Vanessa Williams

Born in New York in 1963, Vanessa Williams is a multifaceted performer who found success in the studio, on stage, and on the screen. She rose to fame breaking barriers as the first Black woman to be crowned Miss America. She returned to the spotlight in 1988 with her dance-pop debut album, The Right Stuff, led by the chart-topping R&B ballad "Dreamin',” which helped earn Williams her first three Grammy nominations. Her follow-up, 1991’s The Comfort Zone, fared even better, yielding five nods and the now-classic No. 1 love song “Save the Best for Last.” Williams went on to release a stream of pop, jazz, and R&B albums, holiday tunes, and the Academy Award-winning “Colors of the Wind,” from Disney’s Pocahontas. Between albums, Williams found success on Broadway and in Hollywood, including notable turns on Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives.