Jessica Williams is somehow a rising star and a weathered veteran of showbiz. She entered the public consciousness in 2012 as the Daily Show's youngest correspondent. When Jon Stewart retired, many demanded that Williams supplant him as the Daily Show's new host, but Williams claimed to have no interest in the job. She had bigger fish to fry, and fry she did. She's fried up enough fish to open her own metaphorical Sizzler. Her podcast with Phoebe Robinson, 2 Dope Queens, became an HBO show called 2 Dope Queens. She's been in the Fantastic Beasts and The Incredible Jessica James.
These last few years, she's been playing Gaby in the Apple TV+ show Shrinking alongside Jason Segal and Harrison Ford. Imagine being on a TV show with Harrison Ford. That's crazy. She was an Emmy nominee for best supporting actress in a comedy show in 2023. Her over-the-top fit of pretend-sobbing became a popular meme. She's nominated again for the same role and by the time you read this she will either have won or lost, unless the Emmys are cancelled this year. She came by the Fashion Brand Company headquarters to model outfits while we peppered her with queries.
Kate Giambra: How close are you to achieving your childhood dreams?
Jessica Williams: When I was a child, I wanted to be Aaliyah really badly, so I think I've come pretty far. I feel good about where I landed. I can afford to pay my mortgage, which feels really tight as a millennial. And it's just from being silly, doing jokes, having a good time.
Kate: Do you have any recurring dreams?
Jessica: I still have that one where I'm not prepared for the high school musical and I don't know my lines. I'm trying to make them up, and everyone's depending on me.
Kate: You've talked about being a big reader as a child. What were your favorite books?
Jessica: There was this series of Clue books where you could try and solve the riddle. I remem- ber taking a bunch of those out from the public library, racking up fines, and never returning them. Sorry, Los Angeles Public Library!
Definitely Harry Potter, all the fantasy stuff. I really liked mystery when I was a kid. So, Nancy Drew and the Babysitter's Club books.
Kate: Has that translated into your adult reading preferences?
Jessica: Absolutely, yeah. Love a mystery. I want to know who done it.
These days I'm just reading about these sexy fairies. You know sexy fairies are the new sexy vampires? I'm reading all this romantic shit. "Fae love." No vampires anymore, it's all fae. They can go out during the day and they're scary, but hot at the same time.
Kate: Do you collect anything?
Jessica: Well, I'm kind of like a magpie, I have all sorts of shit at my house. I got a Labubu for my birthday two days ago. It started with one Labubu and now I'm looking for Labubu clothes on Etsy. People make really, really cute Labubu clothes.
Penelope: That's cute. Should we get a Labubu?
Jessica: Yeah, you guys should, absolutely. I wish I had a lizard so I could get the lizard clothes.
Kate: We were in the Guinness Book of World Records for the lizard clothes. If you were ever in the Guinness Book of World Records, what would you want your world record to be?
Jessica: "Most fun hangs per capita."
Kate: How are your guitar lessons going?
Jessica: Oh my god, my guitar lessons are great. Right now I'm learning finger-style picking and how to play Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide." I take lessons in Glendale. The setting is like a dojo, and you learn a certain amount of songs that teach you something fundamental, and then you get a different colored pick as you advance, like how karate students get colored belts. "Hey There, Delilah" is next.
Kate: Wow. You know what would be a really good one to learn? "These Days" by Nico.
Jessica: That would be a fun one. I get so emotional when I hear that song. It puts me in a really weird mood.
Kate: There's a few Elliot Smith songs that affect me that deeply.
Jessica: "Smile Like You Mean It" by the Killers takes me back to The OC and my teenage Years.
Kate: You're from Long Beach, home of Sublime-
Jessica: I'm from Torrance, but I went to Cal State Long Beach.
Kate: You went to Cal State Long Beach, home of Sublime. What are your twenty favorite Sublime songs?
Jessica: Twenty is crazy. I'm gonna do my top three. "Santeria" i s classic. "Summertime" is classic. Lana Del Rey kind of ate that cover. And then "Caress Me Down." That's my favorite.
Kate: You're nominated for an Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy series. How much do you care about winning?
Jessica: I was nominated once before and when that happens you think "I'm not going to win." But then there's this moment at the awards show when they're announcing the names of the nominees where you think "What if?" I try not to think about it until then. Everybody that I know who's won has said it's really cool. It's cool to be nominated. We get to wear cool clothes and get free food.
Penelope: How are the parties?
Jessica: Oh, the parties are cool. When I started working on the Daily Show I was 22. My best friend and I would go to Emmy parties and we couldn't believe the food and drinks were free. But now that I'm older and tired, I need some Sims time when I get home. The allure of the open bar kind of starts to wane after a while.
Penelope: I've heard that nobody dances at these Parties.
Jessica: I do, though. I'm a real sweaty dancer. Dancing until l sweat is like my favorite thing. Going to these parties allows me to learn a lot about other actors' personalities. Does Bryan Cranston dance? I don't know, but I want to find out.
Kate: We're putting photos of you on billboards all over Los Angeles during Emmy voting season. If you win, which we know that you will, how are you going to thank us in your speech?
Jessica: If I win and I go, "Oh my God, are you guys serious right now?" That's a shout out to you guys.
Kate: What do you think happens when we die?
Jessica: Is that a real question? Sometimes I think everythingjust goes black, and that's it. But I just listened to some podcasts where a guy who worked in the ER said people would come back from the brink of death and ask, "Why did you wake me up?" That's been tripping me out lately. They say it's like experiencing a deep peace.
Kate: Do you believe in ghosts?
Jessica: Yes.
Kate: If you were a ghost, where do you think you would haunt?
Jessica: I might haunt a Home Depot just to kind of double down on how awful of an experience I have there. It's already like Purgatory. You're at Home Depot asking some teenager where something is and they act like they've never seen a person before.
I think about ghosts all the time. I always tell my loved ones, "If you die, don't haunt me. I don't want to hear from You."
Kate: How did I do as an interviewer on a scale of 1 to 10?
Jessica: You're at an 8 right now. That's like a B.
Shoot Credits
Talent - Jessica Williams
Creative Direction - Penelope Gazin
Photography - Kenna Sharp
Photo Assist - Mimi Sando-Brown
Makeup - Cherish Brooke Hill
Hair Styling - SherriAnn Cole
Producer - Kate Giambra
