Williams was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. An Air Force brat, she moved around the country throughout her childhood. She attended college at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska before finishing her bachelors degree in education at University of Nebraska-Omaha. She taught in the Omaha Public School system for a few years before starting her news career with WOWT in Omaha.
Williams joined KNBC in 1986 from cross-town rival KCBS-TV Channel 2 where she anchored the 5pm news for two years. Prior to her L.A. arrival at KCBS-TV (which was then KNXT), Williams anchored at KPIX, the CBS station in San Francisco.
Williams was particularly visible during the O.J. Simpson Trial, which she covered for KNBC and MSNBC, co-anchoring a daily summary of the trial each evening with Manny Medrano.
It was after the Simpson trial concluded that Williams succeeded long-time 11pm anchor Kelly Lange. Lange left the station after 25 years to work briefly for KCBS-TV before leaving television entirely in 2001.