Jessica Williams Featured in “People” Magazine’s 2023 “Beautiful” Issue
Jessica Williams (Eulalie “Lally” Hicks, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore) was featured in People magazine’s annual “Beautiful” issue this April, where she delivered an empowering message to her younger self.
Williams’s letter begins with a vote of confidence for her grade-school self, seen in a school photo also shared on her Instagram.
For the record, I think your outfit looks great. I love that you want to dress yourself now even if you put your shirt on backwards like you did in this photo.
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In People, Williams added more about what she would say to her younger self.
I just want you to know that it’s always OK to be who you are even if it’s different. Your voice matters, your thoughts matter, you matter.
She also mentioned a childhood love of reading, something her Fantastic Beasts character would certainly appreciate.
It’s so wonderful that you’re such a big reader and love Clue mystery books so much.
Williams first appeared as Ilvermorny professor Lally Hicks with a cameo appearance in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, reprising her role in Secrets of Dumbledore.
Williams is no stranger to the importance of mental health and self-care, as she has detailed in past interviews with Vanity Fair and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She says her own experiences with grief and therapy informed her role as therapist Gaby in the Apple TV+ series Shrinking. “I think I’d be a great therapist,” she told Colbert. “I love therapy.”
You can find her complete thoughts on the importance of self-love and confidence in the full People feature.