Vanessa Estelle Williams

Vanessa Estelle 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 (2000–2004), for which she received NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series and as Nino Brown's feisty gun moll, Keisha in the 1991 crime drama film, New Jack City. Williams is also known for her role as Anne-Marie McCoy in the first and fourth of the Candyman films, and as Rhonda Blair in the first season of the Fox prime time soap opera Melrose Place (1992–93).

Early life and education Williams was born on May 12, 1963, and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Williams has three brothers and 1 sister. Her mother, Verdell, died when she was 10 years old leaving Williams to be raised by her grandmother. Her father died in 2016. She has traced her ancestry back to Georgia and Virginia. After high school she went on to get a bachelor's degree in theater and business management from Marymount Manhattan College. A 2011 analysis of her mitochondrial DNA revealed that her maternal ancestry traced to the Tikar people and Bamileke people of Cameroon.

Career Williams went into acting in films and television. Her acting ran into name conflict with singer/actress and 1984 Miss America Vanessa Williams (also born 1963). Screen Actors Guild rules prohibit duplicate stage names. Vanessa Estelle 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. To compound the confusion, both actresses starred in versions of the drama Soul Food (Vanessa L. Williams in the film version, and Vanessa E. Williams in its TV series adaptation). The Screen Actors Guild eventually took the issue to arbitration and decided both actresses could use the professional name "Vanessa Williams".

Television Williams began her acting career in 1989, appearing in episodes of The Cosby Show and Law & Order. In 1992, she was cast as Rhonda Blair, the first and only black regular character, in the Fox prime time soap opera, Melrose Place. She was written off after only one season for lack of direction. "I think they didn't make the effort to equip themselves [to write for a black character], either by hiring a black writer or asking me things," said Williams later.

She later had guest starring roles on NYPD Blue and Living Single, before she was cast as a series regular in the ABC legal drama, Murder One (1995–1996) created by Steven Bochco. She received her first nomination for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance on the show. In 1996, Williams had a recurring role as Dr. Grace Carr in the CBS medical drama series, Chicago Hope, for which she received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series nomination.

After Soul Food, Williams had guest starring roles on Cold Case, Knight Rider and Lincoln Heights. In 2015, she was cast in a recurring role of Iris West's mother in The CW drama series, The Flash. In October 2016, it was announced she was cast in the role of Valerie Grant on the NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives. In 2020, she was cast in a recurring role as Pippa Pascal in the second season The L Word: Generation Q, a role which she reprised for season three.

Film In film, Williams is best known for playing Keisha in the 1991 crime thriller New Jack City opposite Wesley Snipes and Ice T. She is also known for playing Anne-Marie McCoy in the 1992 horror film Candyman opposite Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen. The following years she had small parts in Drop Squad (1994), Mother (1996), Punks (2000), Like Mike (2002), and Imagine That (2009) alongside Soul Food co-star Nicole Ari Parker. Williams has also starred in a number of made for television movies, including Emmy Award-nominated performance in Our America (2002).

Personal life Williams married Andre Wiseman in November 1992 when the couple eloped. and Haile Zion Ali (born 2003). In April 2018, Williams filed for divorce from Wiseman for the second time.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1991 New Jack City Keisha 1992 Candyman Anne-Marie McCoy 1994 Drop Squad Mali 1996 Mother Donna 1997 Breakdown - Short A Woman of Color Thandi Kota TV movie 1999 Incognito Wilhelmina Hunter TV movie 2000 Punks Jennifer Playing with Fire Riana Roberts TV movie 2002 Our America Sandra Williams TV movie Like Mike Pharmacist Baby of the Family Gloria 2003 Black Listed J.W. Video Allergic to Nuts Jennie Short 2005 Gift for the Living Voiceover Short 2007 Ice Spiders Dr. April Sommers TV movie Drawing Angel Thulani Short 2008 Hummingbird Donya Short Flirting with Forty Kristine TV movie 2009 Imagine That Lori Strother Contradictions of the Heart Lea Video 2010 5150 TJ Short 2011 A Mother's Love Rochelle Richardson 2012 Sugar Mommas Lynn TV movie Raising Izzie Tonya Freeman TV movie Something Like a Butterfly Vonda Short 2013 The Get Away Lisa Short And Then... Baybee Short 2014 Men, Money & Gold Diggers Sandra Winslow TV movie The Last Piece Phone Voice (voice) Short Crossed the Line Juice 2016 The Secret She Kept Beverly TV movie Diva Diaries Alex 2018 Thriller Mrs. Walker 2019 One Fine Christmas Susan TV movie I Left My Girlfriend for Regina Jones Rebecca 2021 Candyman Anne-Marie McCoy 2022 Singleholic Jackie Chisholm Mid-Century Beverly Gordon Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story Lucille 2023 Angie's Cure Carla Cruel Encounters Corynne TV movie Black Girl Erupted Cassandra Cole

