Vanessa Williams
Biography
Vanessa Williams is an American singer, actress, model and producer whose career took off after she won the Miss America title in 1984. Her debut album The Right Stuff, released in 1988, produced the top ten hit Dreamin, and The Comfort Zone followed in 1991 with her biggest single, Save the Best for Last, a number one record that earned her Grammy nominations. She won an NAACP Image Award for her performance in Soul Food (1997), and her film work includes Eraser (1996), Shaft (2000) and Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009). On television she played Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty, a role that brought three Emmy nominations. Her Broadway debut came in 1994 with Kiss of the Spider Woman, and she was nominated for a Tony for playing the Witch in Into the Woods. Hollywood honored her with a Walk of Fame star in 2007.
63years old
Turns 64 on March 18in 165 days
- Born The Bronx
- Star sign: PiscesThe sign runs February 19 to March 20
- Vanessa Lynn Williams (birth name)Also credited as Vanessa L. Williams and Vanessa Lynne Williams
Movie Career
- Films
- 26
- Career span
- 36 years1987 to 2023
First and latest
Share
Did you know?!
Early training
Williams received an offer of the Presidential Scholarship for Drama for Carnegie Mellon University, one of 12 students to get it, but she picked Syracuse University instead on another scholarship.
First role
In 1985, Vanessa Williams started her stage career in the production One Man Band, appearing as one of "the women".
Behind the camera
For her ninth studio album, Survivor, released on August 23, 2024, Williams started her own label, Mellian Music. The album's first single, "Legs (Keep Dancing)", came out on April 26, 2024.
Beyond film
Williams voiced the character Ms. Brown, a brown M&M, in a commercial that began airing during Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.
Vanessa Williams movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Richard Schenkman directed two of these films. Five actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Tara Strong's page
Cicely Tyson's page
Sammy Davis Jr.'s page
Usher Raymond's page
Adam Gifford's page
All films by Richard Schenkman
Box office
What Vanessa Williams's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$670 million
12 of the 26 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 26 films: 12 worldwide figure; 2 us gross only; 6 never in cinemas; 6 figure not found.
- 12Worldwide figure
- 2US gross only
- 6Never in cinemas
- 6Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 96% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$242M36.1% of the total
- 2$156M23.2% of the total
- 3$108M16.1% of the total
- 4$53M7.9% of the total
- 5$31M4.7% of the total
- 6$23M3.5% of the total
- 7$16M2.4% of the total
- 8$13M2.0% of the total
$28.0 millionfrom the other 4 films with a worldwide figure, 4% of the total
Awards
Three awards and honors.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| 1995 | Theatre World Award | Won | |
| Mary Pickford Award | Won | ||
| Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.