Vanessa Lynn Williams

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Vanessa Williams
Vwilliams 4.jpg
Vanessa Williams
Background information
Born as: Vanessa Lynn Williams
Born Mar 18, 1963 / 61 yo
Hometown
Chappaqua, New York
Height: 5' 6" (1.68m)
Weight: 140 lbs (64 kg)

Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is a Grammy and Tony Award-nominated American R&B/Pop/theatre singer and actress. In 1983, Williams made history when she became the first African-American woman to be crowned Miss America. Her reign as Miss America came to an early and abrupt end when she resigned her title in scandal. However, she has since gone on to a successful entertainment career.

Early life

Williams was born in Millwood, New York; she and her brother grew up in a middle-class suburban area. Prophetically, her parents put "Here she is: Miss America" on her birth announcement. Her parents, Milton and Helen Williams, were both music teachers.

She studied piano and French horn growing up, but was most interested in singing. She received a scholarship and attended Syracuse University as a theatre arts major, but later dropped out of college to pursue a career in entertainment.

Miss America

Williams began competing in beauty pageants in the early 1980s; she was interested in pursuing an entertainment career, as well as the scholarships pageants bestowed on winners.

Titleholder

Williams won Miss New York in 1983, and went to the Miss America national pageant in Atlantic City. She was crowned Miss America 1984 on September 17, 1983, making her the first ever African-American Miss America. Prior to the final night of competition, Williams won both the Preliminary Talent and Swimsuit Competitions from earlier in the week.

Controversy and resignation

Controversy erupted in the summer of 1984 when it was discovered that in 1982, she had posed nude for photographs — including scenes of graphic exposure and lesbian theme. The news came to light when adult magazine Penthouse announced that they would be publishing the photos in their September 1984 issue, without her consent.

After several days of media frenzy, Williams chose to resign her position on July 23, 1984. The crown was given to Suzette Charles (making her the second African-American Miss America), 54 days before the start of the pageant for Miss America 1985. At the time, many believed Williams' reputation would never recover from the scandal.

Music career

After time out of the spotlight, Williams secured a record deal, and released her debut album, The Right Stuff. The first single, "The Right Stuff," was successful on the R&B charts and the third single, "Dreamin'", was a chart success becoming Williams' first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The album reached gold status and earned her three Grammy Award nominations, including one for Best New Artist.

In addition to "Dreamin'", her most notable chart successes have included the songs "Running Back To You", "Love Is", "The Sweetest Days", "Colors of the Wind", "The Comfort Zone", "Just For Tonight" and "Oh How The Years Go By". Williams' biggest hit to date is "Save the Best For Last", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks from March 21 to April 18, 1992. In total, Williams has sold six million records and received fifteen Grammy Award nominations.

In 2005, Williams released her eighth studio album, Everlasting Love, a collection of covers of her favorite 1970s songs.

Acting career

While she pursued her career in music, Williams also cultivated a parallel career as an actress.

Television

Williams' first television appearance was on an episode of The Love Boat, playing herself. She subsequently made guest appearances on a number of shows, including T.J. Hooker, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Saturday Night Live, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, LateLine, Ally McBeal and Boomtown.

In early 2006 she starred in the short lived UPN drama South Beach. She is currently appearing as Wilhelmina Slater on the new ABC comedy Ugly Betty, produced by Salma Hayek.

She also had many appearances in television movies and miniseries, including Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer and The Jacksons: An American Dream. She played the nymph Calypso in the 1997 Hallmark Entertainment miniseries The Odyssey, starring Armand Assante. In 2001, Williams starred in the Lifetime cable movie about the life of Henriette DeLille, The Courage to Love.

Film roles

Williams was prominently featured in Soul Food, for which she won the Best Actress award at the NAACP Image Awards.

Other films include:

  • Eraser, co-starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
  • Hoodlum, opposite Laurence Fishburne
  • Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (as the Queen of Trash)
  • Dance With Me, a dance-themed movie co-starring Chayanne
  • Shaft, opposite Samuel L. Jackson.
  • Johnson Family Vacation, (with Bow Wow, Shannon Elizabeth, Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey and Solange Knowles)

Theatrical roles

Williams has appeared in several Broadway theatre productions, including major roles in Kiss of the Spider Woman in 1994 for which she received excellent reviews and her "Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a musical" nominated performance as the Witch in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods in 2002.

