Willa Hayes (Karen Pittman) is a recurring character in Yellowstone and eagle-eyed viewers may remember the actor from some of her other performances. Yellowstone and its many spinoffs may center on the generations of the Dutton family and their friends, but the guest stars and recurring characters who pop up in the shows for short but memorable arcs are who keep the franchise fresh. Numerous characters have come through the Dutton Ranch, often to lend a hand, but more often, to see if they have a chance at taking over the lucrative land.
The villains in Taylor Sheridan shows are just as captivating as the heroes at the center, and Willa Hayes from Market Equities is no different. Market Equities is a Fortune 500 company that is introduced in season 3. It’s a real estate company seeking to claim the Dutton Ranch, and it doesn’t particularly care how it does so, as its goals are as lofty as creating an airport and a ski resort. John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and his family stand in their way, of course, but the company’s CEO proves to be a formidable opponent.
Willa Hayes Is The CEO Of Market Equities & A Yellowstone Season 3 Antagonist
Willa Hayes Offers To Buy The Yellowstone Ranch For A Huge Sum Of Money
Willa Hayes first appears in season 3, episode 6, “All for Nothing”, where she meets with Roarke (Josh Holloway) and Jamie (Wes Bentley) to help smooth over the relationship between the Duttons and Market Equities. Willa offers Jamie $500 million for the Yellowstone land, leaving the Dutton family black sheep speechless. Willa appears in three more episodes of season 3 and runs up against Beth (Kelly Reilly), whom Willa discovers is shorting Market Equities stocks. She continues trying to maneuver her way through the Dutton family, but Beth ends up being too formidable a match for her.
Willa presents another kind of threat to the Dutton Ranch, this time in the form of something more abstract and dangerous, that can’t be settled with a rattlesnake to the face, as was the case with her coworker.
In her final appearance, season 3, episode 10, “The World is Purple”, the season finale, Willa loses her job due to misconduct allegations, which are implied to have been falsely planted by Beth. Willa presents another kind of threat to the Dutton Ranch, this time in the form of something more abstract and dangerous, that can’t be settled with a rattlesnake to the face, as was the case with her coworker.. Instead, Beth has played the corporate game, ridding the Duttons of Willa the way white-collar employees are removed all the time.
Caroline Warner (Jacki Weaver) replaced Willa as CEO and becomes a formidable enemy in her own right.
Karen Pittman is excellent in the role, playing Willa with a regal and arrogant air of authority. She had a lot of fun with the character as well, telling EW,
“Although I auditioned, obviously, I don’t think they were necessarily sure what it [the character Willa] was going to be like, and what it was going to be, and how we were going to do it. But they loved that character. They loved the take on the character, and they kept writing for me on that show. And Taylor Sheridan writes like nobody else, so it was a lot of fun. I loved working with Kelly Reilly… They had never had any young Black people on that show, and it was interesting coming in there and just working with those actors and sort of creating a different sort of space.”
Pittman is a force when she makes her Yellowstone debut, and it’s clear from the moment she meets with Jamie that there’s a reason Roarke and Market Equity brought in the big guns. At the same time, there are cracks in her character that make it believable that she can be beaten.
| Willa Hayes’ Timeline On Yellowstone | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Episode | Title | Notes |
| 3 | 6 | All for Nothing | Willa is introduced and offers the Duttons $500 million |
| 8 | I Killed a Man Today | Willa and Beth play mind games over Market Equities stock | |
| 9 | Meaner Than Evil | Willa ousts Beth from her position at Schwartz & Meyer | |
| 10 | The World Is Purple | Willa is fired from Market Equities | |
Willa Hayes Actor Karen Pittman Starred In The Morning Show & And Just Like That…
Pittman Is A Prolific TV And Movie Actor
Karen Pittman is a prolific television actor, but she’s also had a few notable film roles, including Sandy James in What We Do Next and Mrs. Dismukes in Detroit. However, it’s her television performances that have garnered her the most recognizability. Pittman is best known for playing Mia Jordan in The Morning Show and Dr. Nya Wallace in And Just Like That… Like Willa, each of these characters is extremely intelligent, but they are all varying degrees of manipulative and dangerous, going from honest with Nya, to ambitious with Mia, to menacing with Willa.
| Karen Pittman Notable TV And Movie Performances | |
|---|---|
| Title | Role |
| The Americans (2014-2016) | Lisa |
| Luke Cage (2016-2018) | Priscilla Ridley |
| Detroit (2017) | Mrs. Dismukes |
| The Morning Show (2019-Present) | Mia Jordan |
| And Just Like That… (2021-2023) | Dr. Nya Wallace |
| What We Do Next (2022) | Sandy James |
Beyond her most notable TV roles, Pittman has also appeared in The Americans as Lisa, Luke Cage as Priscilla Ridley, and she’s had plenty of one-episode performances in Law & Order, House of Cards, and Madam Secretary. With Willa Hayes and Yellowstone now a part of her filmography, Pittman’s career has encompassed some pretty major franchises and productions.
