Williams was born in Trivandrum, India, one of five sisters. Her father, the Right Reverend Geoffrey Paul, former Bishop of Bradford, was then serving as a missionary priest at Palayamkottai and later Kerala. Her father was a member of the faculty and later became the principal of the Kerala United Theological Seminary at Kannammoola, where she spent part of her childhood.
She studied theology at Clare College, Cambridge and then worked in theological publishing and education.
She is assistant dean and lecturer at Street Mellitus College (formerly Street Paul"s Theological Centre) in London. Williams has been married since July 1981 to Rowan Williams, who was appointed as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in 2002. Following her husband"s retirement as Archbishop of Canterbury and his subsequent peerage, Williams is entitled to the style and title of Lady Williams of Oystermouth.
