Vanessa Williams

VANESSA WILLIAMS


 

Vanessa Williams has enjoyed one of the most varied and successful careers of any entertainer today. As a recording artist, she has sold over 25 million records worldwide, including #1 and Top 10 hits in genres stretching from Pop, Dance, R&B, Latin, Gospel, Jazz and more, including 17 total Grammy nominations. Her platinum single “Colors of the Wind” from the soundtrack to Disney’s animated hit film Pocahontas won the Oscar for Best Original Song. On Television she starred as Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty, a role that brought her three Emmy nominations during the series’ four-season run.  She was tapped by VH-1 to star in the new scripted series Satan Sisters based on the 2011 book by Star Jones. On film, Vanessa has starred in Soul Food, for which she won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress and the Black Film Award for Best Actress, as well as the films Dance with Me, Light It Up, Shaft, And Then Came Love, My Brother, Johnson Family Vacation, Eraser, Hannah Montana: The Movie, Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, among others. Among the award broadcasts she has hosted, are The Essence Awards, NAACP Image Awards, TV Land Awards, and The Daytime Emmy Awards. Her Broadway performances include her Tony-nominated role in the revival of Into the Woods, as well as Kiss of the Spider Woman, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Trip to Bountiful, After Midnight, and Encores’ St. Louis Woman. Vanessa Williams has received both the Lena Horne “Lady of Soul” Award and the International Press Academy’s “Mary Pickford Award” for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to The Entertainment Industry. In 2007 she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her accomplishments as a performer. She also received the Human Rights Campaign “Ally for Equality” Award for Humanitarian Contributions, and is an advocate for equal rights, especially concerning the LGBT community and minorities.