Vanessa L. Williams Movie, Television and Music Video Entertainment Spotlight!

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Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Williams made history on September 17, 1983 when she became the first African American woman to be crowned Miss America. Williams' reign as Miss America came to an abrupt end when scandal led to her subsequent resignation of the title. Williams rebounded by launching a career as an entertainer, receiving Grammy, Emmy, and Tony award recognition while perfecting her craft.

Williams was born in Tarrytown, New York to Milton and Helen Williams, who were both music teachers. Her father was of mixed heritage (European and African-American) and her mother was of African-American lineage. Vanessa has a younger brother named Chris, who is also an actor. They grew up in a white middle-class suburban area. Prophetically, her parents put "Here she is: Miss America" on her birth announcement.[1]

Williams 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. She discontinued her education at Syracuse during her sophomore year to fulfill her duties as Miss America, and then subsequently left university to focus on her entertainment career.

Williams began competing in beauty pageants in the early 1980s. 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. Williams' reign as Miss America was not without its challenges and controversies. For the first time in pageant history, a reigning Miss America was the target of death threats and angry racist hate mail.[2]

Ten months into her reign as Miss America, she received an anonymous phone call stating that nude photos of her taken by a photographer prior to her pageant days had surfaced. Williams believed the photographs were private and had been destroyed; she claims she never signed a release permitting the photos to be used.[3]

The genesis of the photos dated back to 1982, when she worked as an assistant and makeup artist for Mount Kisco, N.Y. photographer Tom Chiapel. According to Williams, Chiapel advised her that he wanted to try a "new concept of silhouettes with two models." He photographed Williams and another woman in several nude poses. The photographs depicted mild overtones of simulated lesbian sex, which was quite controversial for its time.[4]

Hugh Hefner, the publisher of Playboy, was initially offered the photos, but turned them down. Later Hefner would explain why in People Weekly. "Vanessa Williams is a beautiful woman. There was never any question of our interest in the photos. But they clearly weren't authorized and because they would be the source of considerable embarrassment to her, we decided not to publish them. We were also mindful that she was the first black Miss America." Days later, Bob Guccione, the publisher of Penthouse, announced that his magazine would publish the photos in their September 1984 issue, and paid Chiapel for the rights to them without Williams' consent. According to the PBS documentary, "Miss America," the Vanessa Williams issue of Penthouse would ultimately bring Guccione a $14 million windfall.[5] On September 8, 1984, Vanessa filed a $500 million lawsuit against Chiapel and Guccione. According to a Williams family representative, she dropped the suit because she wanted to avoid any further legal battles and move on with her life.

After several days of media frenzy and sponsors threatening to pull out of the upcoming 1985 pageant, Williams felt pressured by Miss America Pageant officials to resign, and did so in a press conference on July 23, 1984. The title subsequently went to first-runner up Suzette Charles, who is also African-American. Although she resigned from fulfilling the duties of a current Miss America, she was allowed to keep the bejeweled crown and scholarship money and is officially recognized by the Miss America Organization today as "Miss America 1984" and Suzette Charles as "Miss America 1984b."

Williams has gone on to lead what is arguably the most successful career of any former Miss America.

After time out of the spotlight, Williams secured a record deal, and released her debut album, The Right Stuff in 1988. The first single, "The Right Stuff", found moderate success on the R&B Chart but a second single failed at radio. The third single, "Dreamin'", was a pop success becoming Williams' first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and her first number one single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album reached gold status in the US and earned her three Grammy Award nominations, including one for Best New Artist.

Her second album The Comfort Zone became the biggest success in her music career. The lead single Running Back to You reached top twenty on the Hot 100, and the top position of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart on October 5, 1991. Other singles included "The Comfort Zone" (#2 R&B), "Just for Tonight" (#26 Pop), "Work To Do" and the club-only hit "Freedom Dance (Get Free!)". The most successful single from the album, as well as her biggest hit to date is "Save the Best for Last". The song was #1 in the United States (for five weeks), Australia, the Netherlands, and Canada. It also became a hit in several other countries. The album sold 2.2 million copies in the US at its time of release and has since been certified three times platinum in the United States by the RIAA, gold in Canada by the CRIA, and platinum in the United Kingdom by the BPI. The Comfort Zone earned Williams five Grammy Award nominations.

