Vanessa Williams
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
147
Gender
Female
Birthday
1963-03-18 (62 years old)
Place of Birth
Tarrytown, New York, USA
Vanessa Williams
Biography
An American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, and actress. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal involving nude photographs caused her to relinquish her title early. Williams rebounded by launching a career as an entertainer, earning Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award nominations. Williams released her debut album The Right Stuff in 1988, which spawned the hits "The Right Stuff," a #1 on Hot Dance Songs, and "Dreamin'," a #1 on R&B and #8 on Billboard Hot 100. Her second studio album, The Comfort Zone, in 1991 topped the Billboard R&B Album Chart, and spawned the number-one hit, "Save the Best for Last." In 1994 she debuted on Broadway in the musical Kiss of the Spider Woman. In 1995 she recorded the Oscar-winner for Best Original Song, "Colors of the Wind," from the Disney animated feature film Pocahontas. It went on to reach #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Williams's first major movie role was as the star of the feature film Eraser in 1996. She also starred in the movies Soul Food, Dance with Me, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, Shaft and Johnson Family Vacation. From 2006 to 2010 she played the role of self-absorbed diva and former supermodel Wilhelmina Slater in the ABC comedy series Ugly Betty. In 2009, Williams released her eighth studio album, The Real Thing. In 2010 she joined the ensemble cast of the series Desperate Housewives as spoiled rich woman Renee Perry.
Known For
Modern Family
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Desperate Housewives
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Saturday Night Live
The Graham Norton Show
The Good Wife
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Sherri
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Tony Awards
The View
The View
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
American Experience
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Elsbeth
Tamron Hall
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Stars in the House
Stars in the House
Broad City
T. J. Hooker
The Mindy Project
Intimate Portrait
The Librarians
Good Day Live
Ugly Betty
The Tony Danza Show
Velma
The Reichen Show
The Oscars
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
The Jonathan Ross Show
The Wendy Williams Show
Match Game
Ally McBeal
The Proud Family
Girls5eva
Shaft
Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
The Bachelorette
Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer
The $100,000 Pyramid
T.O.T.S.
Difficult People
Days of Our Lives
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
A Black Lady Sketch Show
The Odyssey
Tripped Up
Who Do You Think You Are?
My Brother
Boomtown
Celebrity Catchphrase
Another You
L.A. Doctors
Hoodlum
Afrocentricity
Don Quixote
Eraser
Soul Food
The Man from Earth: Holocene
The 7th Annual Soul Train Christmas Starfest
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
First Wives Club
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
LateLine
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Futuresport
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man
Santa, Baby!
Miss Virginia
Dance with Me
The Jacksons: An American Dream
Johnson Family Vacation
Name That Tune
Queen of the Universe
Partners in Crime
Secret Celebrity RuPaul's Drag Race
666 Park Avenue
A Capitol Fourth
Jungle Cubs
Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies
He's Way More Famous Than You
South Beach
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
A Mother's Love
Batman: Hush
The Pick-up Artist
The Courage to Love
The Legend of Hallowaiian
Light It Up
VH1 Divas
A Diva's Christmas Carol
Show Boat
And Then Came Love
American Style
MADtv
Bad Hair
Some Enchanted Evening: Celebrating Oscar Hammerstein II
The Kid Who Loved Christmas
Christmas in Washington
Calling All T.O.T.S.
Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field
Show of Titles
Pavarotti & Friends - For the Children of Liberia
Keep the Faith, Baby
Vanessa Williams: Live From the West Side
Daytime Divas
Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal
VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night
The Secret She Kept
Stompin' at the Savoy
Nothing Lasts Forever
Not Black Enough
Shear Genius
Bethenny
Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas with Vanessa Williams
Shaft: Still the Man
The Little Pageant That Could
The Trip to Bountiful
Nothing Lasts Forever
Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space
WW3
Sesame Street: What's the Name of That Song?
Bye Bye Birdie
Score with Chicks
Seriously... Phil Collins
Singleholic
It's Black Entertainment
Celebrating 50 Years of Broadway's Best
Rehearsing a Dream
Gift for the Living
Under the Gun
Christmas is Coming: Rob Mathes & Very Special Friends
There She Is
