Cara Williams

Cara Williams was born Bernice Kamiat on June 29, 1925 in Brooklyn, New York City, to a Romanian‑Jewish mother and an Austrian‑Jewish father. From an early age she mimicked screen stars and dreamed of a career in front of the camera, a ambition that intensified after her parents divorced and her mother moved the family to Los Angeles. There she adopted the stage name Cara Williams, attended the Hollywood Professional School, and began working in radio before signing a film contract at the age of sixteen. Her early screen work included uncredited parts in Laura (1944) and Sweet and Low‑Down (1944), followed by supporting roles in Oscar‑nominated films such as Boomerang (1947) and the classic The Defiant Ones (1958), for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Williams also became a familiar face on television, starring as Gladys Porter in the CBS comedy Pete and Gladys (1960‑62), a performance that garnered an Emmy nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s she appeared in a variety of genres, from the musical comedy Never Steal Anything Small (1959) to the Hitchcock anthology series, showcasing her versatility and timing.

After retiring from acting in the early 1980s, Williams reinvented herself as an interior designer, applying the same creative eye that had served her on screen to the world of décor. Her personal life included three marriages—to Alan Gray, John Drew Barrymore, and real‑estate entrepreneur Asher Dann—producing two children, including actor John Blyth Barrymore. Williams remained a respected figure of the Golden Age of Hollywood until her death on December 9, 2021 in Beverly Hills, California, leaving behind a legacy of memorable performances and a remarkable ability to adapt and thrive across decades of change.