Vanessa Williams

Biography: This stunning singer-actress has enjoyed a long and illustrious entertainment career. Her parents, both high school music teachers, instilled in her a love of the arts from a young age, and her artistic interests led her to study musical theater in college. She soon was invited to participate in the Miss Greater Syracuse Pageant, which resulted in her competing to be Miss America. In 1983, the 20-year-old Williams made history when she became the first African-American to be crowned Miss America. The next year, she was forced to relinquish her crown when nude photos from her past resurfaced and were published in Penthouse. Instead of slinking away into obscurity, Williams fought back and continued to pursue her aspirations as a singer and actress. She made her off-Broadway debut in the musical One Man Band in 1985 and two years later appeared in the film The Pick-Up Artist. Her debut album, The Right Stuff, boosted her rising music career and she earned three Grammy nominationsThis stunning singer-actress has enjoyed a long and illustrious entertainment career. Her parents, both high school music teachers, instilled in her a love of the arts from a young age, and her artistic interests led her to study musical theater in college. She soon was invited to participate in the Miss Greater Syracuse Pageant, which resulted in her competing to be Miss America. In 1983, the 20-year-old Williams made history when she became the first African-American to be crowned Miss America. The next year, she was forced to relinquish her crown when nude photos from her past resurfaced and were published in Penthouse. Instead of slinking away into obscurity, Williams fought back and continued to pursue her aspirations as a singer and actress. She made her off-Broadway debut in the musical One Man Band in 1985 and two years later appeared in the film The Pick-Up Artist. Her debut album, The Right Stuff, boosted her rising music career and she earned three Grammy nominations plus the respect of the entertainment industry. Her second album, The Comfort Zone, proved even more successful. By the late '80s, she was a veritable pop princess with hits like "Save the Best for Last," "Dreamin'" and "Colors of the Wind." Concurrently, she made a name for herself as an actress, appearing on both the big and small screens, notably in the small-screen adaptation of the musical Bye Bye Birdie, the big-budget action flick Eraser and the campy TV-movie A Diva's Christmas Carol, in which she gave a deliciously villainous turn as a female Ebenezer Scrooge. The overachieving beauty simultaneously managed to raise four children and conquer Broadway, taking over the title role in Kiss of the Spider Woman and earning a Tony as a glamorous witch in the 2002 revival of Into the Woods. Williams regularly exuded confidence and sophistication and seemed to relish playing bad girls. The chance to portray a master manipulator arose again when she landed the showy role of scheming fashion editor Wilhelmina Slater on the ABC series Ugly Betty in 2006. Though a critical success, the series ended after four seasons, and Williams returned to her roots by releasing an album, The Real Thing, and joining the cast of the Broadway revue Sondheim on Sondheim.… Expand