Michelle Williams is pregnant AND engaged to Hamilton director Thomas Kail… 8 months post-divorce
Michelle Williams is pregnant and engaged to Hamilton director Thomas Kail, just eight months after her marriage to Mount Eerie musician Phil Elverum ended.
The actress, 39, and the Tony Award-winner, 42, previously worked together on Fosse/Verdon, but it is not clear how long they have been romantically involved.
People reports Michelle’s daughter Matilda, 14, played ‘matchmaker’ for the couple, whose happy news comes eight months after she announced the end of her relationship following less than a year of marriage.
Engaged: Michelle Williams is pregnant and engaged to Hamilton director Thomas Kail (pictured together in February) just eight months after her marriage to Phil Elverum ended
Michelle and Thomas were spotted together in London this month where the actress was seen buying clothes at a maternity boutique named Seraphine in Kensington.
The Golden Globe winner is currently staying in the capital whilst she films superhero sequel Venom 2.
It is not known when Michelle and Thomas began dating, but it is believed the pair met whilst working together on the hit FX series Fosse/Verdon, which began filming in November 2018.
Michelle played the leading role in the show, which was co-created by Thomas and Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen).
Thomas is also known for directing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit Hamilton, and Fox’s 2016 event Grease: Live.
Expectant: Michelle and Thomas were spotted together in London this month where the actress was seen buying clothes at a maternity boutique (pictured in September)
Ex-husband: Michelle’s shock engagement and proposal comes after she split from her husband of less than a year, Phil Elverum, in April (pictured in October 2018)
Michelle’s shock engagement and pregnancy news comes shortly after it was revealed she had split from husband Phil Elverum, 41.
The couple, who are still legally married, tied the knot in a private ceremony held in the Adirondack Mountains in in July 2018.
However, The Hollywood Reporter revealed in April that the couple had split up close to the start of 2019.
While little was revealed about why they were going their separate ways, the split was said to be amicable.
Cupid: It’s believed that Michelle’s 14-year-old daughter Matilda played ‘matchmaker’ to the couple. Matilda is the actress’ daughter with the late Heath Ledger
Casting: It is not known when Michelle and Thomas began dating, but it is believed the pair met whilst working together on the hit FX series Fosse/Verdon (pictured with co-stars Sam Rockwell, Joel Fields, Nicole Fosse and co-creator Steven Levenson)
Take a walk on the wild side like Michelle in Louis Vuitton
She’s a Louis Vuitton ambassador, so it was no surprise to see Michelle Williams wearing a dress by the iconic brand as she stepped out to a press event earlier this year.
In fact, along with various other famous figures, the actress even starred in the Pre-Autumn/Winter ’19 campaign – the collection from which this piece hails.
We love the monochrome palette, chic high neck shape and short sleeves on this dress, which Michelle teamed with black ankle boots. But of course it’s really all about that stand-out print!
Click (right) to find out how to get your hands on this exact dress, or check out the more budget-friendly alternatives in our edit below instead.
* PRICES MAY NOT BE AS ADVERTISED
Michelle was famously in a long-term relationship with Heath Ledger, who she met in 2004 on the set of their movie Brokeback Mountain.
They started dating that year and Michelle gave birth to their daughter Matilda in October the following year.
The couple split in late 2007, just months before Ledger was found dead in January at the age of 28, from a drug overdose.
Michelle has remained close with the Ledger family, who have often commented on what a wonderful mother she is to Matilda.
Talented: Michelle played the leading role in Fosse/Verdon, which was co-created by Thomas. Kail is also known for directing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit Hamilton
Last year, Michelle discussed how she was able to find love following Heath’s death.
She told Vanity Fair: ‘I never gave up on love. I always say to Matilda, “Your dad loved me before anybody thought I was talented, or pretty, or had nice clothes.”‘
Explaining why she was being so candid about her desire to love again, Michelle mused: ‘I don’t really want to talk about any of it. But what if this helps somebody?
‘What if somebody who has always journeyed in this way, who has struggled as much as I struggled, and looked as much as I looked, finds something that helps them?’
She continued: ‘Don’t settle. Don’t settle for something that feels like a prison or is hard, or hurts you. If it doesn’t feel like love, it’s not love.’
Past relationship: Michelle was famously in a long-term relationship with Heath Ledger, who she met in 2004 on the set of their movie Brokeback Mountain (pictured in 2006)
Who is Michelle Williams’ fiance Thomas Kail?
Just months after splitting up with Phil Elverum, Michelle Williams is now engaged to Thomas Kail, and the couple are expecting a child.
Williams, 39, was recently spotted buying maternity wear, with People reporting that the actress’ 14 year old daughter Matilda played ‘matchmaker.’
So who is the 42-year-old director who swept Williams off her feet?
Who is Thomas Kail? Little is known about Kail’s personal life, but his artistic oeuvre is well-documented. Kail was born in Alexandria, Virginia and he attended Wesleyan Uni
Little is known about Kail’s personal life, but his artistic oeuvre is well-documented.
Kail was born in Alexandria, Virginia and he attended Wesleyan University, the same school where Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda attended.
While they attended the school at different times, Kail and Miranda met after they graduated.
In 2003, they both co-created the hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme, the first of several collaborations together.
After graduating, Kail became the assistant stage manager at New Jersey’s American Stage Company, and directed the 24 Hour Plays benefit in 2007 and 2008, where six short plays are written, directed and performed in a day.
He also directed Julia Jordan’s A Bus Stop Play in 2007 and Beau Willimon’s Zusammenbruch in 2008, before teaming up with Miranda again to direct his debut musical hit In the Heights.
Lin and Thomas: Kail directed another sports production, Magic/Bird in 2012, before reuniting with Miranda for his smash hit Hamilton in 2015
He earned his first Tony Award nomination for In the Heights, which ran on Broadway from 2008 to 2011.
In 2009 Kail directed Broke-ology and New York City Center’s Encores! production of The Wiz.
He would go on to direct Lombardi, based on the life of legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi in 2010, and When I Come to Die in 2011.
Kail directed another sports production, Magic/Bird in 2012, before reuniting with Miranda for his smash hit Hamilton in 2015, which earned him his first Tony for Best Direction.
After the success of Hamilton, Kail directed Fox’s live musical event Grease: Live, starring Julianne Hough, Vanessa Hudgens and Aaron Tveit, which he won Emmy’s for directing and Outstanding Special Class Program.
He went on to co-create the critically-acclaimed FX series Fosse/Verdon, starring his fiancee-to-be Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon and Sam Rockwell as Bob Fosse.
Kail also signed on in 2017 to make his feature film debut with Silver Wings, based on the true story of WWII’s Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), the first women pilots ever in U.S. military history, though it isn’t known when that will go into production.
Verdon: He went on to co-create the critically-acclaimed FX series Fosse/Verdon, starring his fiancee-to-be Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon and Sam Rockwell as Bob Fosse