Career: At 15, Williams became emancipated from her parents so that she could avoid America's child labour laws. She also moved to Los Angeles, and her big break came when she landed the role of Jen Lindley in teen drama Dawson's Creek. The popular series ran for six seasons, clocking up 128 episodes. During her time on the teen drama, she also starred on the big screen in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), Dick (1999) and Prozac Nation (2001). She went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Brokeback Mountain (2005); while filming she fell in love with co-star Heath Ledger, with whom she had a daughter. They had separated by the time of his death in 2008. Williams has received two further Academy Award nominations for Blue Valentine (2010) and My Week with Marilyn (2011). Her other film credits have included The Station Agen (2003), Synecdoche, New York (2008), Shutter Island (2010), Take This Waltz (2011) and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013).