Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American R&B/pop/theatrical singer and actress. In 1983, she made history when she became the first African American to be crowned Miss America, but then was forced to resign her title in scandal. She then engaged in an entertainment career.

Early life

Williams was born in Millwood, New York where she and her brother grew up in a suburban area. Prophetically, her parents put "Here she is: Miss America" on her birth announcement. [Entertainment Tonight December 11 200

Her parents, Miltons and Helen Williams, were both music teachers who held advanced degrees in the subject. Vanessa 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. She also won scholarships for being selected as Miss America.

Miss America

Williams began competing in beauty pageants in the early 80s, and won Miss New York in 1983. She then went on to Atlantic City where 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 earlier in the week.

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 theming - that were about to be published in the September 1984 issue of adult magazine Penthouse without her permission. 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

Four years later, she appeared in the music industry with her 1988 debut album, The Right Stuff, which reached gold status and earned her three Grammy Award nominations, including one for Best New Artist.

Her most notable songs include "Dreamin'", "Running Back To You", "Love Is", "The Sweetest Days", "Colors of the Wind", "The Comfort Zone" and "Oh How The Years Go By". However, her biggest hit to date and signature song 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, Vanessa released her eighth studio album, Everlasting Love, a collection of covers of her favorite 1970s songs.

Acting career

In the 80s, she also began a career in acting with guest roles in tv series, such as The Love Boat, T.J. Hooker and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and roles in made-for-TV movies, such as Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer and The Jacksons: An American Dream.

Her other TV appearances include Saturday Night Live, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, LateLine, Ally McBeal and Boomtown.

She played the nymph Calypso in the 1997 Hallmark Entertainment miniseries The Odyssey, starring Armand Assante.

She later won starring roles in feature movies, such as Eraser, co-starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Soul Food, for which she won the Best Actress award at the NAACP Image Awards, and Dance With Me.

Her other movies include Hoodlum, opposite Laurence Fishburne, Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (as the Queen of Trash), Shaft, opposite Samuel L. Jackson, and Johnson Family Vacation, alongside Cedric the Entertainer.

Williams has appeared in several Broadway theatre productions, including major roles in Kiss of the Spider Woman in 1994 for which she received stellar reviews and Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods in 2002.

She has also appeared in a number of advertisements for Radio Shack, starting in 2001. Recently Williams has become the spokesmodel for Proactiv Solution. In early 2006 she starred in the short lived UPN drama South Beach. For the Fall 2006 season, she will be starring in the new ABC comedy Betty The Ugly.

She was the Queen of Trash in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

Personal life

Williams is the mother of four children. Three of her children are from her first marriage to her then-manager Ramon Hervey, which ended in 1997. She married again in 1999 to NBA basketball star Rick Fox, previously of the Los Angeles Lakers. They have one daughter named Sasha, born May 2000.

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, Fox filed for divorce. During some press interviews, Williams casted some doubt on the status of their relationship. But while visiting the Howard Stern radio show in early 2005, she said that while she and Fox were intimate with each other briefly during the holidays, a reconciliation was unlikely. In early 2006, Williams began dating 29-year-old actor Rob Mack, whom she met on the set of her show South Beach.

Her father Milton Williams died in January 2006 at the age of 70. She currently resides in Chappaqua, New York.

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

Filmography

• The Pick-Up Artist (1987)
• Under the Gun (1988)
• Another You (1991)
• Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
• The Jacksons: An American Dream
• Eraser (1996)
• Hoodlum (1997)
• Soul Food (1997)
• Dance with Me (1998)
• The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)
• Light It Up (1999)
• Shaft (2000)
• A Diva's Christmas Carol (2000)
• Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives (2003) (documentary) (narrator)
• Johnson Family Vacation (2004)
• My Brother (2006)

Awards

• 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").
• 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 Golden 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