Vanessa Williams is a black actress who started her career in entertainment as a beauty queen. She was the first African American winner of the Miss America title in September 1983. Several weeks before the end of her reign, however, a scandal arose when Penthouse magazine bought and published nude photographs of Williams. Williams was pressured to relinquish her title and was succeeded by the first runner-up, Miss New Jersey 1983, Suzette Charles. She was the first Miss America to give up her crown.
Thirty-two years later, in September 2015, when Williams served as head judge for the Miss America 2016 pageant, former Miss America CEO Sam Haskell made a public apology to her for the events of 1984.
According to walkoffame Williams studied piano and French horn growing up but was most interested in singing and songwriting. She received a scholarship and attended Syracuse University as a Theatre Arts major from 1981 to 1983. She discontinued her education at Syracuse during her sophomore year to fulfill her duties as Miss America, and then subsequently left the university to focus on her entertainment career.
Williams competed in the Miss Syracuse beauty pageant when a campus musical she was in was canceled in 1983. After she won, Williams won Miss New York in 1983 and went to the Miss America national pageant in Atlantic City. She was crowned Miss America 1984 on September 17, 1983, becoming the first African American to win the title. Prior to the final night of competition, Williams won both the Preliminary Talent and Swimsuit Competitions from earlier in the week. Williams’ reign as Miss America was not without its challenges and controversies. For the first time in pageant history, a reigning Miss America was the target of death threats and hate mail.
After she relinquished her crown she began her acting career on stage in 1985, staring on broadway before she moved on to film and television.
She went on to win awards for her work on stage and on television
On March 20, 2007, she received a star on the Hollywood walk of fame for her portrayal of Wilhelmina Slater in Ugly Betty
Despite her somewhat rocky start in the beauty world, the star remains a formidable actress to this day and is immortalized on the Hollywood walk of fame.
