Vanessa Williams

I just want to thank you for your article, "Vanessa Williams: Resilient Actress, Down-To-Earth Mother Redefines The 'Perfect' Family" (May 2008). She is a woman who has kept it together. I have been a fun of hers from the beginning. I felt so bad for her when she had to give up her Miss America crown. She held her head up and moved forward. She has a beautiful family. Keep up the good work, Vanessa.

Claudette Howard

Schenectady, N.Y.

I have to confess, as a young man in my teens and 20s, I saw Ms. Williams as just another "pretty face" who was given "break" after "break," but this recent article on her fundamentally changed my perception. In the article (well-written by Ms. Harriette Cole), I saw Ms. Williams go through so much that would put the best of us on serious pause--not Vanessa! This courageous Black woman got up and kept moving in the "right" direction. Yes, her two marriages failed, and, yes, she developed a beautiful system to fundamentally keep the fathers of her children in their lives. Ms. Williams' character is in one word--solid.

Through this article, I was fundamentally touched by the character, courage and strength of Ms. Williams. In fact, I was so touched that I had to put the magazine down for a moment to get my emotions in check. In sum, as I move into my 40th year on this earth, I understand that life is more than "a pretty face," but, in fact, life is a process, and for Vanessa, it is a lively testimony of someone who continues to take her life in the right direction. May God continue to bless her.

Nathaniel Johnson

Alexandria, Va.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning