Vanessa Williams

Vanessa Williams
Williams in 2019
Born	Vanessa Lynn Williams (1963-03-18) March 18, 1963 (age 61) New York City, U.S.[1]
Education	Syracuse University (BFA)
Occupations	Singer actress model producer dancer
Years active	1982–present
Title	Miss America 1984 Miss New York 1983 Miss Syracuse 1983
Term	Miss America: September 17, 1983 – July 22, 1984 (resigned)
Predecessor	Debra Maffett
Successor	Suzette Charles
Spouses	Ramon Hervey II ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 1997)​ Rick Fox ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2004)​ Jim Skrip ​ (m. 2015)​
Children	4, including Jillian Hervey
Relatives	Chris Williams (brother)
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Genres	R&B pop soul jazz dance gospel
Labels	Wing Polydor Mercury Lava Concord
Musical artist
Website	vanessawilliams.com

Vanessa Lynn Williams^[1] (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer, and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984, but resigned her title amid a media controversy surrounding nude photographs of her being published in Penthouse magazine. Thirty-two years later, Williams was offered a public apology during the Miss America 2016 pageant for the events.

Williams rebounded from the scandal with a successful career as a singer and actress. In 1988, she released her debut studio album The Right Stuff, whose title single saw moderate success as well as "Dreamin'", which peaked at number 8 in the United States in 1989. With her second and third studio albums, The Comfort Zone (1991) and The Sweetest Days (1994), she saw continued commercial success and received multiple Grammy Award nominations, including her number-one single and signature song, "Save the Best for Last", which she performed live at the 1993 Grammy Awards ceremonies. Her later studio albums include Everlasting Love (2005) and The Real Thing (2009).

As an actress, Williams enjoyed success on stage and screen. She made her Broadway debut in 1994 with Kiss of the Spider Woman. In 2002, she starred as The Witch in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods that earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical nomination. She starred in the revival of Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful in 2013, and the ensemble political farce POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive in 2022. She is also known for her appearances in television, with her best known roles being Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty (2006–2010), for which she was nominated three times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series; and Renee Perry on Desperate Housewives (2010–2012).