Vanessa Williams

NEWS
6.22.08 - Check out the interview Vanessa did with CNN's Black In America. The special will air July 23 and 24 at 9pm ET.
6.9.08 - Check out the pics section for exclusive photos from the 2008 TV Land Awards!
Be sure to tune in to Entertainment Tonight to watch exclusive footage from the TV Land Awards!
And watch the exclusive interview Vanessa did with USA Today while rehearsing for the show!

6.1.08 - Michael Urie - who stars as Marc St. James in the hit US TV series Ugly Betty - recently told Press that executives are already in talks for the a musical version of the show. "I don't know about an 'Ugly Betty' movie but they do want to do an 'Ugly Betty' musical, a full on Broadway musical, but it's all hush hush," he recently said. Michael also revealed he and the rest of the Ugly Betty cast, including Vanessa and America, will star in the musical. He added: "I think it would be great and they should use the cast from the show. I think we would all do it although we maybe don't dance and sing as well as professional singers and dancers. I think it would be fun for us to do it for a while and then they could get real people in!" The 27-year-old actor also said bosses at the show are planning to do a musical episode of the show. He said: "They definitely want to do an episode that is a musical one, but then they want to a full stage show also. I think it's a great idea. It would definitely work."
5.21.08 - Vanessa will host the 2008 TV Land Awards. The show will be taped at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica before premiering on the network at 9 PM on June 15. The TV Land Awards celebrate the best of TV, movies, and music!
5.11.08 - Wearing a cap and gown, with orange trim, Vanessa officially became part of Syracuse University's Class of 2008 this weekend. “It’s been 25 years since I was a student here. It just brought home what my message was, which is cherish the moment," said Vanessa, who graduated along with 480 other students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Turns out her family couldn't be more proud. “It is fantastic. Its fulfillment, full circle and I'm very very excited and I know her dad is here in spirit," said Vanessa's mother Helen L. Williams. “I was just really proud of my mom and its great to see her up there in a cap and gown," said son Devin. "She deserves it and she works really hard and she loves Syracuse so much, so I'm just happy to see her finally graduate," said daughter Jillian.
Check out footage here from News 10 of Vanessa accepting her diploma.
5.7.08 - Nearly 25 years after leaving Syracuse University, Vanessa will get her bachelor of fine arts degree this weekend. She will also deliver the convocation address Saturday to graduates of Syracuse's College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Vanessa attended Syracuse's drama department as a musical theater major from 1981-1983. She earned the remaining credits for her degree through industry experience and performances on stage and screen.
In 1996, Vanessa received the George Arents Pioneer Medal, Syracuse University's most prestigious alumni award.
5.6.08 - ABC is moving production for Ugly Betty from Los Angeles to New York next season. The move will help cut production costs since the show is already set in The Big Apple and give the show a more authentic New York feel. Vanessa and costar Ana Ortiz are both from NY and Michael Urie graduated from Julliard.
5.4.08 - Check out the exclusive interview Vanessa did with ABC about Ugly Betty and her character, Wilhelmina!
5.3.08 - Check out the pics section for features from TV Guide (Sexiest Women on TV issue) and People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People!
4.16.08 - Check out the pics section for photos of Vanessa from the 2008 Lincoln Center Spring Gala Honoring Robert Iger at Damrosch Park last week in New York City!
4.10.08 - Vanessa will play Hannah Montana's publicist in the big screen version of the Disney channel show. Production begins this summer!
4.9.08 - For the first time in its history, Ebony magazine has printed two different covers for the same month! Its May 2008 issues feature Vanessa on one cover and her family on the other! Be sure to pick them up at your local newsstand!
BIO
Vanessa Williams is one of the most respected and multi-faceted performers in entertainment today. She has conquered the musical charts, Broadway, music videos, television and motion pictures. She has sold over four million albums worldwide and her skills as an actress on stage, in film and on television have earned praise from the most seasoned of critics.
