Sister 2 Sister
Although that this is the April issue, the interview was done in February ´96 on the set of ERASER
VANESSA WILLIAMS
A Jamie Foster Brown Interview
Introduction:
The last time I got a chance to talk to Vanessa Williams was shortly after her The Right Stuff album. Ironically, we were in the San Francisco Bay area. Both she and I were in a Tony Toni Tone video. I've forgotten which one. But to give you an idea, I think we all did the electric slide.
It's been years since I've interviewed Vanessa Williams. I call her my little Loch Ness Monster. She's so wonderful! People always ask me who my favorite celebs are. I guess I have to count Vanessa as one of them. It's not just her craft and talent, it's our very similar values.
Well, what has my little monster been up to since I spoke with her last? She's made three babies-Melanie (8), Jillian (6) Devin (2)-and three successful albums: The Sweetest Days (1994), The Right Stuff (1989), and The Cormfort Zone (1991). From those not-so-humble beginnings, she has gone on to star in the nine month Broadway run of the musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, (where she had to dance, be tossed in the air, sing, and smile eight times a week) and is now costarring with one of the four biggest action male heroes in Hollywood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the upcoming $95 million movie, Eraser. To get that role with Arnold, she had to kick more butt than Conan the Barbarian, Terminator I and 2 and The Predator, because being a little brown girl just coming off Broadway didn't amount to a hill of beans with these Hollywood types.
But let's not forget that, along the way, Vanessa racked up two NAACP Image Awards, seven Grammy Award nominations and several NewYork Music Awards. She's also appeared in several TV movies like The Boy Who Loved Christmas, Stompin' at the Savoy, and feature films like Another You with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder and Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. Shucks, Vanessa even got to sing the theme song from the Disney blockbuster movie, Pocahontas!
Even with these credits under her belt, Vanessa tells me people are still shocked to find out that girlfriend can actually sing, act and dance. They still think of her as just a good looking Miss America girl. Duh?!! Did you know the KKK wanted to kill her when she won as Miss America? Gasp!!
Well, I went to spend a day hanging out with Loch Ness on the Warner Bros. movie set of Eraser. What you're about to experience right now is the real deal Vanessa. So, sit down, grab yourself some Snapple, and get your groove on.
