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Everything to Know About Kelli Williams and Her "Superpowered" Character on Found
It's not a surprise if you recognized the actress playing Margaret Reed, especially if you share her character's keen sense of observance.
Meet Kelli Williams, the woman behind an instrumental character in the new and nail-biting missing persons drama Found.
Williams plays Margaret Reed, a motherly figure whose keen sense of observation is crucial to the crisis management team led by P.R. specialist Gabi Mosely (Shanola Hampton). With Margaret’s help, the outfit of clever and passionate members must work together to locate missing persons whose cases don’t get the full attention they deserve.
Here’s what you need to know about Margaret Reed
Each member of Gabi’s team brings something unique to the table, whether it’s the studious Lacey Quinn (Gabrielle Walsh) or the tech whiz Zeke Wallace (Arlen Escarpeta). But what Margaret possesses is considered in Found to be a “superpower” of sorts: the ability to observe the slightest facial feature or disturbed detail to get the team closer to finding their missing person.
Sadly, Margaret’s gift of hyper-observance stems from the disappearance of her son, Jamie, 13 years earlier.
The details this far into Found remain murky, though audiences can see a desperate mother spending her nights at a bus terminal and carefully scanning the faces of passersby in hopes that one of them might be her missing son. Margaret holds her young son’s photo and a composite of what he might look like 13 years later, sleeping at the terminal with a blanket and a packed kids’ lunchbox that once belonged to Jamie.
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Viewers can expect to learn more about Jamie’s disappearance — and hope for answers — as Found’s first season continues.
Kelli Wiliams' Movie and TV Roles
Fans will recognize Williams from a host of television roles, though she is best known for playing leading lady Lindsay Dole in the hit Emmy Award-winning drama The Practice from 1997 to 2003. Furthermore, between 2009 and 2011, Williams starred alongside Tim Roth in all 48 episodes of Lie to Me as Dr. Gillian Foster, according to IMDB. She also played Jackie Clarke in 32 episodes of Army Wives between 2012 and 2013.
NBC fans recognizing Williams’ face in Found (just as her character is tasked with doing) won’t have to look far to see other roles she’s taken with the network, including acting credits in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Coyote, The Fosters, and Ties That Bind are just a few of the more recent series in which Williams has appeared.
Kelli Williams’ Personal Life
The 53-year-old SAG Award nominee was born and raised in Los Angeles, according to her IMDB page, before a talent agent scouted her at a high school performance of Romeo & Juliet.
At the time, Williams had to bend the truth to attend Beverly Hills High School to take advantage of the opportunities, ultimately graduating in 1988.
“I lied about my address,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I used a friend’s grandmother’s address so I could go to Beverly because of the drama department. I was the girl from the other side of the tracks … Brentwood.”
It makes sense that acting would be in her genes since her actress mother, Shannon Wilcox, accumulated dozens of minor on-screen roles, including in the films Se7en and Runaway Bride.
But even before high school, Williams was no stranger to the screen. She appeared in multiple TV commercials as a baby and throughout her childhood, steadily building her résumé, according to her TCM biography. Following high school graduation, she snagged a recurring role on the ’80s NBC sitcom Day by Day before landing a handful of other dramas.
Following Williams’ most successful roles in the 1990s and throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Williams took a few years off from acting. In 2022, Williams cited Found as her “officially acting again,” sharing a photo with a handful of her Found castmates on her Instagram page.
“I’m still feeling the love from getting to celebrate with these beauties,” Williams captioned in a separate post with some of the cast. “I’m getting very excited!”
Williams was previously married to screenwriter and novelist Ajay Sahgal, with whom she co-parents three children.
Watch all-new episodes of Found, Tuesdays at 10/9c on NBC and streaming the next day on Peacock.
