Vanessa Williams Biography

Vanessa Lynn Williams was born in 1963 in Millwood, New York. As a child, Vanessa began competing in beauty pageants, and the success of her experiences led her all the way to representing New York in the Miss America pageant in 1983. She won, making history by becoming the first African American woman to win the pageant. Unfortunately, the achievement was fraught with controversy and disappointment, when Penthouse published inappropriate photos of Vanessa, taken long before she’d ever entered the contest. Vanessa Williams opted to resign from her position as Miss America in 1984.

Vanessa Williams returned to her first love of music, and began pursuing a career as a vocalist.  Her debut album was released in 1988. The Right Stuff featured the hit single “Dreamin’,” which immediately became Vanessa Williams’s first number one, and sent the album to gold status. Vanessa took the opportunity to simultaneously launch what would become a stellar acting career, appearing in several movies for television.

In the meantime, her second album The Comfort Zone (1991) rocketed to the top of the charts on the strength of an even bigger hit single, “Save the Best for Last." A few years later, Williams joined up with Brian McKnight for the smash single “Love Is,” featured on the Beverly Hills 90210 soundtrack.  One year after that, Vanessa Williams accepted the lead role in Broadway’s Kiss of the Spider Woman, bringing her full circle and establishing her as a superstar in the real of music, film, and theater.

Since that time, Vanessa Williams has maintained a constant presence in the entertainment industry, with innumerous albums, films, and live performances. Her albums and hit singles include: The Sweetest Days (1994), Star Bright (1996), Next (1997), Silver & Gold (2004), Everlasting Love (2005), The Real Thing (2009), “Just for Tonight,” “Work to Do,” You Are Everything,” “The Real Thing,” and “Colors of the Wind,” which earned Williams a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and an Academy Award win for Best Original Song.

Vanessa Williams has appeared on the big screen in: Dance With Me (1998), Light It Up (1999), Shaft (2000), Johnson Family Vacation (2004), My Brother (2007), And Then Came  Love (2007), Delhi Safari (2011), and The Marriage Counselor (2012.) She has also played leading roles on stage in St. Louis Woman (1998), Carmen Jones (2002), Into the Woods (2002), Sondheim on Sondheim (2010.)

Vanessa Williams continues to perform with no signs of slowing down. Recent years have seen her appear on television shows such as Royal Pains, The Good Wife, Modern Family, and in recurring roles on The Librarians and Daytime Divas.