Vanessa Lynn Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963 in Tarrytown , New York ) is an American actress and singer .
Life
Williams' parents were music teachers. She studied piano at Syracuse University . In 1983 she became Miss New York , on September 17, 1983 she was the first African American woman to be elected Miss America . In 1984, Penthouse magazine published nude photos of Williams posing with another woman. Williams was urged to return her crown to Miss America on July 23, 1984.
Her debut album The Right Stuff (1988) won a gold record and was nominated for three Grammys . Her single Save the Best For Last (1992) with the song of the same name composed by Jon Lind, Wendy Waldman and Philip Galdston in 1991 reached first position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart list for five weeks and was also nominated for a Grammy. She also sang the award-winning song Colors of the Wind , which was used in the 1995 Disney film Pocahontas .
Williams made her debut as an actress in the mid-1980s; She was particularly known for her role in the film Eraser (1996), in which she played alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger . For her leading role in Soul Food (1997) she won the Image Award and she was nominated for the Black Film Award of the Acapulco Black Film Festival. For her role in the action film Shaft - Any questions? (2000), in which she played alongside Samuel L. Jackson, she was nominated for the Blockbuster Entertainment Award and the Image Award. She received a nomination for the BET Comedy Award for her leading role in the comedy The Johnson Family Goes On Tour (2004).
From 2006 to 2010 she played "Wilhelmina Slater" in the ABC production Ugly Betty . Between 2007 and 2009 she was nominated for an Emmy three times in a row for the role of the scheming editor of a fashion magazine ; however, it won two Image Awards . In 2010 she was signed for the 7th season of Desperate Housewives and played the character "Renée Perry", a new neighbor who moves into Wisteria Lane, until the end of the series. In March 2012, she got a lead role in the ABC thriller 666 Park Avenue . In 2015 she played the billionaire "Courtney Paige" in the series Good Wife .
From her first marriage to Ramon Hervey (1987-1996) Williams has three children. A daughter born in 2000 is from her marriage to NBA star Rick Fox , who divorced in 2004. On July 4, 2015, she married Jim Skrip, to whom she had been engaged since 2014.
Filmography (selection)
cinemamovies
- 1987: Under the Gun
- 1991: Harley Davidson & The Marlboro Man (Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man)
- 1991: Another You
- 1996: Eraser
- 1997: Soul Food
- 1997: Harlem, NYC - The Price of Power (Hoodlum)
- 1998: Dance with Me
- 1999: The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
- 1999: Light It Up
- 2000: Shaft - Any questions? (Shaft)
- 2004: Johnson Family Vacation (Johnson Family Vacation)
- 2009: Hannah Montana: The Movie
- 2013: Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor
Television films
- 1989: Dirty Game (Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal)
- 1990: The Kid Who Loved Christmas
- 1990: Perry Mason and the Death of an Idol (Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer)
- 1992: The Jacksons - An American Dream (The Jacksons: An American Dream)
- 1992: One Night in the Savoy (Stompin 'at the Savoy)
- 1995: Doctors - For Life and Death (Nothing Lasts Forever)
- 1995: Bye Bye Birdie
- 1997: The Odyssey (The Odyssey)
- 1998: Futuresport
- 2000: The Courage To Love
- 2000: Don Quixote (Don Quixote)
- 2000: A very special Christmas (A Diva's Christmas Carol)
- 2001: WW3
- 2002: Keep the Faith Baby
TV Shows
- 1992: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , a series)
- 1996: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (an episode)
- 2003: Boomtown (6 episodes)
- 2006-2010: Ugly Betty (85 episodes)
- 2010–2012: Desperate Housewives (45 episodes)
- 2012-2013: 666 Park Avenue (13 episodes)
- 2015: Good Wife ( The Good Wife , 4 episodes)
- 2016: Broad City (episode 3x03)
- 2016–2017: The Quest - The Series ( The Librarians , 4 episodes)
- 2017: Daytime Divas (10 episodes)
- 2019: RuPaul's Drag Race: Secret Celebrity
Plays and musicals
- 1973: The Trojan Horse
- 1985: One Man Band
- 1989: Checkmates
- 1994: kiss of the spider woman
