We all know that Brad Paisley's longtime love, Kimberly Williams-Paisley is an actress. She's fondly remembered for her role in the Father of the Bride franchise (when she first caught the country star's attention) and has consistently continued appearing on our television screens in shows like Nashville and Dolly Parton's Heartstrings on Netflix. But did you know that her sister, Ashley Williams, is also an actress? Ashley, who was raised in New York, followed in her older sister's footsteps and has been performing since she was a teenager.
Who is Ashley Williams?
Eight years junior to her famous sister, Ashley's first gig in front of the camera was a non-speaking role in the film Indian Summer, in which her sister had a supporting role. But her big break came as a teen when she played the role of Danielle Andropoulos on the soap opera As the World Turns. Following high school, she graduated from Boston University's School of Theatre before immediately landing the lead role of Dylan Messinger in the NBC series, Good Morning, Miami.
Ashley has appeared in a ton of TV shows over the years — she was Victoria on How I Met Your Mother, Psych, Monk, Saving Grace, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Warehouse 13, The Mentalist, FBI, Side Order of Life, and The Good Wife, to name a few. But outside of her starring role as Jeannie Gaffigan on The Jim Gaffigan Show and appearances in feature films Margin Call, A Most Violent Year, and Something Borrowed, she is instantly recognizable from all of the TV movies she's appeared in on Lifetime and the Hallmark Channel.
Hallmark Staple
If you've ever seen Ashley in anything you're instantly drawn to her infectious positivity and winning smile, which is probably why she continues to book holiday-focused TV films. Some of her most notable include the ABC Family film Snow and its sequel Snow 2: Brain Freeze, where she played the role of Sandy Brooks opposite Tom Cavanagh, and Christmas in Evergreen on Hallmark and its two sequels — Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa and Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy.
Some other favorites on Hallmark include October Kiss, Love on a Limb, Northern Lights of Christmas, Holiday Hearts, and Christmas in Evergreen. Be on the lookout for Ashley as you're flipping through holiday content on Hallmark later this year!
But let's not forget her role as Elinor Dashwood in Scents and Sensibility (you see what they did there?). It's the modern-day take on the Jane Austen classic that, yes, involves perfume and romance. Montana Sky, At Risk, and Christmas in the City on Lifetime were also winners. Most recently, Ashley made her directorial debut on Lifetime with the dramatic thriller, Circle of Deception.
When she isn't acting, Ashley spends time with her husband, producer Neal Dodson. The couple has two children together, sons Gus Williams Dodson and Odie Sal Dodson.
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This article was originally published in 2020.
