Vanessa Williams
Department: Acting
Biography
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American singer, actress, producer, dancer, and model. She was the first Black woman to win Miss America in 1984, but resigned after nude photos of her were published in Penthouse magazine. Williams has since had a successful career in music and acting, selling millions of albums and earning critical acclaim.
Known For
Shaft
2000
Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space
2023
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man
1991
Hoodlum
1997
A Diva's Christmas Carol
2000
Eraser
1996
And Then Came Love
2007
Soul Food
1997
Bye Bye Birdie
1995
My Brother
2006
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
1999
Futuresport
1999
Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field
2024
Dance with Me
1998
The Pick-up Artist
1987
Celebrating 50 Years of Broadway's Best
2023
Hannah Montana: The Movie
2009
Light It Up
1999
Johnson Family Vacation
2004
The Courage to Love
2000
Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards
2005
Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor
2013
Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal
1989
He's Way More Famous Than You
2013
Shaft: Still the Man
2000
WW3
2001
Don Quixote
2000
Nothing Lasts Forever
1995
Tripped Up
2023
Rehearsing a Dream
2006
A Mother's Love
2011
The Trip to Bountiful
2014
Another You
1991
Under the Gun
1988
Santa, Baby!
2001
Afrocentricity
2000
Seriously... Phil Collins
1990
The Secret She Kept
2016
The Man from Earth: Holocene
2017
VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night
2016
Christmas is Coming: Rob Mathes & Very Special Friends
2000
Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer
1990
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
2003
Keep the Faith, Baby
2002
Not Black Enough
2017
Singleholic
2020
Show Boat
2015
Score with Chicks
1994
Miss Virginia
2019
It's Black Entertainment
2002
Batman: Hush
2019
The 7th Annual Soul Train Christmas Starfest
2004
Christmas in Washington
2004
The Legend of Hallowaiian
2018
Pavarotti & Friends - For the Children of Liberia
1998
Stompin' at the Savoy
1992
Bad Hair
2021
Vanessa Williams: Live From the West Side
2020
The Kid Who Loved Christmas
1990
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
2018
Gift for the Living
2005
Show of Titles
2021
There She Is
2020
Some Enchanted Evening: Celebrating Oscar Hammerstein II
1995
The Little Pageant That Could
2024
Sesame Street: What's the Name of That Song?
2004
Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade
2005
Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade
2008
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
The Tony Danza Show
2004
T. J. Hooker
1982
Boomtown
2002
The Bachelorette
2003
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
1990
The View
1997
L.A. Doctors
1998
MADtv
1995
South Beach
2006
Ugly Betty
2006
Shear Genius
2007
Tamron Hall
2019
Jungle Cubs
1996
The Wendy Williams Show
2008
The Oscars
1953
A Black Lady Sketch Show
2019
Good Day Live
2001
Partners in Crime
1984
666 Park Avenue
2012
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
2005
RuPaul's Drag Race
2009
Queen of the Universe
2021
Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies
2007
The Mindy Project
2012
Bethenny
2012
American Style
2019
Broad City
2014
Desperate Housewives
2004
Girls5eva
2021
VH1 Divas
1998
The Librarians
2014
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
Who Do You Think You Are?
2010
The $100,000 Pyramid
2016
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
2012
The Odyssey
1997
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
The View
1997
The Jennifer Hudson Show
2022
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995
Nothing Lasts Forever
1995
The Reichen Show
2005
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996
Name That Tune
2021
Days of Our Lives
1965
RuPaul's Drag Race
2009
The Proud Family
2001
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
Saturday Night Live
1975
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
1993
Velma
2023
Stars in the House
2020
Stars in the House
2020
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
2004
Intimate Portrait
1993
Sherri
2022
A Capitol Fourth
1980
T.O.T.S.
2019
RuPaul's Drag Race
2009
American Experience
1988
RuPaul's Drag Race
2009
Secret Celebrity RuPaul's Drag Race
2020
Match Game
2016
Modern Family
2009
The Good Wife
2009
Daytime Divas
2017
The Jacksons: An American Dream
1992
Calling All T.O.T.S.
2020
Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas with Vanessa Williams
2020
The Graham Norton Show
2007
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
Elsbeth
2024
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019
The Jonathan Ross Show
2011
Ally McBeal
1997
Difficult People
2015
First Wives Club
2019
Celebrity Catchphrase
2018
Miss America
1954
Doc McStuffins
2012
The Claudia Winkleman Show
2026
Tony Awards
1956