Vanessa Williams

Vanessa Williams

Birth Date: March 18, 1963
Birth Place: New York, N.Y.

Before sharpening her villainous claws to play Wilhelmina Slater, the backstabbing fashion magazine editor on ABC's hit show Ugly Betty, Williams was best known for her appearance in a different kind of magazine.

The first African-American to win the Miss America title, Williams was forced to give up her crown ten months later when nude photos of her were sold to Penthouse. During Pageantgate, she retreated to Millwood, N.Y., where her parents supported her as publicist-turned-husband Ramon Hervey II helped stage her comeback.

Williams eventually became a platinum-selling recording artist, Tony-nominated Broadway actress, film and Emmy-nominated TV star. Her 1991 hit song "Save the Best for Last" could serve as the anthem for this twice-married, and now happily single working mother of four, whose stunning green eyes made her one of PEOPLE's 50 Most Beautiful.