Vanessa Williams
Acting
🎂 1963-03-18
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.
Cast credits(147)
Rhonda
2009
Renee Perry
2004
Self
2007
Self
1962
Courtney Paige
2009
Self - Guest
2009
Self
2019
Self - Musical Guest
1975
2022
Arandis
1993
Self - Guest
2022
Self - Special Guest
2009
2009
Self - Guest Judge
2009
Self - Judge (archive footage)
2009
Nance Trace
2021
Self - Performer
1956
Narrator (voice)
1988
Self - Guest
2019
1994
Self
2005
Self
1997
Self - Guest
1997
Self
2003
Self - Guest
1988
Willhelmina Slater
2006
Roslyn Bridwell
2024
Officer Pat Williamson
1982
Dr. Phillips
2012
Cynthia Rockwell
2014
Self
2003
Danny Mitchell
1990
Self - Guest
2004
Self (archive footage)
2024
Self
2005
Self - Guest Judge
2012
Elizabeth Carlton
2014
2008
Self (archive footage)
1993
Self - Guest
2011
Self
1953
Sheila Hunt
1997
Self
2004
Debra (voice)
2001
Dr. Perdue (voice)
2023
Self
2020
Self - Special Guest
2020
Self - Panelist
2016
Self
2001
Self (archive footage)
2003
Lee Cullen
1996
Self
2010
Self (archive footage)
2004
Self
2016
Beauty (voice)
1995
Self
2003
Captain Beakman (voice)
2019
Calypso
1997
Delilah
2019
Carmen Vasquez
2000
Vita
2009
Leanne Barrows
1998
Detective Katherine Pierce
2002
Amanda Waller (voice)
2019
1998
1996
Trish
2015
Jessie Mae Watts
2014
Dr. Kathy 'Kat' Hunter
1995
Francine Hughes
1997
Self - Contestant
2021
Self
1995
Amanda Waller (voice)
2018
Lulu Daniels
1991
Carolyn
2017
Self - Guest
1996
Janice
2013
Dorothy Johnson
2004
Olivia Doran
2012
Vanquisha Da House - Contestant
2020
Valerie Grant
1965
2003
Queen of Trash
1999
Suzanne de Passe
1992
Self
2023
Self
2004
Elizabeth Bauer
2006
Mother Henriette Delille
2000
Rae, Girl with Dog
1987
Self
2000
M.J. Blake (as Vanessa L. Williams)
2001
Self - Judge
2021
Ruby Sinclair
1998
Zora
2021
1984
Rochelle Richardson
2011
Audrey McDonald
1999
Gloria
1991
Julie LaVerne
2015
Julie
2007
Fire Goddess (voice)
2018
Samantha Richards
1988
Patricia Chamberlain
2023
Narrator
2005
Rose Alvarez
1995
Alexandra 'Alex' Torres
1999
Self - Host
2002
Terri Knight
1990
Self
1995
Teri
1997
L'Tisha Morton
2006
Captain Beakman (voice)
2020
Self
2024
"Dear World" Performer
2021
Lynette Parks
1990
2007
Mama Mirabelle (voice)
2007
Witch (segment "Into the Woods") (archive footage)
2005
Sally Rae
2019
Self
1998
Rachel - TV Executive
1990
1998
Self
1980
Self
2017
Dr. Kathy 'Kat' Hunter
1995
Self
2019
Ebony Scrooge
2000
Maxine Robinson
2017
Self - Guest
2012
Vanessa Williams
2013
Dulcinea / Aldonza
2000
Pauline
1992
Self
2000
Jackie Chisolm
2020
Self - Host
2020
Valentine Hayward
1989
2004
Alicia (voice)
2001
Narrator (voice)
2023
Self
2016
Beverly
2016
2020
Self
2006
Herself
2000
Hazel Scott
2002
1994
2020