- 1998: St. Louis Woman
- 2001: Broadway Bash
- 2002: Carmen Jones
- 2002: Into the Woods
- 2013: The Trip to Bountiful
- 2020: City of Angels
Discography
Albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
1988 | The right stuff | - | - | - | - |
US38
gold
(55 weeks)US |
|
1991 | The Comfort Zone |
DE52 (11 weeks) DE |
- |
CH29 (6 weeks) CH |
UK24 (4 weeks) UK |
US17th × 3
(91 weeks)US |
|
1994 | The Sweetest Days |
DE74 (7 weeks) DE |
- | - | - |
US57
platinum
(31 weeks)US |
|
1996 | Star Bright | - | - | - | - |
US36
gold
(9 weeks)US |
|
1997 | Next | - | - | - | - |
US53 (9 weeks) US |
|
2001 |
Our Favorite Things - Christmas in Vienna VII |
DE79 (2 weeks) DE |
AT48 (5 weeks) AT |
CH78 (1 week) CH |
- | - | |
2004 | Silver & Gold | - | - | - | - |
US120 (5 weeks) US |
|
2005 | Everlasting Love | - | - | - | - |
US159 (2 weeks) US |
|
2009 | The real thing | - | - | - | - |
US91 (2 weeks) US |
More albums
- 2002: Into the Woods (with John McMartin )
Compilations
- 1994: Ballad Collection
- 1996: ... with Love
- 1996: Love Songs
- 1998: Greatest Hits: The First Ten Years
- 1998: The Very Best of Vanessa Williams
- 2003: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Vanessa Williams
- 2009: Best Selection
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
1988 |
The Right Stuff The Right Stuff |
- | - | - |
UK62 (3 weeks) UK |
US44 (10 weeks) US |
|
1989 |
Dreamin ' The Right Stuff |
- | - | - |
UK74 (2 weeks) UK |
US8 (20 weeks) US |
First published: 1988
|
Darlin 'I The Right Stuff |
- | - | - | - |
US88 (4 weeks) US |
First published: 1988
|
|
1991 |
Running Back to You The Comfort Zone |
- | - | - | - |
US18 (21 weeks) US |
|
The Comfort Zone The Comfort Zone |
- | - | - | - |
US62 (12 weeks) US |
||
1992 |
Save the Best for Last The Comfort Zone |
DE19 (19 weeks) DE |
- |
CH6 (14 weeks) CH |
UK3 (11 weeks) UK |
US1
gold
(27 weeks)US |
First publication: 1991
|
Just for Tonight The Comfort Zone |
- | - | - | - |
US26 (19 weeks) US |
||
Work to Do The Comfort Zone |
- | - | - | - |
US52 (11 weeks) US |
||
1993 |
Love Is |
- | - | - | - |
US3 (28 weeks) US |
First published: 1992
with Brian McKnight |
1994 |
The Sweetest Days The Sweetest Days |
- | - | - |
UK41 (2 weeks) UK |
US18 (23 weeks) US |
|
1995 |
The Way That You Love The Sweetest Days |
- | - | - |
UK52 (1 week) UK |
US67 (7 weeks) US |
|
Colors of the Wind Pocahontas OST |
- | - | - |
UK21 (5 weeks) UK |
US4th
gold
(23 weeks)US |
||
1996 |
Where Do We Go from Here? Eraser OST |
DE87 (6 weeks) DE |
- | - | - |
US71 (14 weeks) US |
More singles
- 1988: (He's Got) The Look
- 1991: The Quiet Zone (EP, promo with 4 tracks from the album The Compfort Zone )
- 1994: R&B Sampler (EP, promo with 4 tracks from the album The Sweetest Days )
- 1995: Open Your Eyes You Can Fly
- 1995: For All the Children
- 1995: You Can't Run
- 1996: If I Had Wings
- 1995: Higher Ground
- 1996: One of a Kind (with Lenny Williams)
- 1996: Alfie
- 1997: First Thing on My Mind
- 1997: Happiness
- 1997: Who Were You Thinkin '' Bout?
- 1998: Oh How the Years Go By
- 1998: You Are My Home (with Chayanne , from the soundtrack Dance with Me )
- 1998: My Flame
- 2005: You Are Everything
- 2009: The Real Thing
Web links
- Vanessa L. Williams in the Internet Movie Database (english)
- Vanessa Williams at Allmusic (English)
- Vanessa Williams at Discogs (English)
- Official website ( Memento of February 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Beat Scherler: Best of Pop & Rock for Classical Guitar. Volume 6. Edition Dux, 2004, pp. 48-51.
- ↑ Vanessa Williams becomes Desperate Housewife , Hamburger Abendblatt from May 19, 2009
- ↑ More Casting News for 666 Park Avenue on dreadcentral.com
- ↑ Jamin Schneider: Desperate Housewives: Vanessa Williams is getting married for the third time . In: Serienjunkies.de . July 6, 2015. Accessed July 6, 2015.
- ↑ a b Chart sources: Singles Albums US1 US2
- ↑ a b gold / platinum database US
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Williams, Vanessa Lynn |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Williams, Vanessa L .; Williams, Vanessa; Van (nickname); Ness (nickname) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American actress and singer |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 18, 1963 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Tarrytown , New York, United States |