The Practice

Background:

American actress of film and television Kelli Williams, daughter of actress Shannon Wilcox, is best known to television audience as junior partner Lindsay Dole on the ABC legal drama “The Practice” (1997-2003). During her six-year tenure on the critically acclaimed series created by David E. Kelley, the Californian native performer received several award-nominations, including three Screen Actors Guild nominations and a Golden Satellite nomination. She also has had regular or recurring roles in such shows as “Day by Day” (1989), “Elvis” (1990), “New York News” (1995), “Scrubs” (2002), “The Lyon's Den” (2003), “Medical Investigation” (2004-2005) and more recently, “Men in Trees” (2007), as well as starred in a number of TV films, including “Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story” (1994), “Sweetwater” (1999), “Flowers for Algernon” (2000) and “A Boyfriend for Christmas” (2004). On the big screen, Williams has played a variety of roles in such vehicles as Richard Gere's “Mr. Jones” (1993), “There Goes My Baby” (1994) and “Wavelength/E=mc2” (1996).

The brunette beauty speaks Spanish and French, in addition to English. She has volunteered as an actress with Young Storytellers Program. Williams has been married to writer/director Ajay Sahgal since 1996. Together, they have three children, two sons and a daughter.

Californian Girl

Childhood and Family:

Kelli Renee Williams was born on June 8, 1970, in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actress Shannon Wilcox and her plastic surgeon husband. Kelli's parents divorced in 1983, when she was 13 years old. She has a brother and two half-brothers. Kelli graduated from the prestigious Beverly Hills High School in 1988, where she actively participated in the school's performing arts department and starred in the production of Romeo and Juliet.”

Kelli married author Ajay Sahgal in 1996. The couple welcomed their first child, son Kiran Sahgal, on April 26, 1998. Three years later, Kelli gave birth to her second child, a girl named Sarame Jane Sahgal, on February 3, 2001. Their third child and second son, Ravi Lyndon Sahgal, was born on July 11, 2003.

Medical Investigation

Career:

Daughter of an actress, Kelli Williams followed in the footstep of her mother to become a professional performer at age 19, when she landed a recurring role on three episodes of the NBC sitcom “Day by Day,” playing Christopher Daniel Barnes' girlfriend. Later that same year, she made her TV film debut in the same network's crime/thriller movie, “The Case of the Hillside Strangler,” based on a book by Darcy O'Brien. She also was featured on the drama made-for-TV film “Out on the Edge” (1989).

In 1990, Williams found herself landing another recurring role as a girlfriend, this time as the King's high school sweetheart, Mattie Walker, on the ABC drama series “Elvis,” starring Michael St. Gerard in the title role. Two months later, she moved on to feature film with a co-starring role opposite Todd Eric Andrews on the teen sex comedy “Zapped Again,” but the project straightly went to video release. She went on to star as a teenager dealing with her breakup with an insulting boyfriend in the CBS TV-movie “But He Loved Me” (1991).

From 1992 to 1993, Williams was spotted on the Los Angeles stage performing along side George C Scott and Tony Danza in the comedy “Wrong Turn at Lungfis.” In the meantime, she kept on busy working on the small screen, including playing daughter Kate Broderick in “A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story” and its installment, “Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick The Last Chapter” (both 1992). In 1993, she made her next big screen attempt by taking on a cameo role on Mike Figgis' “Mr. Jones,” a drama/romance starring Richard Gere as a manic depressive.

Williams next supported Dermot Mulroney and Rick Schroder in the film “There Goes My Baby,” playing a flower child, and starred with Neil Patrick Harris in the based-on-true-story TV drama “Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story” (both 1994). She also appear in episodes of “Party of Five” (1994) and “Earth 2” (1995) before debuting as a series regular on the brief-stint show “New York News” (CBS, 1995). There, she portrayed a compulsive intern at a tabloid newspaper. Williams returned to features in the following year when she was cast as Jeremy Piven's wife on the independent film “Wavelength/E=mc2.” Still in 1996, she could be seen making two TV films, “Voice from the Grave” and “Mary & Tim,” and appeared in an episode of “Picket Fences.”

Eventually, Williams experienced a big breakthrough when she won the role of Lindsay Dole on the David E. Kelley-created legal drama “The Practice.” As the newly-minted lawyer, the engaging actress brought a tough sense of naiveté tempered with the proper impudence and successfully collected five nominations, including a 2000 Golden Satellite nomination for est Performance by an Actress in a Series, Drama and three consevutive SAG nominations in the category of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series from 1999 to 2001. She left the award-winning series in the seventh season in 2003.

Meanwhile, Williams remained active pursuing other projects. She recreated her role of Lindsay Dole in an episode of “Ally McBeal” (1998), acted along side husband Ajay Sahgal on the 24-minute short “Kismet” (1999) and starred with Amy Jo Johnson on the VH1 film “Sweetwater” (1999). She teamed up with Carlos Jacott and Robert Forster for the 2000 short “It's a Shame About Ray,” which was helmed and written by her husband, co-starred with Mathew Modine on the ABC film “Flowers for Algernon” (2000) and had a recurring role as Kristen Murphy on two episodes of “Scrubs” (2002).

After her departure from the ABC series, Williams appeared in an episode of “Hack” and portrayed Attorney Monica Crane on three episodes of “The Lyon's Den” (both 2003). The following year, she starred as Holly Grant on the TV film “A Boyfriend for Christmas” (2004), which also featured her mother, and joined the cast of the NBC drama “Medical Investigation” in the regular role of Dr. Natalie Durant. Debuted on September 9, 2004, the series ran for 20 episodes before being axed. In 2005, her character was featured on an episode of the TV series “Third Witch.”

Williams acted in the pilot of the Spanish-language comedy series “Women in Law” in 2006, playing Pamela. She then appeared opposite Adam Arkin in the made-for-TV film “Murder on Pleasant Drive” (also 2006). More recently, in 2007, she played Holly Lauren on an episode of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and Julia in two episodes of “Men in Trees.”

Awards:
---