Tonya Williams

She is the founder and executive director of Reelworld Film Festival.

Tonya Williams studied at Toronto Metropolitan University. The recorded working language is Canadian English. Distinctions recorded are NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series, Black Theatre Workshop, 12th Canadian Screen Awards and Officer of the Order of Canada.

• Other Names — Tonya Lee Williams • Birth Name — Tonya Maxine Williams • Born — 12 July 1958 • Birthplace — London, England • Education — Ryerson University • Occupation — Actress, producer, director, activist • Years Active — 1977–present • Awards — * Daytime Emmy Award • NAACP Image Award • ACTRA • Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award • Honours — Order of Canada

Williams was born in London, England to Jamaican parents. She lived in London and Kingston, Jamaica as a young child. At age five, she contracted rheumatic fever; she and her mother then moved to Birmingham. In 1969 she and her family settled in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. As a teenager she modeled in Eaton's catalogues and danced on a television series called Boogie! which ran on Citytv. In 1977 Williams was crowned Miss Black Ontario. She was a student in 1977 and wanted to be a lawyer. Williams was married to Robert Simpson from 1983 to 1991.

Williams' television debut was as a host of the Canadian children's show Polka Dot Door, from 1980 to 1983, after graduating from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in 1979. Appearances on the television series Check it Out! and Generations followed. Her involvement on Generations snagged her a role on The Young and the Restless, and has become her most lucrative role. Williams won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in 2000 and 2002. Williams appeared on A Very Brady Christmas as Cindy's roommate. In March 2004, Williams hosted the special event program Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee on CBC Television. She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority. Williams is the founder, executive and artistic director of the Reelworld Film Festival, an annual film festival in Toronto that features talent from ethnically diverse communities. In 2024, she was named as the recipient of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television's Changemaker Award at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards, for her work with Reelworld. In January 2025, Williams was named as the recipient of the Toronto Film Critics Association's Company 3 TFCA Luminary Award, in honour of her work with Reelworld and her other efforts to advocate on behalf of people of colour in the Canadian film industry. She selected film and television producer Leena Minifie as the recipient of the award's "pay it forward" grant. In 2026 she was named a recipient of the Governor General's Performing Arts Award.

Tonya Williams film and television acting credits • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1980–1983 — Polka Dot Door — Host • 1984 — Seeing Things — Episode: "Second Sight" • 1985 — Check it Out! — Jennifer Woods — 22 episodes • 1986 — As Is — TV Commentator — TV movie • 1987 — What's Happening Now!! — Michelle — Episode: "The New Employee" • data-sort-value="Liberators, The" | The Liberators — Jenny — On Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color • Street Legal — Belinda / Reporter — 2 episodes • Gimme a Break! — Judy Mitchell — Episode: "Parents' Week: Part 1" • Hill Street Blues — Shirley — Episode: "It Ain't Over Till It's Over" • Falcon Crest — Chase's Secretary / Lois — 3 episodes • Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future — Chelsea Chandler — Episode: "And Study War No More" • 1988 — data-sort-value="Very Brady Christmas, A" | A Very Brady Christmas — Belinda — TV movie • 1989–1990 — Generations — Linda Dukes — unknown episodes • 1989 — Matlock — Dana Williams — Episode: "The Starlet" • Nasty Boys — unknown — Nasty Boys (pilot) • data-sort-value="Peaceable Kingdom, A" | A Peaceable Kingdom — Colleen — 3 episodes • 1990–2005 — data-sort-value="Young and the Restless, The" | The Young and the Restless — Olivia Winters — May 1990–September 7, 2005 • 1990 — Spaced Invaders — Ernestine • Piece of Cake — Tanya — TV movie • 1991 — data-sort-value="Borrower, The" | The Borrower — Desk Nurse • 1993 — Counterstrike — Denise — Episode: "The Contender" • Getting By — Janet — Episode: "Shop till You Drop" • 1994 — Silk Stalkings — Loretta Cole — Episode: "The Last Campaign" • 1998 — PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal — Carole Sanderson — Episode: "Bad Dreams" • 2000 — Seventeen Again — Monique Donovan • 2004 — Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee — Host — TV special • 2005 — data-sort-value="Perfect Note, A" | A Perfect Note — Jasmine — TV movie • 2007 — Poor Boy's Game — Ruth Carvery • Finding Father's Toe — Carole — Short film • 2007–2012 — data-sort-value="Young and the Restless, The" | The Young and the Restless — Olivia Winters — April 12–13, 2007, and October 23, 2008 – February 15, 2012 • 2009–2010 — data-sort-value="Border, The" | The Border — Octavia Jones — 5 episodes • 2010 — My Name is Khan — News Anchor • 2011 — She's the Mayor — Maxine Williams — 13 episodes • data-sort-value="Bold and the Beautiful, The" | The Bold and the Beautiful — Olivia Winters — Guest: 2 episodes (February 1–2, 2011) • 2012 — Cybergeddon — Donna Berg — 2 episodes