Iris Williams, born on April 20, 1946, in Rhydyfelin, Wales, was a singer known for her contributions to pop and MOR music. Raised in a children's home and later adopted by the Llewellyn family, Williams won a scholarship to the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama after working in a factory. Her breakthrough came with "Pererin Wyf" (1971), a Welsh-language version of "Amazing Grace", which gained significant popularity in Wales. She also won the Welsh talent contest Cân i Gymru (A Song for Wales) in 1974 with the song "I gael Cymru'n Gymru Rydd" (For a Free Wales). In 1979, Williams achieved a top-20 UK hit with "He Was Beautiful", based on the theme from The Deer Hunter, which led to her own BBC series. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, she performed at prestigious venues such as the Oak Room in the Algonquin Hotel in New York City and collaborated with notable figures like Bob Hope and Rosemary Clooney. Williams was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2004 for her services to music and charitable causes. Iris Williams passed away on July 11, 2025, in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of 79.
