Actor – Festival Founder
Through her remarkable career, two time Emmy Nominated Tonya Lee Williams has established herself as an internationally recognized actor. She’s best known for her starring role as “Dr. Olivia Winters” on the popular daytime drama The Young and the Restless which has garnered her with two NAACP Image Awards. She has also been honoured with many other awards including; the prestigious Harry Jerome Award in 2004; the 2005 ACTRA Award of Excellence one of the highest achievements for Actors in Canada; the 2007 African Canadian Achievement Award; and her most recent award, when the city of Oshawa, where she attended high-school, immortalized her with their Oshawa ‘Walk of Fame’ Award.
Born in London, England to Jamaican Parents, Tonya moved to Jamaica when she was only one year old. At the age of five her parents divorce, and she and her Mother returned to the UK, where she started studying ballet and piano. At the age of twelve she and her Mother moved to Canada, where after high-school she attended Toronto’s Ryerson University Drama program. During the program Tonya worked non-stop in film and television. She eventually left the four year program to focus on her work full-time as an actor and has never looked back. In 1987 Tonya made the leap of faith by moving to Los Angeles. She quickly landed guest appearances on popular shows like Hill Street Blues, Matlock, Falcon Crest, What’s Happening Now, Gimme A Break, Generations, A Very Brady Christmas and others before landing Y&R in 1990, a show that would change her life forever.
In April 2001 Tonya revolutionized the Canadian entertainment industry by founding ReelWorld Film Festival (www.reelworld.ca). Now in its 10th year and based in Toronto Canada, ReelWorld’s mandate is to create opportunities for artists of colour particularly from the Aboriginal, Asian, Black, Latino, Middle Eastern, South Asian and multi-racial communities. ReelWorld has grown into a major film festival, not only on the national scene but also internationally – with support from individuals like Robert Townsend, Shabana Azmi, Eriq LaSalle, Sandra Oh, Adam Beach and many others. The five-day event showcases features, documentaries, animation, shorts, music videos, industry panels, awards, parties, galas attended by celebrities and film-lovers. Tonya believes that “through film and television we have the greatest opportunity to change those images that continue to perpetuate negative stereotypes to the public at large”.
Over the past two years Tonya has had the opportunity of working with Danny Glover in the feature film Poor Boy’s Game; with Tia and Tamara Mowry in the Lifetime film Double Wedding; and as Octavia Jones, a senior U.S. Department of Homland Security agent, on the CBC night-time hit drama The Border about elite Canadian immigration and customs officers working with U.S. authorities to defend the Canadian-U.S. border against outside threats. This January she stars in the feature film “Sons 2 The Grave”, due out in theatres next year.
Tonya’s tireless advocacy work in the Canadian entertainment industry has been recognized by Mayor Miller who personally appointment her to his Toronto Film Board.
Tonya lives full time in Los Angeles.
