Who is Jesse Williams? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Jesse Wesley Williams

Age: 42 Years, 42 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Aryn Drake-Lee (m. 2012)

father: Reginald Williams

mother: Johanna Chase

children: Maceo Williams, Sadie Williams

Born Country: United States

African Americans Actors

Height: 6'1" (185 cm), 6'1" Males

City: Chicago, Illinois

Ancestry: Swedish American

U.S. State: Illinois, African-American From Illinois

More Facts

education: Temple University

Recommended For You

Recommended Lists:

Black Film & Theater Personalities

American Men

Illinois Actors

Career

Jesse Williams has done modelling for several brands and companies, such as ‘Tommy Hilfiger, ‘Kenneth Cole Productions’, ‘Lane Bryant’ and ‘L. L. Bean’, to name a few. He has also appeared in music videos for the songs ‘Russian Roulette’ and ‘Fall In Love’.

Coming to his acting career on stage, he has worked for various theatre productions, including ‘The Sandbox’ and ‘The American Dream’ at Cherry Lane Theatre, New York City. His other theatre works include ‘The Glass Menagerie’ off-Broadway.

Williams got featured in an episode of the TV series ‘Law & Order’ in which he played the role of Kwame. He also appeared in two episodes of the series ‘Greek’. He then had a recurring role in the show ‘Beyond the Break’. In 2009, Williams was cast as ‘Jackson Avery’ in ABC’s ‘Grey's Anatomy.’

In the year 2008, Jesse Williams made his film debut through the movie ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2’. The same year, he was offered his first major role as Holden McCrea in the horror film named ‘The Cabin in the Woods’. Then he did the flick ‘Brooklyn's Finest’. The talented actor was also featured in the film ‘Money’.

Recommended Lists:

Temple University

Tall Celebrities

Tall Male Celebrities

Leo Actors

Continue Reading Below

Activism

Jesse Williams is one of the members of the board of directors at the civil rights think tank and advocacy group, The Advancement Project. He is also the executive producer of the multifaceted media project, Question Bridge: Black Males. The American actor cum model has written articles and blogs for CNN as well as ‘The Huffington Post.’ In 2016, Williams gave a speech regarding police brutality and racial injustice at the event of the BET Awards.

Recommended Lists:

American Actors

Actors Who Are In Their 40s

American Film & Theater Personalities

Leo Men

Personal Life

Jesse Wesley Williams was born on August 5, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. His parents are Johanna Chase and Reginald Williams. The actor has two brothers who are professionals in visual arts. Williams studied at Moses Brown School in Rhode Island. He later on graduated from the Temple University, majoring in Film and Media Arts as well as African American Studies.

Talking about the actor’s love life, he got married to his girlfriend Aryn Drake-Lee in 2012. The couple has two children, a son named Maceo and a daughter named Sadie. In 2017, it was out in the news that the couple has filed for divorce. He was then romantically linked to Taylor Rooks. He began dating Taylour Paige in 2019. In 2022, he started dating Ciarra Pardo.

Jesse Williams Biography