Vanessa A. Williams
| Vanessa A. Williams | |
|---|---|
Williams (left) with Nicole Ari Parker in 2011.
|
|
| Born |
May 12, 1963 Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Marymount Manhattan College |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Andre Wiseman (m. 1993) John Marshall Jones (m. 2007) |
| Children | 2 |
Andre Wiseman (m. 1993)
Vanessa A. Williams (born May 12, 1963) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her roles as Maxine Joseph–Chadway in the Showtime drama series, Soul Food (2000–04), for which she received NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. Williams also is known for role as Anne-Marie McCoy in the 1992 horror film Candyman and as Rhonda Blair in the first season of the Fox prime time television soap opera, Melrose Place (1992-93).
Williams was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. In an ABC News interview, she stated that her background is from a family of slaves from Georgia and Virginia. After high school she went on to get a bachelor's degree in theater and business management from Marymount Manhattan College. In 1993, Williams met Andre Wiseman and they began dating, then married in Stuyvesant, New York. They have two sons together.
Williams is not related to Vanessa L. Williams, the first African American woman to win the title of Miss America in 1984. Williams later went to acting in films and television, becoming known simply as "Vanessa Williams". In the area of acting, the two ran into name conflict when Screen Actors Guild rules prohibited duplicate stage naming. Vanessa A. had registered the name "Vanessa Williams" first, so as a compromise, the former Miss America was occasionally credited as "Vanessa L. Williams" in acting credits. The Screen Actors Guild eventually took the issue to arbitration and decided that both actresses could use the professional name "Vanessa Williams".
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