Marsha Garces Williams

American film producer (born 1956)

Robin Williams

(m. 1989; div. 2010)

Children2, including Zelda

Marsha Garces Williams^[3]^[4] (born June 18, 1956) is an American film producer and philanthropist.^[2]^[3]^[5] She was married to actor and comedian Robin Williams from 1989 to 2010.^[2]^[5]

Early life

Marsha Lynn Garces was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She grew up in Shorewood, Wisconsin, and attended Shorewood High School.^[6] Garces' father, Leon Garces, was Filipino and born in Ubay, Bohol; he moved to the United States in 1929.^[7]^[8] He later served in the United States Navy during World War II.^[7]^[9] Her mother, Ina Rachel Mattila,^[7] was Finnish.^[8]^[10]^[11]

Personal life and career

Garces married Robin Williams on April 30, 1989, following the 1988 divorce from his first wife, Valerie. Garces became pregnant with Williams' child late in 1988, and the pair were later married on April 30, 1989. Garces met Williams in 1984 when she was employed as a nanny for Williams's son Zachary. Previously, Garces was a painter and a waitress.^[12]^[13] According to his first wife, the romantic relationship between Robin and Marsha began after they separated.^[5] During their marriage, they had two children, Zelda Rae and Cody Alan, born in 1989 and 1991, respectively.^[13] In March 2008, she filed for divorce from Williams citing irreconcilable differences.^[2] Their divorce was finalized in 2010.^[14]

After working as the family's nanny, Garces worked with Williams as his personal assistant on films such as Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and Dead Poets Society (1989).^[5]^[9]^[12] She was later the producer for several of Williams's films.^[2]^[5]^[11] Together, they founded a film production company, Blue Wolf Productions, in 1991.^[2]

Garces Williams has been involved philanthropically with organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and Seacology.^[2]^[5]

Filmography

1993 – Mrs. Doubtfire^[2]
1998 – Patch Adams^[2]
1999 – Jakob the Liar^[2]
2002 – Robin Williams: Live on Broadway^[2]
2014 – Extinction Soup^[4]

Awards

1993 – Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy – Mrs Doubtfire^[15]
2003 – Nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Special – Robin Williams: Live on Broadway^[16]

References

^ Benson, Charles (August 11, 2014). "Locals react to passing of comedian, actor Robin Williams". TODAY'S TMJ4. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Garchik, Leah (March 27, 2008). "Robin Williams' wife files for divorce after nearly 19 years". The San Francisco Chronicle.
^ ^a ^b Loos, Ted (October 11, 2012). "What He Prefers: Staying at Home to Spin Gold". The New York Times.
^ ^a ^b "Extinction Soup – Supporters". Sea to Sky Productions. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Clehane, Diane; Dagostino, Mark; Mikelbank, Peter; Orr, Andrea (April 14, 2008). "Robin Williams Surprise Split". People. Vol. 69, no. 14. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
^ Dudek, Duane (August 11, 2014). "Tears of a clown: My interview with the late Robin Williams". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Funeral Notices – GARCES, Pantaleon Marciano Fernandez "Leon"". Tucson Citizen. March 15, 2002. Retrieved August 14, 2014. Born July 27, 1909 in Ubay, Bohol, Philippines, she immigrated to the United States in 1929
^ ^a ^b Lo, Ricardo F. (August 13, 2014). "The Robin Williams that I met in Tokyo". The Philippine Star.
^ ^a ^b "How Robin Williams remained close to Pinoy family even after divorce with Fil-Am wife". GMA News Online. August 12, 2014.
^ Giles, Jeff (August 11, 2014). "Robin Williams: Fears of a Clown". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Nepales, Ruben V. (August 13, 2014). "Williams called ex-wife 'Finnipino'". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
^ ^a ^b Darrach, Brad (February 22, 1988). "A Comic's Crisis of the Heart". People. Vol. 29, no. 7. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Hobson, Louis B. (September 20, 1998). "Through heaven and hell for Williams". Canoe.ca. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. He and Velardi never fully reconciled, and in 1984 the couple hired Marsha Garces, a young painter who'd been working as a waitress, to be Zachary's nanny.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ Chaney, Jen (October 24, 2011). "Robin Williams and Susan Schneider reportedly wed". Washington Post. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
^ "Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2014. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
^ "Robin Williams: Live On Broadway". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.