, 2002, to June 20, 2006. It follows Claude (Rue), who works at a television ne ...

'', '' Boston Legal'', and ''

Royal Pains ''Royal Pains'' (stylized ℞oyalPains) is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on the USA Network from 2009 to 2016. The series was based in part on actual concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies. The ca ...

''. In film, she starred opposite

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

in 2006 drama '' We Are Marshall''. In 2012, Williams-Paisley began starring in the recurring role of Peggy Kenter in the ABC drama series '' Nashville''. In December 2015, Williams-Paisley starred in '' Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip''. Her mother, Linda, was diagnosed with

primary progressive aphasia Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a type of neurological syndrome in which language capabilities slowly and progressively become impaired. As with other types of aphasia, the symptoms that accompany PPA depend on what parts of the left hemisph ...

, which is a form of

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

. Williams-Paisley is the author of ''Where the Light Gets In'', published on April 5, 2016. The book tells the story of her mother's illness from her diagnosis up until her death. Her mother died in November 2016, seven months after the book was published.

Personal life

On March 15, 2003, Williams married country music singer

. In February 2007, she gave birth to their first child, a son named William Huckleberry Paisley, also known as "Huck," in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, where the family lives. Their second son, Jasper, was born in April 2009.

Filmography

Film

Television

As producer, writer, and/or director

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
Official website of the short film, ''Shade'', directed by Kimberly Williams-Paisley

Kimberly Williams-Paisley
on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams-Paisley, Kimberly 1971 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New York (state) American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American television directors Television producers from New York (state) American women television producers American women screenwriters Living people Northwestern University School of Communication alumni People from Rye, New York American women television directors Screenwriters from New York (state)