Vanessa Williams Biography

Fast Facts

• Parents were both music teachers
• Was the first African-American Miss America in 1983; she was forced to resign after unauthorized nude photographs of her were published in Penthouse magazine
• Appeared in commercials for RadioShack, Crest, Proactiv Solution, and L'Oréal Cosmetics
• Her 1988 debut album, The Right Stuff, received three Grammy nominations
• Had her first leading role in a feature film (opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger) in 1996's Eraser
• Took a break from Into the Woods to perform in a Kennedy Center production of Carmen Jones in 2002
• Sang at Arnold Schwarzenegger's inauguration as Governor of California in November 2003
• Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007
• Attended Syracuse University from 1981 to '83; was awarded her BFA degree in 2008 after having earned the remaining credits "through industry experience
• " After Ugly Betty wrapped up its final season in 2010, she returned to the stage in Broadway's Sondheim on Sondheim