Williams, Vanessa, 1963-

Actress and singer Vanessa Williams was born on March 18, 1963 to Milton and Helen Williams in Tarrytown, New York. Williams graduated from Horace Greeley High School in Millwood, New York in 1981, and enrolled at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.

In 1983, Williams won the Miss Greater Syracuse Pageant and Miss New York Pageant. Later that fall, she was crowned Miss America 1984, becoming the first African American contestant to win the pageant. A scandal involving Williams forced her to resign in July of 1984. Williams then pursued a career in music. In 1988, she released her first album,The Right Stuff, which featured the singlesThe Right Stuff,He's Got the LookandDreamin'. The album's popularity garnered Williams the NAACP Outstanding New Artist Award. Her multi-platinum second album,The Comfort Zone, was nominated for three Grammys in 1992, and her third album,The Sweetest Days, achieved platinum status in 1994. Williams earned another Grammy nomination for her popular rendition ofColors of the Wind, featured on thePocahontassoundtrack. Williams went on to release five more studio albums:Star Bright(1996),Next(1997),Silver & Gold(2004),Everlasting Love(2005), andThe Real Thing(2009), which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Jazz Charts.

...