Vanessa Lynn Williams was born on March 18, 1963 in the Bronx, New York but grew up in Millwood, New York. Both of her parents are music teachers.

In 1983 Vanessa became the first black woman to be crowned Miss America. But months later in 1984 she resigned from the crown due to nude photos of her appearing in Penthouse magazine. This situation did not stop Ms. Williams. She eventually landed a recording contract and went on to have a very successful singing career. She also began appearing in tv shows, tv movies, feature films and Broadway. Her big break in film came in the 1996 film "Eraser" with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Looking back Vanessa seems to have become the most successful former Miss America.

Vanessa has guest starred in such tv shows as "Love Boat," "T.J. Hooker," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Ally McBeal." She had recurring roles in "L.A. Doctors" and the NBC series "Boomtown." Vanessa recently starred in the short lived UPN series "South Beach."

Vanessa has been married twice: to Ramon Hervey II from 1987 to 1997 and to pro basketball player and actor Rick Fox. She has 3 children from her marriage to Hervey and a daughter from her marriage to Fox. Rick Fox recently filed for divorce from Vanessa.

Vanessa's film credits include the following:


Check out the following sites for additional information about Vanessa:

Planet Vanessa
Vanessa L. Williams@Internet Movie Database
Vanessa L. Williams@TVNow.com
Vanessa L. Williams@AfricanPubs.com
Vanessa Williams@UPN.com
Vanessa L. Williams@Wikipedia

Vanessa L. Williams News

Vanessa L. Williams News, Interviews & Updates