Vanessa Williams is one of the largest figures in American show business of the 80s and 90s. The gifted beauty, who has proven herself in literally all spheres of creativity, became the first black woman to win the title of "Miss America".
Childhood and youth
The future celebrity, Vanessa Lynn Williams, was born in the early spring of 1963, in the suburbs of New York. Parents - music teachers, Milton and Helen, instilled a love of art in both of their children, Vanessa and Chris. From an early age, the girl danced, performed in amateur performances, and firmly knew that she would connect her life with musical creativity.
In 1981, Miss Williams became a student at a prestigious theater university, but two years later she was forced to leave her studies due to lack of money in the family. But she also actively took part in all kinds of contests, performances and in 1983 she won the Miss New York competition, and a year later she was recognized as the most beautiful woman in the United States. By the way, she continued her education at the same university in 1988.
Unfortunately, at the time, racism was fairly commonplace, and the victory of a black girl in one of the most representative American competitions caused a flurry of indignation among the "real whites".
Vanessa was bombarded with letters of threats and accusations, and she herself added fuel to the flaming scandal when her intimate pictures, taken for a lesbian photo shoot, surfaced. After the publication of the magazine with her photographs, under pressure from the public, Williams gave up the Miss America crown and switched to music.
Singing career
The scandalous African-American woman was predicted complete oblivion, life in poverty and shame. But Vanessa released her first solo album, which made a splash among fans of the "rhythm and blues" style.
The next album was released in 1991 and lifted Vanessa to the top, becoming one of the most bought in the world. The ballad Save the Best for Last has occupied top positions in various charts in different countries for several years. In 1994, the singer released two collections at once, and then several more in 1996, 1997 and in 2004.
One of the musical works is a song from the Disney cartoon "Pocahontas", a gentle 1994 ballad Colors of the Wind, for which Williams immediately received a "film" "Oscar" and loud music awards "Golden Globe" and "Grammy".
Theater and cinema
In 1994, the talented beauty was invited to the Broadway musical, the popular Kiss of the Spider Woman. Until 2010, she performed on the Broadway stage. In 1996, Vanessa made her film debut, and she immediately embodied one of the main characters, working together with the cult actor Schwarzenegger in the film "The Eraser".
This was followed by other films: "Diva's Christmas Carol", "Desperate Housewives" and others. In the late nineties, Vanessa became the first black woman to represent L'Oréal. The actress often appears in various shows and dubs animated films.
Personal life
In 1987, Vanessa married for the first time and gave birth to her husband, actor Ramon Hervey, three children during the time that this marriage lasted - until 1997.
The second man who entered the house of the already successful and famous singer in 1999, actress and model, was producer and actor Rick Fox. The couple had one child in this marriage. Jim Script, the star's last love, became her husband in 2015 and to this day, the couple are happy together.