Performing – and music in particular – has always played an important role in Vanessa’s life. Born in Millwood, New York, Vanessa’s early years were spent surrounded by music. Her parents were music teachers who recognized her musical gifts early on and encouraged her to pursue her love of the arts. When she was young, she acted, danced, played piano and French horn in her high school orchestra, concert band and marching band and she sang in the concert choir and chorus. Her early interest in performing led to a passion for musical theatre. She won an NFAA scholarship was a finalist for a Presidential Scholarship in acting in 1981 and chose to continue her education at Syracuse University, where she majored in musical theatre. While at college in 1983, Vanessa was sought after by local talent scouts who invited her to participate in the Miss Greater Syracuse Pageant. Three months later, Vanessa won the 1983 Miss America title and the $30,000 scholarship that accompanied it. The controversy that followed only left Vanessa stronger and more empowered in her commitment to a career in the world of entertainment.
Vanessa launched her recording career in 1988 with her first album, “The Right Stuff,” which went gold and earned her first three Grammy Award nominations. Her 1991 multi-million selling follow-up, “The Comfort Zone,” which featured the unforgettable “Save the Best For Last,” and her third album, “The Sweetest Days,” each yielded multiple hits and Grammy nominations. She was nominated for yet another Grammy for her hit single “Colors of the Wind,” from Disney’s “Pocahontas,” which went on to win an Academy Award, Golden Globe and the Grammy for Best Song in a Motion Picture. Her numerous recordings also include two holiday-themed albums, “Star Bright” and “Silver & Gold;” “Vanessa Williams Greatest Hits: The First Ten Years;” “Our Favorite Things,” with Tony Bennett, Placido Domingo and Charlotte Church and “Everlasting Love,” a romantic collection of her favorite love songs from the 1970’s.
In 1994, Vanessa realized a life-long dream, taking Broadway by storm when she replaced Chita Rivera in “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” Her performance won critics over and was a box-office sensation, firmly establishing Vanessa as a multi-talented triple-threat. Vanessa also garnered rave reviews and was nominated for a Tony Award in the 2002 revival of Stephen “Into the Woods,” taking a brief break from the production to headline a limited special engagement of the classic, “Carmen Jones,” at the Kennedy Center, playing to sold-out houses and achieving glowing notices. Previously, Vanessa captivated theatre-goers off-Broadway in “One Man Band” and in the Los Angeles production of Ron Milner’s “Checkmates.” She also starred in the Encore! Series staged concert production of “St. Louis Woman,” which was also released as a cast recording.
Vanessa made her film debut in 1986 in “Under the Gun” and she appeared in the films “The Pick-Up Artist,” “Another You” (with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder) and “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man” (with Mickey Rourke). She starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Warner Bros.’ action thriller, “Eraser,” followed by a leading role opposite Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia in “Hoodlum” and an NAACP Image Award winning performance with the box-office hit, “Soul Food.” She has starred in the romantic dance-musical “Dance With Me,” “Light It Up,” “The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland” and “Shaft,” opposite Samuel L. Jackson. She recently starred in the independent features, “My Brother” and “And Then Came Love,” and co-starred in “Johnson Family Vacation” with Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Harvey.
Vanessa has also played diverse roles on television, in such productions as “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” “The Boy Who Loved Christmas” and “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” for which she won an NAACP Image Award. She commanded rave reviews for her performance in ABC’s revival of “Bye, Bye Birdie” and starred in the mini-series “Nothing Lasts Forever” and the Emmy-nominated “The Odyssey,” which also garnered impressive ratings and an Image Award nomination for Vanessa. Vanessa starred opposite John Lithgow in TNT’s “Don Quixote” and she executive produced and starred in “The Courage to Love” for Lifetime Television. She starred in the VH1 Original Movie, “A Diva’s Christmas Carol,” which was the highest rated movie ever for VH1, their second highest rated telecast overall of in 2000 and their fourth highest rated telecast of all time. She co-starred in the Showtime movie “Keep the Faith, Baby”and the UPN drama, “South Beach.” She currently stars on ABC’s new hit series, “Ugly Betty,” which won the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Series, Comedy.
Among Vanessa’s many awards and honors, she was nominated for an Emmy in 2007 for her role of Wilhelmina Slater on ABC's TV series Ugly Betty. That same year she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1996, she received the coveted Lena Horne Career Achievement Award at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. Vanessa’s charitable contributions are many and varied, embracing and supporting such issues as education, homelessness, abuse, women’s issues and health concerns, AIDS and anything having to do with children. Specifically, she is actively involved with such organizations as Green Chimneys, a working farm in Westchester County that provides educational and residential programs to help troubled inner-city adolescents; The Open Door, which provides walk-in medical care for homeless families; The Cottage School for displaced young women and the Special Olympics, among many others.