Williams’ versatility and determination have earned her countless television, film and radio roles, but her first love is theatre. She was in the original cast of Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland’s play, “From the Mississippi Delta,” which played at the Northlight and Goodman Theatres, among others, before it was taken Off-Broadway with Oprah Winfrey as co-producer. She performed in Barney Simon’s apartheid drama “Born in the R.S.A.” with the Market Theatre, founded in Johannesburg, South Africa, while Nelson Mandela was still incarcerated. Her regular appearances at Chicago theatres have kept her in contention for—and winning—Joseph Jefferson, After Dark and Black Theatre Alliance awards, among many others.