Fantastic Femmes--Vanessa L Williams

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!

The first African-American to become Miss America, Vanessa was also the first to lose the crown due to the publication of nude photos taken a couple of years prior to her entry into the competition. (She has since been reinstated as the official winner for 1984!)
For most people, that would've been the end of their career. But not Vanessa..
Since then, she's had a number of best-selling vocal albums, performed to rave reviews in several Broadway shows including Kiss of the Spider Woman, Into the Woods, and Carmen Jones, and appeared in theatrical and tv movies ranging from drama (Soul Food) to musicals (Bye, Bye, Birdie) as well as performing on soundtracks of a number of films including Pocahontas!
Her greatest success has been a tour-de-force performance as scheming editor Wilhelmina Slater on the ongoing Ugly Betty tv series.
She'll be doing genre again, as her schedule permits...
Trivia: Vanessa turned down the lead in Monster's Ball which was then offered to Halle Berry, who won the Oscar for it! Hey, nobody's perfect!

Genre appearances include
A Diva's Christmas Carol (Ebony Scrooge)
Shaft (Det. Carmen Vasquez)
BoomTown (Det. Katherine Pierce)
WWIII aka Winds of Terror (MJ Blake)
Adventures of Elmo in GrouchLand (Queen of Trash)
The Odyssey (Calypso)
FutureSport (Alexandra Torres aka Alex)
Star Trek: Deep Space 9 "Let He Who is Without Sin" (Arandis)
Hoodlum (Francine Hughes)
Eraser (Lee Cullen)
T.J. Hooker "Partners in Death"
Partners in Crime "Celebrity"

Check out...
Vanessa's Official Site
Vanessa Williams Music

Fantastic Femmes--Ashanti

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info  

HERE!

Another singer / actress with several genre credits, and a fair number of other film / tv appearances as well.
Ashanti Douglas is a superb soprano, and a competent actress, with an enthusiasm for action stunts.

Her genre credits include...
Resident Evil: Extinction(Betty)
Muppets' Wizard of Oz(Dorothy Gale)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer "First Date" (Lissa)

Check out...
AshantiMusic
Ashanti Daily (FanSite)

Other actresses to play Dorothy Gale include...
Tin Man: Grace Wheeler, Zooey Deschanel, Alexis Llewellen, Rachel Patee (Dorothy at various ages)
The Dreamer of Oz: Courtney Barilla (Dorothy Gale / Dorothy Leslie Gage [the real-life inspiration for the character])
Return to Oz(1985): Fairuza Balk
The Wiz: Diana Ross
The Wiz (Broadway): Stephanie Mills
Journey Back to Oz; Liza Minelli (daughter of Judy Garland)
Off to See the Wizard: June Foray
Return to Oz(1964) Susan Conway
The Wizard of Oz (1939) / Lux Radio Theatre "Wizard of Oz": Judy Garland
The Land of Oz aka The Scarecrow of Oz: Maryeruth Boone
The Wizard of Oz(1925): Dorothy Dwan
Dorothy and the Scarecrow of Oz: Marcia Moore
The Wizard of Oz(1910): Bebe Daniels