Who was Cara Williams? 'The Defiant Ones' star and Oscar nominee dies at 96

Cara Williams, known for her Oscar-nominated performance in Stanley Kramer's 1958 crime drama The Defiant Ones, passed away at 96 on December 9.

Reportedly, the cause of her death was a heart attack. The news was tweeted out by the American actress' great-nephew, Richard Potter.

Cara Williams' daughter Justine Jagoda also confirmed the news of her passing and spoke to media outlet Variety about it. Remembering her mother's love and warmth, Jagoda called Williams a great actress with amazing comedic timing.

"She could make anyone laugh and smile if they had a bad day. She was everything that you could wish for in a mother and more. It's a sad loss to lose a woman from this incredible era."

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Early life of Cara Williams

The veteran star was born in Brooklyn, New York, as Bernice Kamiat on June 29, 1925. After her parents separated, Cara Williams moved to Hollywood with her mother and started attending Hollywood Professional School.

She became a voice artist when, at the age of 13, she gave her voice to Porky Pig cartoons. After signing with 20th Century Fox at 16, Williams started appearing in films like Wide Open Town, Happy Land, and In the Meantime, Darling.

The star's career started to take off in the late 1940s and 50s after appearing in a stage production of Born Yesterday. She appeared in notable roles in Boomerang!, The Girl Next Door, and The Helen Morgan Story.

For her role as a widowed mother in Stanley Kramer's The Defiant Ones, which starred Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis, Williams bagged an Academy Award nomination in the category of best supporting actress. Later, she appeared in comedy films like The Man From the Diners' Club and Never Steal Anything Small.

While working in television, Cara Williams received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance in CBS' Pete and Gladys, a spin-off of the 1950s sitcom December Bride. Later, Williams had her own series, The Cara Williams Show, featuring Frank Aletter. By the 1980s, she had retired from acting.

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Personal life of Cara Williams

In 1945, Cara Williams married Alan Gray. The couple had a daughter before divorcing two years later.

Williams then married actor John Drew Barrymore, who later became the father of actress Drew Barrymore in 1952. The duo had a son, John Blythe Barrymore, before separating in 1959.

Her last marriage was in 1964 to Asher Dann, a Los Angeles-based real estate mogul. The duo was married until 2018, when Dann died at 83.