Vanessa Williams was born on March 18, 1963 in
The Bronx, New York.
Vanessa Lynn Williams goes by the nicknames Van,
Ness or V. Williams began entering beauty contests in 1984,
eventually winning Miss New York and then becoming the first
African-American Miss America, she was forced to resign her
crown due to some photo's in penthouse magazine.
Vanessa sang and danced in school productions
and signed her high school yearbook with a promise to "see you
on Broadway." Williams landed a recording contract and released
several hit albums, including THE COMFORT ZONE and THE SWEETEST
DAYS.
Vanessa was the first black contestant in the
hot seat on WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIANAIRE?
Williams won a Sports Emmy for singing a song
about quarterback Joe Montana during an opening sequence on
ABC's Monday Night Football. In 2002 Vanessa Williams was nominated
for Broadway's 2002 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for
a revival of INTO THE WOODS.
Since 2001 Vanessa Williams has been doing commercials
for Radio Shack with Howie Long and Ving Rhames, and, since
2003, husband Rick Fox. She also does spots for Crest, and a
late-night infomercial for skin care product, Proactive Solution.
Vanessa managed to keep her high school promise
and performed on Broadway in the musical KISS OF THE SPIDER
WOMAN, a musical based on the Academy-Award winning film of
the same name.
In 1996, Vanessa Williams' first big hit film
with the thriller ERASER, co-starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Vanessa Williams' other notable credits include...
AND THEN CAME LOVE (2007)
MY BROTHER (2006)
JOHNSON FAMILY VACATION (2004)
SHAFT (2000)
LIGHT IT UP (1999)
DANCE WITH ME (1998)
ERASER
(1996)
HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THE MARLBORO MAN (1991)
UNDER THE GUN (1988)
THE PICK UP ARTIST (1987)
