Ashley Williams (Mass Effect)

Ashley Madeline Williams is a character in BioWare's Mass Effect franchise, who acts as a party member (or "squadmate") in the first and third games in the series. Within the series, she is a human Systems Alliance Marine, who is a potential romance option for a male Commander Shepard throughout the first three Mass Effect games. Ashley becomes part of Shepard's squad during the first observed Reaper attack in the first Mass Effect. In a late-game choice on the planet Virmire, the player must choose whether to save Ashley or Kaidan Alenko in order to advance the narrative; this choice leads to the latter character's death. If Ashley is saved, she will make a cameo appearance in Mass Effect 2, followed by a more substantive appearance in Mass Effect 3 as a potential member of Shepard's squad. Ashley is voiced by American voice actress Kimberly Brooks.

While Ashley has been consistently featured in the original trilogy's marketing and is considered one of the franchise's most prominent characters, her characterization has received a largely negative reception; much of the criticism focused on the character's abrasive personality, intolerant views towards other alien species, and presentation as being strongly religious, while some defended the character and expressed a view that the character is misunderstood.