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