Tonya Williams
2026 Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award (Screens and Voices)
Screen actor and producer, arts executive and activist
Tonya Williams is an award-winning actor, producer, arts executive, and activist, widely recognized by television audiences for her work in numerous Canadian series and for her iconic, long-running role as Dr. Olivia Winters on
The Young and the Restless. She is also known as the founder of Reelworld, a groundbreaking organization dedicated to advancing equity and inclusion in Canada’s screen industries. Throughout her career, she has blended artistic achievement with tireless activism, shaping a more inclusive future for storytellers in Canada. She currently serves on the Ontario Creates Industry Advisory Committee.
Born in 1958 in London, England, an only child to Jamaican parents, Ms. Williams emigrated to Canada in 1970. Her early training in ballet and piano sparked a lifelong connection to the arts. In Canada, she flourished as a performer, appearing in competitions and concerts and gaining early public attention. Her early television career included commercials, dancing on CityTV’s
Boogie, guest roles on television, a starring role in the sitcom
Check It Out, hosting
Polka Dot Door, and co-hosting the Miss Teen Canada Pageant for three consecutive years.
After moving to Los Angeles, she continued guest starring in series before debuting as Dr. Olivia Winters on
The Young and the Restless, a role she portrayed for 19 years, earning her international recognition and establishing her as one of the most visible Black women in daytime television.
In 2000, driven by the lack of racial diversity she observed in the Canadian screen industries, she founded Reelworld. Through the Reelworld Screen Institute, the organization delivers the annual Reelworld Film Festival, the two-day Reelworld Summit, year-round professional development programs, and the hiring database Access Reelworld. The company has grown into a respected national platform supporting emerging talent and challenging systemic barriers affecting Black, Indigenous, Asian, South Asian, and People of Colour in Canada’s screen sector.
Tonya Williams is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Her numerous honours include the Canadian Screen Awards Changemaker Award, ACTRA’s National Award of Excellence, two NAACP Image Awards, and the Legacy Award Visionary Award. She was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2025 and was named one of Afroglobal Television’s 100 Most Influential Black Canadians three years in a row.