Vanessa A. Williams (born May 12, 1963) is an American actress who has appeared in several television series such as Melrose Place and the Showtime cable television series Soul Food. In 1996, she was featured in the television series Murder One. In 1988, she appeared in the music video for "Parents Just Don't Understand" sung by rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.

Williams was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City. While not related, she is sometimes confused with singer/actress Vanessa L. Williams, who starred in the original film version of Soul Food. She had her DNA tested and discovered that she descended from the Tikar and Bamileke ethnic groups from Cameroon.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Producer

• Dense (2004) executive producer & producer
• Allergic to Nuts (2003) executive producer
• Driving Fish (2004) co-executive producer

[edit] Actor

• Law & Order: "Happily Ever After" (1990) as Vera
• New Jack City (1991) as Keisha
• The Cosby Show (2 episodes, 1989) as Jade and (2 episodes, 1991) as Cheryl
• Fatal Bond (1992) as Waitress
• Candyman (1992) as Anne-Marie McCoy
• Melrose Place (1992–1993) as Rhonda Blair
• Drop Squad (1994) as Mali
• NYPD Blue: "Don We Now Our Gay Apparel" (1995) as Kira
• Living Single: "Another Saturday Night" (1995) as Hellura
• Buddies: Marry Me... Sort Of" (1996) as Janice Rollins
• Murder One (1995–1996) as Lila
• Mother (1996) as Donna
• Malcolm & Eddie: "Big Brother Is Watching" (1996) as Stephanie
• Chicago Hope (4 episodes, 1996) as Dr. Grace Carr
• A Woman of Color (1997)
• Breakdown (1997)
• Between Brothers: "The Interview" (1997) as Rebecca
• The Pretender: "Collateral Damage" (1998) as Denise Clements
• The Steve Harvey Show: "Rent" (1998) as Nina
• Total Recall 2070: "Self-Inflicted" (1999) as Violet Whims
• Incognito (1999) as Wilhelmina Hunter
• Playing with Fire (2000) as Riana Roberts
• Punks (2000) as Jennifer
• Soul Food (2000–2004) as Maxine Chadway
• Afrocentricity (2000)
• Heavy Gear: The Animated Series (5 episodes, 2001) as Sonja Briggs
• Baby of the Family (2002) as Gloria
• Our America (2002) as Sandra Williams
• Like Mike (2002) as Pharmacist
• Black Listed (2003) as J.W.
• Allergic to Nuts (2003) as Jennie
• Gift for the Living (2005) as Voiceover
• Cold Case: "Shuffle, Ball Change" (2007) as Crystal Stacy
• Drawing Angel (2007) as Thulani
• Ice Spiders (2007) as Dr. April Sommers
• Hummingbird (2008) as Donya
• Lincoln Heights: "Ode to Joy" (2008) as Naomi Bradshaw
• Flirting with Forty (2008) as Kristine
• Contradictions of the Heart (2009) as Lea
• Knight Rider: (2 episodes, 2009) as Ambassador Olara Kumali
• Imagine That (2009) as Lori Struthers
• Everybody Hates Chris: "Everybody Hates Bomb Threats" (2009)

[edit] External links

• Vanessa A. Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• Vanessa A. Williams' Official Website