Williams' follow-up albums did not find the same level of success as "The Comfort Zone", or even her debut album. Some minor chart performances from subsequent albums have included the songs "Love Is", "The Sweetest Days", "Colors of the Wind", and "Oh How The Years Go By". In total, Williams has sold over six million records and received fifteen Grammy Award nominations.

In early 2007, it was announced she had signed with jazz label Concord Records. An album, which will be her 9th, is expected later this year and will be a mix of old jazz standards as well as new ballads/Brazilian bossa nova.[citation needed]

Acting career

Williams parlayed her ascendant music career into a theatrical role when she was cast in the Broadway production of Kiss of the Spider Woman in 1994. She was also featured in a Tony-nominated and Drama Desk Award nominated performance as the Witch in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods in a revival of the show in 2002, which included songs revised for her.

Other notable theatrical roles include her performances in Carmen Jones at the Kennedy Center, the off-Broadway productions of One Man Band and Checkmates, and the New York City Center's Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert, St. Louis Woman.

Williams has appeared in several feature films. Her most prominent role was in the film Soul Food (1997), for which she won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture. Vanessa appeared in the 1991 cult classic film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. She also co-starred with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie Eraser and opposite Latin sensation Chayanne in Dance with Me.

In 2007, Vanessa returned to the big screen starring in two independent motion pictures. The first being My Brother, for which she won Best Actress honors at the Harlem International Film Festival, the African-American Women in Cinema Film Festival and at the Santa Barbara African Heritage Film Festival, and the second being And Then Came Love.

Williams' first television appearance was on a 1984 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, MADtv, Ally McBeal and Boomtown.

She has 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. She appeared as the Ebenezer Scrooge character in an update of the Charles Dickens story "A Christmas Carol" called "A Diva's Christmas Carol". In 2001, Williams starred in the Lifetime cable movie about the life of Henriette DeLille, The Courage to Love. In early 2006 she starred in the short lived UPN drama South Beach.

In 2007, Williams received considerable media attention for her comic/villainess role as magazine creative director Wilhelmina Slater in the ABC comedy series Ugly Betty, produced by Salma Hayek. Her performance on the series resulted in a nomination for outstanding supporting actress at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. Williams lost to Jamie Pressly, however.

For the complete list of her television appearances, see Vanessa L. Williams at TV.com.

• She has appeared in advertisements for RadioShack.
• She has been a spokesmodel for Proactiv Solution.
• She has endorsed L'Oréal cosmetics.
• She has endorsed Crest Rejuvenating Effects Toothpaste.
• She played Who Wants to be a Millionaire in 1999.
• She appeared nude in the May 2007 issue of Allure

Name conflict

In Williams' career, she was initially known simply as "Vanessa Williams". However, there is occasionally confusion or conflicts with similarly-named actress Vanessa A. Williams, who first came to national notice when she appeared in the first season of Melrose Place.

Williams (VLW) first became aware of Vanessa A. Williams (VAW) in the 1980s when her New York University registrar told her that another, similarly aged girl with the same name and from the same state had applied [6][7] When VLW appeared as Miss America in a Macy's Day Parade, VAW accidentally received her check for the appearance (which she returned).[6]

In the area of acting, the two ran into name conflict when Screen Actors Guild rules prohibited duplicate stage naming. VAW had registered the name "Vanessa Williams" first,[6] so as a compromise, VLW was occasionally credited as "Vanessa L. Williams" in acting credits. VLW says the Screen Actors Guild eventually took the issue to arbitration and decided that both actresses could use the stage name "Vanessa Williams."[7] She is credited this way in the opening credits for Ugly Betty. Both actresses starred in versions of the drama Soul Food (VLW in the film version, and VAW in its TV series adaptation).

In a 1997 interview with Playboy magazine, VLW claims VAW made a "catty remark" about her when VAW appeared in a Broadway play [8]. A year later, VLW told Canoe.ca: "[The other Vanessa Williams] registered the name first, but I made the name famous so I have more claim to it these days"[6] .

Personal Life

Williams has been married twice. Her first marriage, to her then-manager Ramon Hervey II, was from 1987 to 1997. They have three children: Melanie (born 1987), Jillian (born 1989), and Devin (born 1993).

