Vanessa A. Williams (born May 12, 1963) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her roles as Maxine Joseph–Chadway in the Showtime drama series, Soul Food (2000–04), for which she received NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. Williams also is known for role as Anne-Marie McCoy in the 1992 horror film Candyman and as Rhonda Blair in the first season of the Fox prime time television soap opera, Melrose Place (1992-93).
Williams was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. In an ABC News interview, she stated that she can trace her ancestry back to Georgia and Virginia. After high school she went on to get a bachelor's degree in theater and business management from Marymount Manhattan College. In 1993, Williams met Andre Wiseman and they began dating, then married in Stuyvesant, New York. They have one son together. She is the cousin of former 106 and park host Free Marie.