Other media appearances

She has also appeared in a number of advertisements for Radio Shack, starting in 2001. Recently, Williams has become a spokesmodel for Proactiv Solution.

Personal life

Born to Milton and Helen Williams. Has a younger brother, actor Chris Williams. Her father Milton Williams died in January 2006 at the age of 70.

Marriage/Children

Williams has been married and divorced twice.

  • Her first marriage to her then-manager Ramon Hervey II was from 2-Jan-1987 until 1997.
  • She married again to NBA basketball star Rick Fox from 26 Sept 1999 until 2005.

She is the mother of four children:

  • Melanie Lynne Hervey (born 1987)
  • Jillian Kristin Hervey (born 1989)
  • Devin Hervey (born 1993), and
  • Sasha Gabriella Fox (born 1 May 2000), with Fox.

Divorce from Fox

After The National Enquirer published pictures of Fox kissing another woman in mid-2004, Fox's representatives announced that the couple had been "headed toward divorce" for over a year. A few months later on August 10 2004, Fox filed for divorce[1]. During some press interviews, Williams cast some doubt on the divorce status [2], but while visiting the Howard Stern radio show on March 23, 2005, she said that while she and Fox were intimate with each other briefly during the 2004 holidays, a reconciliation was unlikely [3].

In early 2006, Williams began dating 29-year-old actor Rob Mack, whom she met on the set of her show South Beach.[4] She's currently single.

She currently resides in Chappaqua, New York (2003).

Everlasting Love
Silver and Gold


Name change

Known for most of her career as Vanessa Williams, she ran into name conflict with actress Vanessa A. Williams who was already using the name as her stage name. Screen Actors Guild rules prohibit duplicate naming, so this Williams generally appears as Vanessa L. Williams in acting credits, but is free to use Vanessa Williams in her music career. In the 2000s, a gospel singer Vanessa R. Williams began recording under the name Vanessa Williams as well, making three contemporaneous and similarly aged African-American performers with the same name. As of 2006, however, in the opening credits for "Ugly Betty", and on that show's ABC website, she is once again credited simply as "Vanessa Williams."

Works

Discography

Albums

  • The Right Stuff ** GOLD
  • The Comfort Zone ** 3x Platinum
  • The Sweetest Days ** Platinum
  • Star Bright ** GOLD
  • Next
  • Greatest Hits: The First Ten Years
  • Silver and Gold
  • Everlasting Love

Singles

Image:Vanessa Lynn Williams_Greatest Hits.jpg|thumb|right|Greatest Hits: The First 10 years

Year Title Album UK Singles Chart|UK Billboard Hot 100|US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks|US R&B
1988 "The Right Stuff (song)|The Right Stuff" The Right Stuff 62 44 4
1988 "(He's Got) The Look" The Right Stuff - - 10
1988 "Dreamin'" The Right Stuff 74 8 1
1989 "Darlin I" The Right Stuff - 88 10
1991 "Running Back to You" The Comfort Zone - 18 1
1991 "The Comfort Zone" The Comfort Zone - 62 2
1992 "Save the Best For Last" The Comfort Zone 3 1 1
1992 "Just for Tonight" The Comfort Zone - 26 11
1992 "Work to Do" The Comfort Zone - 52 3
1993 "Love Is (Vanessa Williams song)|Love Is" (with Brian McKnight) Beverly Hills 90210 Soundtrack - 3 55
1994 "The Sweetest Days" The Sweetest Days 41 18 40
1994 "The Way That You Love" The Sweetest Days 52 67 23
1995 "Colors of the Wind" Pocahontas Soundtrack 21 4 53
1995 "You Can't Run" The Sweetest Days - - 40
1996 "Where Do We Go From Here?" (from the film "Eraser") Greatest Hits: The First Ten Years - 71 90
1997 "Happiness (song)|Happiness" Next - - 33
1997 "Oh How The Years Go By" Next - - -

Filmography

  • The Pick-up Artist (1987)
  • Under the Gun (1988)
  • Another You (1991)
  • Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
  • Eraser (1996)
  • Hoodlum (1997)
  • Soul Food (film)|Soul Food (1997)
  • Dance with Me (1998)
  • The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)
  • Light It Up (1999)
  • Shaft (2000 film)|Shaft (2000)
  • Johnson Family Vacation (2004)

Upcoming:

  • My Brother (2007)
  • Somebody Like You (2007)

