Ashley Williams

Ashley Williams is a versatile actress, producer, writer and director in film, television and theatre. She has amassed a long list of credits including 200+ episodes of television, a dozen pilots and numerous feature films. 

In January 2025 it was announced that Williams is a member of this year’s esteemed DET ABC/Disney Directing program, and she most recently directed an episode of The Rookie for ABC and has been invited back to direct an episode in Season 8. Williams has directed two full-length television movies in addition to having directed, written, produced, and starred in Meats, a short film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2023, she launched the Make Her Mark initiative, a program that’s aimed to hire more female directors by providing mentorship and shadowing from current Hallmark directors. 

As an actress, Williams was seen in Amber Brown, Apple TV+ for writer/director Bonnie Hunt, playing Sarah Drew’s sister for season one. Previously, she starred in The Jim Gaffigan Show on Comedy Central, appeared in the critically lauded A24 film A Most Violent Year and starred in Something Borrowed with Kate Hudson and John Krasinski for Warner Bros. 

In recent years, Williams began producing movies for Hallmark Channel, debuting with Love on a Limb, in which she also starred and aired as part of the network’s Fall Harvest programming event to record-breaking ratings. She also conceived of Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday and its companion movie Sister Swap: Christmas in the City which marked the first time Williams acted with her real-life sister, Kimberly Williams-Paisley. Next for Hallmark she starred and executive produced two To Barcelona, With Love and To Barcelona, Forever, which were shot on location in Spain. 

In addition to ongoing behind-the-camera work developing projects both to act in and to direct, Williams starred in the Hallmark Original Movies October Kiss, Christmas in Evergreen, Northern Lights of Christmas, Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa, Holiday Hearts, Christmas in Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing,Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater, Christmas in the City, Two Tickets to Paradise, Five More Minutes: Moments Like These and, most recently, Falling Together and Jingle Bell Run. Williams is host and executive producer of Small Town Setup, the network’s all-new dating show with a heartfelt twist, which debuted on Hallmark+ in January.