Vanessa Williams
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
146
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
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Modern Family
The Graham Norton Show
Desperate Housewives
The Kelly Clarkson Show
RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Good Wife
Saturday Night Live
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Elsbeth
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Tony Awards
Sherri
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
American Experience
The View
The View
T. J. Hooker
Chicago Hope
Good Day Live
The Mindy Project
Tamron Hall
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Girls5eva
Intimate Portrait
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Stars in the House
Stars in the House
The Reichen Show
Ugly Betty
The Tony Danza Show
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
The Jonathan Ross Show
The Librarians
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
Broad City
The Oscars
Velma
Ally McBeal
The Proud Family
Match Game
Jungle Cubs
The Wendy Williams Show
T.O.T.S.
The $100,000 Pyramid
Shaft
The Bachelorette
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
Difficult People
Eraser
L.A. Doctors
The Odyssey
Who Do You Think You Are?
Days of Our Lives
A Black Lady Sketch Show
Boomtown
Name That Tune
Batman: Hush
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man
A Mother's Love
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
Hannah Montana: The Movie
LateLine
Hoodlum
The Man from Earth: Holocene
Secret Celebrity RuPaul's Drag Race
Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor
The Pick-up Artist
666 Park Avenue
Another You
Some Enchanted Evening: Celebrating Oscar Hammerstein II
Soul Food
Dance with Me
Queen of the Universe
Futuresport
Partners in Crime
Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer
Under the Gun
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
Light It Up
The 7th Annual Soul Train Christmas Starfest
Christmas in Washington
Celebrating 50 Years of Broadway's Best
A Capitol Fourth
He's Way More Famous Than You
The Jacksons: An American Dream
Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies
The Courage to Love
Keep the Faith, Baby
Johnson Family Vacation
South Beach
Bad Hair
My Brother
Seriously... Phil Collins
Afrocentricity
Show of Titles
Santa, Baby!
Tripped Up
Daytime Divas
WW3
Calling All T.O.T.S.
Stompin' at the Savoy
Show Boat
Don Quixote
VH1 Divas
MADtv
Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards
American Style
Shear Genius
Bethenny
Vanessa Williams: Live From the West Side
The Kid Who Loved Christmas
Nothing Lasts Forever
Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal
Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field
A Diva's Christmas Carol
Rehearsing a Dream
Pavarotti & Friends - For the Children of Liberia
And Then Came Love
The Legend of Hallowaiian
VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night
The Secret She Kept
Bye Bye Birdie
Miss Virginia
The Little Pageant That Could
The Trip to Bountiful
Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas with Vanessa Williams
Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space
It's Black Entertainment
Shaft: Still the Man
Singleholic
Score with Chicks
Nothing Lasts Forever
Sesame Street: What's the Name of That Song?
Not Black Enough
Christmas is Coming: Rob Mathes & Very Special Friends
Gift for the Living
There She Is
