Brooklyn born Vanessa Williams is a Hollywood staple. The highly sought after professional of stage, screen, and television made her feature film debut in the cult classic phenomenon New Jack City playing Kiesha, the gun toting head of security opposite Wesley Snipes. Other film credits include Imagine That (opposite Eddie Murphy), Like Mike, Punks, Mothers (opposite Lisa Kudrow), and Candyman.
Television credits include Sugar Mommas, Lincoln Heights, Everybody Hates Chris, Knight Riders, Flirting with Forty, Cold Case, Soul Food TV Series, Living Single, The Steve Harvey Show, Chicago Hope, Melrose Place, The Cosby Show, and Law & Order. Williams earned an Emmy Nomination for her extraordinary work in the Showtime original movie, Our America. She won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2003 for her outstanding portrayal of Maxine Chadway in the hit Showtime series Soul Food, having been nominated in this category six consecutive times. She also starred in Raising Izzie, which received a 2013 NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.
Vanessa debuted in the Broadway production of Sarafina. Other stage credits include Death and the King's Horseman, Abyssinia, and a tour of Europe in the musical Hair. She has directed and performed with Jennie Garth, Frances Fisher, Star Jones, Sherri Shepherd, Terri J Vaughn, Nicole Ari Parker, and Malinda Williams in stage productions of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues. As a filmmaker, Vanessa penned, produced, and directed the film Dense for Showtime. This 30 minute short is a fan favorite among indie film festival audiences.
In her work as a board member for The Black Aids Institute and chair of it's Hollywood Task Force on Aids, Williams recruited and directed Greater Than AIDS and Give A Million, a series of Celebrity PSAs on HIV Awareness / AIDS Prevention. Williams is committed to empowering women and girls everywhere and serves as a consultant and honorary board member to A CALL TO MEN (ACTM), a national violence prevention organization promoting healthy and respectful relationships and redefining the next generation of manhood. ACTM is committed to creating communities where all men and boys are loving and respectful and all women and girls are valued and safe.
Television credits include Sugar Mommas, Lincoln Heights, Everybody Hates Chris, Knight Riders, Flirting with Forty, Cold Case, Soul Food TV Series, Living Single, The Steve Harvey Show, Chicago Hope, Melrose Place, The Cosby Show, and Law & Order. Williams earned an Emmy Nomination for her extraordinary work in the Showtime original movie, Our America. She won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2003 for her outstanding portrayal of Maxine Chadway in the hit Showtime series Soul Food, having been nominated in this category six consecutive times. She also starred in Raising Izzie, which received a 2013 NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.
Vanessa debuted in the Broadway production of Sarafina. Other stage credits include Death and the King's Horseman, Abyssinia, and a tour of Europe in the musical Hair. She has directed and performed with Jennie Garth, Frances Fisher, Star Jones, Sherri Shepherd, Terri J Vaughn, Nicole Ari Parker, and Malinda Williams in stage productions of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues. As a filmmaker, Vanessa penned, produced, and directed the film Dense for Showtime. This 30 minute short is a fan favorite among indie film festival audiences.
In her work as a board member for The Black Aids Institute and chair of it's Hollywood Task Force on Aids, Williams recruited and directed Greater Than AIDS and Give A Million, a series of Celebrity PSAs on HIV Awareness / AIDS Prevention. Williams is committed to empowering women and girls everywhere and serves as a consultant and honorary board member to A CALL TO MEN (ACTM), a national violence prevention organization promoting healthy and respectful relationships and redefining the next generation of manhood. ACTM is committed to creating communities where all men and boys are loving and respectful and all women and girls are valued and safe.