Television Work

  • Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal (1989)
  • The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990)
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer (1990)
  • Stompin' at the Savoy (1992)
  • The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992)
  • Nothing Lasts Forever (1995)
  • Bye Bye Birdie (1995)
  • The Odyssey (1997)
  • Futuresport (1998)
  • I'll Make Me A World (1998) (Documentary) (Narrator)
  • The Courage to Love (2000)
  • Don Quixote (2000)
  • A Diva's Christmas Carol (2000)
  • WW3 (2001)
  • Keep the Faith, Baby (2002)
  • Boomtown (2003)
  • Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives (2003) (Documentary) (Narrator)
  • Beck and Call (2004) (unsold pilot)
  • South Beach (2006 TV series)|South Beach (2006) (canceled after 8 episodes)
  • Ugly Betty (2006 - present)

Awards and recognition

  • 1983 Won Miss America
  • 1988 Nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female ("The Right Stuff").
  • 1989 Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female ("Dreamin'").
  • 1989 Won NAACP Image Award for Best New Artist.
  • Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female ("Runnin' Back to You").
  • 1992 Nominated for 3 American Music Awards for Favorite Female Artist - Pop / Rock, Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues, Favorite Album - Adult Contemporary ("The Comfort Zone").
  • 1992 Nominated for 3 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Pop Female Vocalist ("Save the Best for Last"), Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female ("The Comfort Zone").
  • 1992 Nominated for 2 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video of the Year ("Save the Best for Last") and Best Cinematography in a Video ("Running Back to You").
  • 1993 Won a Billboard Music Award for No. 1 Adult Contemporary Single ("Love Is").
  • 1993 Nominated for Grammy Award for Pop Vocal Group ("Love Is").
  • 1993 Won Playboy Magazine's - Best Female Rhythm and Blues Vocalist.
  • 1994 Won Theatre World Award for Best Debut Performance ("Kiss of the Spider Woman").
  • 1994 Won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Female Artist.
  • 1995 Nominated for 3 Grammy Awards for Pop Female Vocalist ("Colors of the Wind"), Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female ("The Way That You Love"), Best Musical Show Album ("Kiss of the Spider Woman").
  • 1995 Won Grammy Award for Best Song written specifically for a Motion Picture or Television ("Colors of the Wind"). Given to songwriters not her.
  • 1996 Won Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Lena Horne Award (Career Achievement).
  • 1996 Nominated for NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Female Artist for "Where Do We Go From Here" from the motion picture, "Eraser"
  • 1996 Nominated for Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress - Action ("Eraser").
  • 1997 Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album ("Star Bright").
  • 1997 Nominated for NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Album - ("Next").
  • 1997 Nominated for NAACP Image Award for Best Actress - Television Movie, Mini-Series, or Dramatic Special ("The Odyssey").
  • 1997 Won NAACP Image Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture ("Soul Food").
  • 1997 Nominated for Online Television Academy Awards for Best Guest Actress - Syndicated Series ("Star Trek: Deep Space Nine").
  • 1997 Nominated for Black Film Awards for Best Actress - Motion Picture ("Soul Food").
  • 1999 Nominated for A.L.M.A. Award for Best Song from A Movie - "You Are My Home" from the motion picture, "Dance With Me".
  • 2000 Nominated for Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress - Action ("Shaft").
  • 2000 Nominated for NAACP Image Award- Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture - ("Light It Up").
  • 2001 Nominated for Drama League Award for Most Distinguished Performance ("Into the Woods").
  • 2001 Nominated for NAACP Image Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture ("Shaft").
  • 2002 Won Satellite Awards for Best Actress - Miniseries or Movie ("Keep the Faith, Baby").
  • 2002 Nominated for NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress - Television Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special ("Keep the Faith, Baby").
  • 2002 Nominated for Black Reel Award for Network/Cable - Best Actress for ("Keep the Faith, Baby").
  • 2002 Nominated for Tony Award for Best Performance By a Leading Actress In a Musical ("Into the Woods").
  • 2002 Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album - Into The Woods (Vanessa Williams cast recording).
  • 2004 Nominated for BET Comedy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Box Office Movie
  • 2006 Nominated for Satellite Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television for Ugly Betty.
  • 2007 Nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for Ugly Betty
  • 2007 Nominated for NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a comedy series for Ugly Betty

Template:Succession box

See also

External links

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