Vanessa L. Williams was born on March 18 1963, to Milton and Helen Williams. Milton and Helen both held advanced degrees in music so they were perfect for getting Vanessa started in piano and the French horn. But it was her beautiful and silky voice that came naturally to her. It became such a passion that she pursued singing in Syracuse University as a Theater Arts major.
As Vanessa's beauty and graciousness matured, she started doing beauty pageants. Before she knew it, she was crowned Miss New York. She had to go on to represent New York in the Miss America pageant. So on to the pageant she went, not knowing if she could do the same thing again. But Vanessa proved everyone wrong and won the crown. As a matter of fact, she went on the become the first African American to ever win the Miss America crown. She had the world at her feet. Everybody wanted to interview her. But it was toward the end of her reign that her past had caught up with her. Vanessa had taken pictures for Pent.house Magazine in her pre-Miss America days and they were threatening to reveal them. So she resigned as Miss America.
When all had seemed hopeless, she picked up her chin and strutted off to 'move on' avenue. A year later, Vanessa was doing backup vocals on George Clinton's "Hey Good Looking" and "Do Fries Go with That Shake?". Although the songs weren't to widely known, Vanessa caught the attention of Wing/Murcury Record executives. After a couple of meetings, they signed Vanessa to a recording contract. While working up a storm on her debut album, she married and later divorced her now ex-manager Ramn Hervey.
Throughout the marriage, they produced three lovely children (Melanie, Jillian and Devin). By 1988 Vanessa's debut album The Right Stuff was released. It won her a new image. A more playful, funky, sexy Vanessa. People were starting to appreciate her more. And as luck would have it, her single 'Dreaming' had hit ..1 on the charts. It was a good year for her and she was back on top.
While her skills as an actress on stage (in the Broadway version of "Kiss of The Spider Woman") and in the movies (including "Eraser," "Hoodlum," "Soul Food" and 1998's "Dance With Me") have won her rave reviews and critical acclaim, it is in music that Vanessa Williams first achieved global prominence. Celebrating her first decade as a premier recording artist comes the 1998 release of Greatest Hits The First Ten Years, a sparkling collection that includes several major chart busters such as the No. 1 R&B singles, "Dreamin" and "Running Back To You"; the No. 1 pop and R&B gold single "Save The Best For Last"; and the Top 5 pop smashes, "Love Is", (a duet with Brian McKnight) and "Colors Of The Wind." In addition to the title tracks for three of her best-selling albums The Right Stuff The Comfort Zone and The Sweetest Days), the thirteen-track collection includes "My Flame," written by renowned jazz and soul hitmaker Bobby Caldwell.
That Vanessa would end up with a highly successful career in the world of entertainment was inevitable, given her early passion for music. It didn't hurt that both her parents were music teachers and while growing up in Millwood in upstate New York, she was encouraged to express herself through singing, dancing, acting and playing various instruments (including piano and French horn). She won a Presidential Scholarship in Drama and continued her musical education at Syracuse University, majoring in musical theater. In 1983, Vanessa's natural beauty won her the title of Miss America and in spite of controversy that followed, her commitment to a career in entertainment was deepened.
In 1987, Mercury/Wing Records executive Ed Eckstine signed her to the label and in 1988, her debut album, The Right Stuff, achieved gold status, yielding no less than four chart hits including the dance-flavored title track and the sensual ballad "Dreamin'," a Top 10 pop and No. 1 R&B single. The album also earned Vanessa her first three Grammy nominations including one for Best New Artist.
Three years later, the multi-platinum album The Comfort Zone reaffirmed Vanessa's skills as a soulful vocalist and lyrical interpreter. Maintaining her appeal to dance music audiences, the first single, "Running Back To You," was not only a favorite in clubs from London to Los Angeles but became her second R&B chart-topper, and a Top 20 pop hit. Indicative of her wide appeal, it was the beautiful ballad "Save The Best For Last," produced by Keith Thomas and recorded in Nashville, that took Vanessa to new heights achieving across-the-board No. 1 status just weeks after its release in the early months of 1992. In addition, the record became a Top 5 smash in Australia, Canada, the U.K. and Japan.
