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Who is Robin Williams’ director-actress daughter, Zelda Williams? The 34-year-old made her directorial debut with Lisa Frankenstein, starring Riverdale’s Cole Sprouse, and has called out AI technology

Robin Williams (right) and daughter Zelda during the third annual Tribeca film festival in New York City, New York, United States, in 2004. Photo: FilmMagic

Robin Williams’ 34-year-old daughter Zelda Williams just made her feature directorial debut with the new horror-comedy flick Lisa Frankenstein, releasing tomorrow.

Actress Zelda Williams arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of Blood River at the Lloyd E. Rigler Theater in 2009, in Hollywood, California. Photo: WireImage

Set in the 1980s, the production merges dark humour with queer themes, and features Kathryn Newton and Riverdale’s Cole Sprouse.

Zelda Williams is an American actress – and now, director. Photo: @zeldawilliams/X
Being the daughter of the late, beloved funnyman actor, Zelda knows a thing or two about comedy. “Comedy’s the scariest thing in the world! I grew up around it. I love it very much, but the hardest thing that you can try and get people to do is laugh,” she told the Oscars’ digital magazine, A. Frame, this month.
 

Here’s what we know about Robin Williams’ only daughter – and how she’s continuing her father’s legacy in film.

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When was Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda born?

Zelda Williams poses on arrival for the world premiere of the movie Happy Feet Two in Hollywood, California, in 2011. Photo: AFP Photo

Zelda was born on July 31, 1989.

Robin Williams (left) posing with family members Cody (centre), Zelda (right) and wife Marsha (back right) during his hand and footprint ceremony outside the Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, in 1988. Photo: AFP Photo

Her parents are Robin Williams and Marsha Garces Williams, who were married from 1989 to 2010. Zelda has two brothers: Cody Alan Williams, who was born in 1991, and Zachary, who Robin welcomed with his first wife Valerie Velardi in 1983.

Was Zelda Williams named after Zelda, the video game character?

Actor Robin Williams (left) and his daughter Zelda at the premiere of Happy Feet Two in Los Angeles, in 2011. Photo: AP Photo

When Robin announced the birth of his daughter, many fans were wondering where her name came from. The Good Will Hunting actor addressed the speculation during an ad campaign with Nintendo in 2011, per People.

 

“A lot of people come up and ask if she’s named after F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife,” Robin said. “No, it’s Zelda for The Legend of Zelda.”

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She is following in her parents’ footsteps

Actor Robin Williams (right) and daughter Zelda pose at the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ RV at the Village Theater in 2006, in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Getty Images

Zelda, who was known for being very close with her father and often made public appearances with him, has pursued the same career path as her parents. Her mum, Marsha, is a film producer.

 

Before making her directorial debut this year, she had already appeared in a string of films and TV shows. Growing up on set with her family sparked her interest in a Hollywood career.

“I was fascinated by it early,” Zelda told Entertainment Tonight. “When you’re that young, I don’t think you grasp that it’s a job, really; just like a fun thing you go and visit.”

She’s starred in Girl in the Box, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the TV series) and Jane the Virgin.

She has opened up about her father’s tragic death

Zelda Williams (left) and Robin Williams arrive to the Los Angeles premiere of Old Dogs held at the El Capitan Theatre in 2009, in Hollywood, California. Photo: FilmMagic

Sadly, Zelda lost her father on August 11, 2014, after he died by suicide – two weeks after her 25th birthday.

She told People how she leaned on her friends for support in the tough aftermath following his death. “I did have those friends who were lovely and I really appreciate when they were like, ‘Come on! Let’s go to Disneyland!’ and I was like, ‘No, not today. Having a panic attack today,’” she said. “But the ones who would show up and brought groceries, sat down with me and just wanted to be there, those people made a huge difference.”

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Now, she regularly speaks out about mental health awareness. In 2015, she took to Instagram in a now-deleted post. “And for those suffering from depression, I know how dark and endless that tunnel can feel, but if happiness seems impossible to find, please hold on to the possibility of hope, faint though it may be,” she wrote.

She’s called out the “disturbing” use of AI technology

Actress Zelda Williams attends the grand opening Of SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Robin Williams Center on October 5, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

Williams has given her opinion on the rise of AI technology, as it’s something that has impacted her too.

 
“I am not an impartial voice in SAG’s fight against AI,” Zelda said in a statement posted on Instagram Stories last year, per Deadline. “I’ve witnessed for years how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like dad. This isn’t theoretical, it is very very real.”

She continued, “These recreations are, at their very best, a poor facsimile of greater people, but at their worst, a horrendous Frankensteinian monster, cobbled together from the worst bits of everything this industry is, instead of what it should stand for.”

If you have suicidal thoughts or know someone who is experiencing them, help is available. In the US, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

In Hong Kong, you can dial 18111 for the government-run Mental Health Support Hotline. You can also call +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page.
  • Robin Williams’ 34-year-old daughter Zelda Williams just made her feature directorial debut with the new horror-comedy film Lisa Frankenstein – but what else does she do for work?
  • She’s starred in several films and TV shows as an actress, is open about mental health awareness, and has spoken up about the difficulties she faced in losing her late, great comedian father