How come Vanessa Williams never really became a movie star despite giving it a good try?
Multiple reasons, including:share
1. Her early career was damaged by some nude photos that she had taken before she became Miss America - While she managed to land on her feet, this came along at a bad time for her and it likely cost her opportunities.
2. Her music career - It wasn’t very clear in the 1980s and early 1990s as to what Ms. Williams wanted to do. She released several R&B albums, and she had quite a following in the African American community and in Europe. Then she decided to switch over to acting, and people weren’t certain what to make of that. While she’s now recognized as a multi-talented performer, her early years seem to have rather confused.
3. She’s Black - When she came to the fore, the primary Black female leading actor was Whoopi Goldberg, and then later Whitney Houston. While Williams was able to land other roles, she was hobbled by Hollywood’s inability to recognize that there were roles for Black female actors.
4. Her acting has improved - While Williams has since won a Tony Award, when she first started things were…rough. She can’t do comedy, she’s not a Shakespearean, she could handle light drama, but she seems to have avoided more serious roles and arthouse features. Basically while Williams was (and remains) an exceptionally beautiful woman, her limited skills hobbled her early career and it took time for her to reach her potential.
5. Her personal life - Williams’ personal life has been a series of train wrecks. Her marriages to Ramon Hervey (the father of three of her children) and former basketball player/actor Rick Fox were apparently quite troubled and Williams spent a lot of time in the tabloids. Her most recent marriage also ended in divorce although it seems to have been far less public than her previous two. Williams has also experienced problems with her health, both battling diabetes as well as weight disorder issues. So not only did Williams have serious career issues, her personal life was “problematic” to say the.