 Vanessa
Williams has distinguished her career with remarkable success in music,
theater, television and film. Among her recent accomplishments, she
ended a triumphant nine-month run on Broadway in "Kiss of the Spider
Woman," during which time her third album, The Sweetest Days, achieved
platinum success and her single, "Colors of the Wind," from the
platinum soundtrack to "Pocahontas," soared up the charts and earned an
Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. |
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| Williams was born in Millwood, New York, to two music
teachers who encouraged her pursuit of a career in entertainment. She
majored in musical theater at Syracuse University and in 1983, won the
Miss America title. The controversy that followed only left her
stronger and more empowered in her commitment to a career in
entertainment, which has since been honored with two NAACP Image
Awards, nine Grammy Award nominations and a number of New York Music
Awards. Her musical accomplishments began with her first release,
1988's The Right Stuff, which became a pop and R&B smash. In 1991
Williams released the multi-million seller The Comfort Zone, which
featured the hit single "Save the Best for Last," which topped the pop,
adult contemporary and R&B charts for five straight weeks and
reached number-one success around the world. Williams has recently
contributed to several unique musical projects, including Ain't Nothin'
but a She Thing, an all-female concept record on which she collaborates
with Me'shell N'dege O'cello; People, a release celebrating the 50th
anniversary of the United Nations; and Harolyn Blackwell Sings Leonard
Bernstein ... A Simple Song, on which she covers songs from the
composer's classic "West Side Story." Williams reached another personal
and professional pinnacle this year with her performance of the
national anthem on the telecast of Super Bowl XXX and her stunning live
performance of "Colors of the Wind" on the Academy Awards telecast. Her
fourth solo album is expected later this year. Williams has received
widespread acclaim for her television performances, whic include the
mini-series "The Jacksons: An American Dream," the television movies
"Stompin' at the Savoy" and "The Boy Who Loved Christmas" and the
Emmy-winning special "Motown Returns to the Apollo." Her more recent
television appearances include the mini-series "Nothing Lasts Forever,"
based on a Sidney Sheldon bestseller; the revival of the musical "Bye,
Bye Birdie," opposite Tyne Daly, Jason Alexander and Chynna Phillips;
and the animated "Beauty and the Beast" episode of HBO's "Happily Ever
After: Fairy Tales for Every Child." Williams other feature-film
credits include "Under the Gun," "The Pick-Up Artist," "Another You"
and "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man". |
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