Vanessa Williams born March 18, is an American actress, singer, and fashion designer. She initially gained recognition as the first African American winner of the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America in September Several weeks before the end of her reign, however, a scandal arose when Penthouse magazine bought and published unauthorized [2] nude photographs of Williams. Williams was pressured to relinquish her title, and was succeeded by the first runner-up, Miss New Jersey , Suzette Charles. She was the first Miss America to give up her crown. Thirty-two years later, in September , when Williams served as head judge for the Miss America pageant, former Miss America CEO Sam Haskell made a public apology to her for the events of

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I t might have been the lowest point in her life, as she told People in , but the scandal that led Vanessa Williams to resign her post as Miss America also set her up for one of the greatest comebacks in entertainment history. But they did leave the studio, partly because she was identifiable: photos of Miss America in compromising positions, some of them involving another nude woman, were worth their weight in gold. TIME reported that the photographer was paid more than Penthouse had ever paid for a photo spread before. The statement that Williams ultimately made was that she was more than a racy photo spread — and more than Miss America. The title had never been a dream of hers, as TIME attested just after she won the competition. She wants to be a star. While the exposure she got was not the type she wanted, she became a star on her own terms, as a Grammy-nominated singer and an actress with prominent roles in Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives , among others. She presumed karma would pick up where legal action left off. Contact us at editors time. By Jennifer Latson.
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