Just a year later, Vanessa was back at the top of the charts with a stunning duet with label-mate Brian McKnight. "Love Is," from the soundtrack for the hit television series "Beverly Hills 90210," was yet another example of her expressive vocal abilities, quickly achieving Top 5 status as one of 1993's biggest pop hits.
While her success as a recording artist was assured, Vanessa stepped onto the Broadway stage in June 1994 for what was initially a three-month run as Aurora in the theatrical adaptation of the Oscar-winning film "Kiss Of The Spider Woman." Three months became nine months: rave reviews and sold-out shows helped earn the show (which ended in March 1995) a coveted Tony Award and a cast album - featuring Vanessa earned a Grammy nomination for Best Show Album.
In the midst of performing nightly on Broadway, Vanessa also completed work on her 1994 album release, The Sweetest Days. She co-produced seven tracks on the CD; Keith Thomas produced the distinctive title cut, a Top 40 R&B and Top 20 hit, while Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds wrote and produced "Betcha Never," a Latin-flavored cut that is included in Vanessa's Greatest Hits package. The platinum album also gave Vanessa another Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the track "The Way That You Love" and the record was praised for the diversity of music it covered, which included jazz, rock, folk and soul.
In 1995, she achieved further prominence with her tender performance on the wistfully poignant "Colors of the Wind," the theme song from the blockbuster Disney animated feature "Pocahontas." Another gold single, the record spent nearly two months in the pop Top 5 and went on to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for "Best Song In A Motion Picture." The same year, Vanessa participated with a number of other top female artists on the women's charity compilation "Ain't Nuthin' But A She Thing" via the tune "Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly" which featured Me'Shell NdegeOcello. on bass and vocals, and is also included on the 1998 Greatest Hits collection.
1996 was a particularly busy for Vanessa: she completed the Grammy-nominated Star Brig album of Christmas songs and hosted her own television special, "Vanessa Williams And Friends: Christmas In New York" which featured Rosie O'Donnell, Luther Vandross, Babyface, Shania Twain and Savion Glover. She also made her motion picture debut in "Eraser," starring opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger; the movie grossed over $ 100 million worldwide and included the David Foster-penned and produced song "Where Do We Go From Here".
In 1997, she appeared on the silver screen in "Hoodlum" with Laurence Fishburne and in the box-office hit "Soul Food," garnering Vanessa an NAACP Image Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress. She also completed her fifth album, next with production by longtime collaborator Keith Thomas, who was responsible for the track "Oh How The Years Go By" (also included on Greatest Hits), Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Barry Eastmond and R. Kelly. In the wake of its release, Vanessa completed her first concert tour with Luther Vandross, completing dates in 25 cities across the U.S. before embarking on a solo tour throughout Japan and South East Asia.
To a vast list of accomplishments, Vanessa can add an appearance in the concert production of "St. Louis Woman," the 1998 movie "Dance With Me" and a slew of television appearances that have included "Stompin' At The Savoy" (with Eddie Murphy), "The Boy Who Loved Christmas," "Bye Bye, Birdie," "Nothing Lasts Forever," "The Odyssey," "The Presidential Inauguration for Youth" "The Jacksons: An American Dream" and "Motown Returns To The Apollo" and stints as a host for such events as "The Essence Awards," "The Soul Train Music Awards," "The American Black Achievement Awards" and "The NAACP Image Awards."
It's been quite a decade for the beautiful and talented entertainer but she's quick to recall that it was her work as a recording artist that provided the platform for a career that has blossomed and bloomed. As she states, "It's been ten years since the release of The Right Stuff and I'm lucky enough to still hear my songs from each album on the radio. From the West Coast to the East Coast to Broadway and abroad, I've been blessed with great fans and lasting memories all over the world." Now, with the release of Greatest Hits - The First Ten Years, Vanessa Williams' many fans and admirers everywhere can re-live those memories and enjoy the vocal magic of this amazing artist.
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