---
name: "Cara Williams"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/cara-williams"
roles: []
born: "29 June 1925"
died: "9 December 2021"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T03:25:41.830614+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Cara Williams

Actor. Born 29 June 1925 in Brooklyn, New York,  USA. Died 9 December 2021.

## Details

- **Born:** 29 June 1925, Brooklyn, New York,  USA
- **Died:** 9 December 2021
- **Also known as:** Bernice Kamiat
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 86 (1), 1950s 74 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cara_Williams, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q468661, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0930209/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/83904

## Streaming the US now

- **The Roku Channel:** [*The Defiant Ones*](https://film.one/film/the-defiant-ones.md) (74)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Cara Williams (born Bernice Kamiat) was an American film and television actress. She began her career in the early 1940s with bit parts, initially credited as Bernice Kay, after attending the Hollywood Professional School following her family's move to Los Angeles.

She is best known for her role as Billy's mother in *The Defiant Ones* (1958), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Williams also starred as Gladys Porter in the CBS series *Pete and Gladys* (1960–1962), earning an Emmy nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy. Her other notable film appearances include *Laura* (1944), *Boomerang!* (1947) and *The White Buffalo* (1977). She was married to actor John Drew Barrymore from 1952 to 1959; their son John Blyth Barrymore became an actor.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

### Performed in (1)

- *The Defiant Ones* (1958), Fi1m 74, as Billy's mother — [page](https://film.one/film/the-defiant-ones.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Laura* (1944), Fi1m 86, as Advertising Agency Employee (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/laura.md)

## Complete filmography (35)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The One Man Jury* (1978), as Nancy
- *The White Buffalo* (1977), as Cassie Ollinger
- *Rhoda* (1974), series, Actor
- *Doctors' Wives* (1971), as Maggie Gray
- *Medical Center* (1969), series, as Sheila Ruskin
- *The Cara Williams Show* (1964), series, as Cara Wilton/Bridges
- *The Man from the Diners' Club* (1963), as Sugar Pye
- *Pete and Gladys* (1960), series, as Gladys Porter
- *Never Steal Anything Small* (1959), as Winnipeg Simmons
- *Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse* (1958), series, as Midge Rospond
- *Naked City* (1958), series, as Lois Heller
- *The Defiant Ones* (1958), as Billy's mother — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/the-defiant-ones.md)
- *The Helen Morgan Story* (1957), as Dolly Evans
- *Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre* (1956), series, as Irene West
- *Meet Me in Las Vegas* (1956), as Kelly Donavan
- *Matinee Theater* (1955), series, Actor
- *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, as Mona Cameron, Irene Rankin, Mona Carstairs, Marie Jensen
- *The Great Diamond Robbery* (1954), as Maggie Drumman
- *The Girl Next Door* (1953), as Rosie Green
- *Lux Video Theatre* (1950), series, as Paula
- *Robert Montgomery Presents* (1950), series, Actor
- *Knock on Any Door* (1949), as Nelly Watkins (uncredited)
- *Suspense* (1949), series, as Nellie, Myra Wilson, Betty Marshall, Babe
- *The Philco Television Playhouse* (1948), series, Actor
- *The Saxon Charm* (1948), as Dolly Humber
- *Sitting Pretty* (1948), as Secretary (uncredited)
- *Boomerang!* (1947), as Irene Nelson
- *The Spider* (1945), as Wanda Vann
- *Don Juan Quilligan* (1945), as Fifth Ave. Florist Salesgirl
- *Something for the Boys* (1944), as Calhoun's Secretary (uncredited)
- *Laura* (1944), as Advertising Agency Employee (uncredited) — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/laura.md)
- *In the Meantime, Darling* (1944), as Ruby Mae Sayre
- *Happy Land* (1943), as Gretchen Barry
- *Girls' Town* (1942), as Ethel
- *Wide Open Town* (1941), as Joan Stuart

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1959: Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *The Defiant Ones*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/cara-williams