Tonya Lee Williams
Tonya Lee Williams (born
Tonya Maxine Williams on
July 12,
1967 in
London) is a
black Canadian actress, best known for her role as Dr. Olivia Barber Hastings Winters on the
American soap opera The Young and the Restless. She no longer appears on the show although her character is still spoken about as if she is still around.
Williams and her family lived in London and
Kingston, Jamaica while she was a young child. At age 5, she contracted
rheumatic fever; she and her mother went to live in
Birmingham,
United Kingdom. In
1969, she and her family settled in
Oshawa, Ontario. 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.
Her television debut was as a host of the
Canadian children's show
Polka Dot Door after graduating from
Ryerson University. 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. She has acted on the series without interruption since
1990. Williams won the
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in
2000.
She also appeared on
A Very Brady Christmas as Cindy's roommate.
In
March 2004, she hosted the special event programming
Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee, on the
CBC. She is an honorary member of
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
Williams was married to Robert Simpson from
1983 to
1991. She has never remarried.
*
Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee, from cbc.ca*
Tonya Lee Williams at the
Internet Movie Database