Television Year Title Role Notes 1989 Dream Street Tori Episode: "Pilot" 1989–1991 The Cosby Show Jade/Cheryl Recurring Cast: Season 5 & 7 1990 Law & Order Vera Episode: "Happily Ever After" 1992–1993 Melrose Place Rhonda Blair Main Cast: Season 1 1995 NYPD Blue Kira Episode: "Don We Now Our Gay Apparel" Living Single Hellura Episode: "Another Saturday Night" 1995–1996 Murder One Lila Main Cast: Season 1 1996 Buddies Janice Rollins Episode: "Marry Me... Sort Of" Malcolm & Eddie Stephanie Episode: "Big Brother Is Watching" Chicago Hope Dr. Grace Carr Recurring Cast: Season 3 1997 Jungle Cubs Trech (voice) Episode: "The Ape That Would Be King" Between Brothers Rebecca Episode: "The Interview" 1998 The Pretender Denise Clements Episode: "Collateral Damage" The Steve Harvey Show Nina Episode: "Rent" 1999 Total Recall 2070 Violet Whims Episode: "Self-Inflicted" 2000–2004 Soul Food Maxine Chadway Main Cast 2001 Heavy Gear: The Animated Series Sonja Briggs (voice) Recurring Cast: Season 1 2003 E! True Hollywood Story Herself Episode: "Melrose Place" 2007 Cold Case Crystal Stacy Episode: "Shuffle, Ball Change" 2008–2009 Lincoln Heights Naomi Bradshaw Guest Cast: Season 3–4 2009 Knight Rider Ambassador Olara Kumali Episode: "Don't Stop the Knight" & "Day Turns Into Knight" Everybody Hates Chris Tallulah Lafitte Episode: "Everybody Hates Bomb Threats" 2015–2020 The Bay Mayor Cleo Harris Recurring Cast: Season 4, Guest: Season 6 2015–2023 The Flash Francine West Recurring Cast: Season 2, Guest: Season 3 & 9 2016–2022 Days of Our Lives Valerie Grant Regular Cast 2017 Unsung Hollywood Herself Episode: "Ice-T" Major Crimes Zora Sax Episode: "Intersection" 2017–2018 Famous in Love Ida Turner Recurring Cast 2018 40 and Single Bertha Brown Main Cast A Luv Tale: The Series Candice Main Cast 2020 Two Degrees Vanessa Episode: "Bonus Adults" 2021 American Horror Stories Eleanor Berger Episode : "Ba'al" 2021–2022 9-1-1 Claudette Collins Recurring Cast: Season 5 2021–2023 The L Word: Generation Q Pippa Pascal Recurring Cast: Season 2, Guest: Season 3

Awards and nominations Year Awards Category Recipient Outcome 1993 Fangoria Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress "Candyman" 1996 NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series "Murder One" 1997 NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series "Chicago Hope" 2001 NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series "Soul Food" 2003 Daytime Emmy Award Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special "Our America" Black Reel Awards Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress: Television Movie/Cable NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series "Soul Food" 2004 2005 2009 NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special "Flirting with Forty" 2013 Black Reel Awards Black Reel Award for Best Actress: T.V. Movie/Cable "Raising Izzie"