Her second marriage was to former NBA basketball player Rick Fox. They married in September 1999 and have a daughter, Sasha Gabriella (born May 2000). After The National Enquirer published pictures of Fox kissing another woman in mid-2004, Fox's representative announced that the couple had been "headed toward divorce" for over a year [9] A few months later in August 2004, Fox filed for divorce.[10]. During some press interviews, Williams cast some doubt on the divorce status [11], but while visiting the Howard Stern radio show in March 2005, she said that while she and Fox were intimate with each other briefly during the 2004 holidays, a reconciliation was unlikely[12]. As of 2006 their divorce is still not final ({Fact|date=December 2007}}.

In early 2006, Williams dated 29-year-old actor Rob Mack, whom she met on the set of her show South Beach [13].

She's currently single and resides in Beverly Hills, California and Chappaqua, New York.

Her father Milton died on January 17, 2006, at the age of 70[14].

Discography Main article: Vanessa L. Williams discography

Awards and accolades

• 1983 Won Miss America
• 1989 Nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female (The Right Stuff).
• 1989 Won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist.
• 1990 Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female (Dreamin' ).
• 1992 Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female (Runnin' Back to You).
• 1993 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).
• 1993 Nominated for 4 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Pop Female Vocalist (Save the Best for Last), Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female (The Comfort Zone).
• 1993 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.
• 1989-1993 Winner of 8 New York Music Awards including Artist of the Year in 1992.
• 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 4 Grammy Awards for Pop Female Vocalist (Colors of the Wind), Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female (The Way That You Love), Best R&B Song (You Can't Run) 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 Awarded the Soul Train Lady of Soul: Lena Horne Award for 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 Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special (The Odyssey).
• 1997 Won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a 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 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a 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 Outstanding Actress in a 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 in a Television Movie, Mini-Series 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 for Johnson Family Vacation
• 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 Won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Ugly Betty
• 2007 Received a STAR on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame on March 19, recognizing over 20 years in the entertainment industry.
• 2007 Nominated for Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Ugly Betty
• 2007 Won for Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Villain in Ugly Betty
• 2008 Won for Satellite Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television for Ugly Betty.
• 2008 Nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for Ugly Betty
• 2008 Nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Ugly Betty

Popular culture

• In The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Beauty Queen", Krusty the Klown informs the pageant audience that it is possible for the runner-up to inherit the crown. He says, "And don't say it'll never happen. Because we all remember that thing that happened with what's her name. Click, click. You know," a reference to Williams' nude photographs.

• Also in the episode "Itchy and Scratchy Land", when driving to the amusement park, Homer turns on the radio to hear the following "Continuing our "Sign of Evil" countdown, here's Vanessa Williams," another reference to Williams' singing career.

• Williams also contributes in an album featuring English-language translations of songs from the world-popular Japanese pop music girl group Morning Musume. She sings a translated version of their 10th single, "I Wish".

• Digital Underground referenced Vanessa Williams in the remix version of their song "Doowutchyalike." The line goes "Vanessa Williams, ooh you're so divine, just wanna put your name in my rhyme..." They also reference her in their song "Packet Man."

• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

References

1. ^ Entertainment Tonight interview. December 11, 2005.
2. ^ pbs.org
3. ^ time.com
4. ^ Tom Chiapel. "Here she comes, Miss America", Pictorial, Penthouse, September, 1984, pp. 66-75. ISSN 0090-2020. 
5. ^ pbs.org
6. ^ a b c d B. Hobson, Louis. Vanessa dancing up a storm, Canoe.ca. August 16, 1998.
7. ^ a b Vanessa Williams: Boomtown's New Bombshell!. TV Guide. September 02, 2003.
8. ^ http://www.vanessawilliams.de/about_funengl.htm
9. ^ contactmusic.com
10. ^ usatoday.com
11. ^ contactmusic.com
12. ^ marksfriggin.com
13. ^ nydailynews.com
14. ^ twincities.com

External links

• Vanessa Williams MySpace, Official MySpace Page
• Vanessa Williams Music, Official Site,
• Vanessa L. Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• Vanessa L. Williams at TV.com
• [1] Vanessa Williams Info, Interviews, Trivia
• Vanessa Williams biography, Evening at Pops, PBS,
• "Vanessa Williams Makes 'Ugly Betty' Look Good", The TV Tattler, November 8, 2006.
• Vanessa Williams biography, Women's History Month, March 2007, by U.S. Department of State.

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