Michelle Williams, 44, is a five-time Oscar nominee and a proud mom of four.
โAs the years go on, you sort of wonder what they might hold for you or not hold for you,โ she said during a 2022 interview with Variety when she revealed that she was expecting her third child. โItโs exciting to discover that something you want again and again, is available one more time. That good fortune is not lost on me or my family.โ
Williams has since welcomed her third and fourth children with husband Thomas Kail, a theater director known for being at the helm of โHamilton.โ However, she has yet to reveal her younger children’s names.
The “Manchester by the Sea” actor also shares her son Hart with Kail, and her daughter Matilda with the late actor Heath Ledger.
Despite an illustrious career, Williams said she’s always put her family before her roles.
โI consider myself a mother first and an actress second and so the person I most want to thank is my daughter, my little girl, whose bravery and exuberance is the example that I take with me in my work and in my life,โ she said during her acceptance speech at the 2012 Golden Globes when she won Best Actress for her role inย “My Week With Marilyn.”
Read on to learn more about Williams’ kids.
Matilda Ledger
In Oct. 2005, Williams welcomed her first child, Matilda Ledger, with the late actor Heath Ledger. Williams was 25 at the time.
Their lives changed swiftly afterward. After three years of dating, the couple ended their relationship in 2007, per People. Then, in 2008, Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose, leaving Williams a single mom. Ledger’s father later revealed Ledger’s estate went to Matilda, per People.
Williams had the support of her friends and family during that time. In a May 2022 interview with Variety, Williams said “Succession” star Jeremy Strong moved in after Ledger’s death.
โJeremy was serious enough to hold the weight of a childโs broken heart and sensitive enough to understand how to approach her through play and games and silliness,โ she said. โ(Matilda) didnโt grow up with her father, but she grew up with her Jeremy and we were changed by his ability to play as though his life depended upon it, because hers did.โ
As Matilda grew up, Williams felt compelled to keep her daughter out of the spotlight.
โIf you feel like people are watching you, itโs impossible to have an authentic experience of being alive,โ Williams told Elle in 2016. โThereโs a performative aspect and a guardedness, and thatโs just death. I donโt know how to live like that, and I donโt know how to give a life to my child like that.โ
A year later, in 2017, she described how cooking and cleaning was an “expression of love” for her daughter.
โI cook and clean a lot these days. Iโm in a very domestic cycle and I happen to love it.ย I feel like this is a real expression of my love for my daughter,” she told Today’s Parent in 2017. “Not the only one, but an important one. As a parent, you want the kid to come back to a place where it seems like the walls are made of feather down.โ
Hart Kail
In 2020, Williams married her second husband, Thomas Kail, after her one-year marriage to musician Phil Elverum came to an end in 2019.
The same year that she wed Kail, Williams gave birth to their son, Hart. While speaking to Variety in 2022, Williams recalled what it was like to welcome a child during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she said that “it was a reminder that life goes on.”
โThe world we brought a baby into is not the world we thought we were bringing a baby into, but the baby is ignorant of that. He experiences the unmitigated joy of discovery and the happiness of a loving home.โ
โThereโs nothing that makes you committed to a better world than raising a great kid,โ she said. โItโs the ultimate creative act.โ
Baby No. 3
In May 2022, Williams revealed that she was expecting another child with Kail. She told Variety that she was “totally joyous” that she was going to be a mom again.
Williams’ third child was born in 2022.
Baby No. 4
When Williams appeared on the August 18 episode of โJimmy Kimmel Live!” she expressed her gratitude for Christine, the surrogate who helped bring her fourth child โ a daughter โ into the world.
โIโve got to give a big shoutout to Christine because this last baby did not come through my body, but the miracle of our little girl is thanks to Christine. Maybe youโre watching out there โ thank you, Christine!โ Williams said.
Now with three children under 5 at home, Williams seemed to be struggling between taking care of her children and taking care of herself.
She said, โEverythingโs good and under control. Iโm the adult. And yeah, itโs good. Itโs just really busy, and Iโm trying to figure out the life-work balance.โ
