Vanessa Williams is perched on a cream sofa in the luxury London hotel, Mandarin Oriental. Spread across her face is a huge smile, something that those who were raised by the TV series Ugly Betty or have watched the stage show The Devil Wears Prada may find a bit disconcerting. She looks beautiful in a tight-fitting green botanical dress; florals for autumn? Much more groundbreaking than spring.
Being groundbreaking is something Vanessa does with ease; she was the first Black Miss America in 1983, and after her resignation, which she was forced into after Penthouse ran unauthorised nude photos, she tenaciously launched a music career, with the hit song Save the Best for Last becoming the standout.
Next up, she became a TV legend playing Wilhelmina Slater, the cutthroat creative director at Mode magazine in Ugly Betty, a show before its time, for its authentic representation of the Latino and LGBTQ+ communities, and its fearless challenging of beauty standards.
It’s been 15 years since it ended, but while some stars like to avoid any chatter about their most popular work, Vanessa, 62, wholeheartedly laughs at the memory of some of the more out-there moments in the Golden Globe and Emmy-winning comedy-drama. Flicking through the pages of scripts, Vanessa recalls being shocked ‘all the time’ at where they were taking it, with the episode that Wilhelmina took the sperm of Bradford Meade after his death, so she could have his baby, who’d have part ownership of the media organisation, standing out.
‘That was so crazy and delicious,’ says Vanessa, crediting the ‘incredible writing team’ for always delivering. ‘We had heavy hitters who were bringing it every week.’
It feels like Vanessa has unlocked the period of time in her mind as the fun scenes continue to pour out of her: ‘I loved when Wilhelmina went on the roof with a baseball bat to hit mannequins, and she’s so funny when the Queens and hookers come up to her and start touching her fur, and she says, “Stop pawing my piece”.
‘It was a balance of great humour, writing, cast, and direction. Everything just synced together,’ she summarises.
In some people’s hands, Wilhelmina could have been a caricature villain, but somehow, Vanessa managed to win viewers round. Talking about how she created empathy for the character, even when she was being evil, Vanessa says it came from focusing on how she never quite gets what she wants (the editorship of Mode) and garnering sympathy.
Not getting a desire isn’t always a bad thing, says Vanessa. ‘The more you live life, and the more wisdom you have, you realise that sometimes what you think you want is not what you really need,’ she explains. ‘And you reflect and think, “Oh my God, if I had got that, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.” So it’s all kind of a master plan.’
In her own life, this is evident in her long journey to London. As a young music theatre student in the 1980s, she dreamed of being on the West End, but got pulled away due to the fame that came from being Miss America. She came close once again in 2020 when she was cast in City of Angels, before Covid shut it down. She finally made it for The Devil Wears Prada musical in 2024, playing another brutal magazine boss, Miranda Priestly, and she realised this was always meant to be her West End debut.
‘It’s been amazing. I feel like I’ve arrived,’ Vanessa proudly shares.
The Devil Wears Prada has been running for nearly two years, with each performance packed full of excited theatregoers. Vanessa, who also played Renee Perry in Desperate Housewives, has worked with Sir Elton John through the project, as he created all the music. She calls him ‘warm’ and a ‘legend’, while Sir Elton is equally full of praise for Vanessa. His grand plan is for his friend to take the show to Broadway and win a Tony.
Awards or no awards, Vanessa adores playing the part, but admits a couple of things frustrate her. ‘Phones drive us crazy, and the coughing. If you don’t have a sweet to suck on, please leave,’ she says, with a giggle.
Ever the professional, Vanessa uses the annoyance to her advantage: ‘It works for the character, because I can get angrier.’
Brits’ throats aren’t enough to put Vanessa off the UK, and she is keen to stay even after a final curtain call. ‘I would love to continue to live here after I finish [The Devil Wears Prada] to do television, film and my own music,’ she reveals.
Despite all her success in England, she points out that ‘some people know me for a gravy ad.’ Save the Last Dance was used in a 1990s Bisto ad; the song played as the gravy slowly poured onto a roast dinner. Vanessa is just now learning the significance of the dish, three decades later, and launches into a passionate spiel about them during our chat.
‘The Sunday roast is a big thing here. “Where are you going for a roast?” “I just had a roast.” “Who’s doing the roast?” Roast, roast, roast,’ she says.
‘I have not found the perfect roast yet. I have tried many places. I’ve done beef, I’ve done pork, I’ve done lamb. I would probably say my favourite is a roast chicken. I can do a good roast by myself.’
Roasts aside, as a former beauty pageant queen, we’re keen to hear her thoughts on what beauty means to her 42 years after the tiara was placed on her head.
‘Beauty is a gigantic topic. I am happy to be 62 and still look like myself. That’s a whole other, dot, dot, dot, because there are a lot of people my age who’ve had so much work done that they’re unrecognisable,’ she replies.
‘I’m taking care of myself in every way possible and looking forward to ageing gracefully. I have four children and a wonderful grandson, so I am excited about expanding my family and seeing more grandkids coming into the world, and that, to me, is beauty.’
After our interview, Vanessa heads off to turn on the iconic Oxford Street lights in support of Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity. It’s a job always given to beloved stars, with Bob Geldof, Emma Watson, and Robbie Williams being amongst those hitting the button in previous years. Her selection surely means she is now officially an honorary Brit!
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