Playing ice-queen editor Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada in London’s West End means many people are scared to approach Vanessa Williams but that’s not always a bad thing says the Desperate Housewives actress
“Many people are scared to approach me,” she laughs. “It’s actually quite good. It cuts out 50% of the people who would have! But once they realise who I actually am, that’s over.”
Currently playing ice-queen editor Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada in the West End to rave reviews, before that, from 2006 to 2010, she perfected her withering glare as Wilhelmina Slater in Ugly Betty – another fashion boss who ran her glossy empire with a raised brow and an iron fist. So, it’s no wonder fans find her a little intimidating.
But, in real-life, she reckons women in power are no longer more ruthless than their male counterparts. “There are so many examples of women who are CEOs, governors, even presidents now,” she tells The Mirror. “Thank God those old stereotypes are disappearing. It’s incredible how much power and status women have achieved in the past 20 years.”
One woman who knows only too well about getting labelled is Vanessa’s close friend Hillary Clinton, once branded a “nasty woman” by Donald Trump, for her dogged drive and ambition.
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Hillary lives near Vanessa, 62, in her hometown of Chappaqua, New York, and they support each other’s careers. “She’s doing really well,” says Vanessa. “She hasn’t come to see the show yet, but her aide David has.”
New York born Vanessa is speaking before turning on the iconic Oxford Street Christmas lights in support of Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity). The opposite to ice queen Miranda Priestly, Vanessa loves spreading festive cheer. She’s released two Christmas albums in the past and starred in the festive film, A Diva’s Christmas Carol, in 2000. “It is wonderful,” grins Vanessa. “This is my second year here for the holidays in London. I enjoy just the excitement of it, all the decorations of it all, and the tradition. I’m from New York, so we do Christmas big there. I would say it’s a little more quaint here.”
Her run at the Dominion Theatre has been extended until 18 April 2026 and she says: “I am doing eight shows a week at Devil Wears Prada, but in the past I’ve done many Christmas specials on television and stuff. So it’s a very familiar time, and it’s always one of my busiest times in terms of me doing concerts and stuff.” But with her family across the pond, it might be hard this year for them to visit in December. “I’ve got four kids and one grandson. So it depends on who is available as to if they want to fly in. And if not, well, we will get a holiday at the beginning of the year.”
The star, who has also enjoyed a glittering singing career, including her Grammy-nominated smash hit Save the Best to Last, shows no signs of slowing down in her sixties. There could even be a return to Desperate Housewives, the hit ABC drama created by Marc Cherry, that ran until 2012 and followed the scandalous lives of the glamorous women on a suburban American street called Wisteria Lane.
It starred Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo, Teri Hatcher as Susan Delfino, Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp, Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis and, of course, Vanessa as Renee Perry. The series is reportedly set for a reboot, this time executive produced by Emmy Award-winning actress Kerry Washington. Vanessa, who joined the show in its later seasons as sophisticated party girl Renee Perry, says she still thinks positively about her time on Wisteria Lane.
“I do have fond memories of the show,” she says. “Mark Cherry, who was the creator and writer, just wrote a terrific role for me as Renee Perry. She gets all the laughs. She gets a chance to be free and zany, which I absolutely love to play. I have not heard any whisperings of us old girls coming back to Wisteria Lane, but if I got a call, it actually depends on who the team was. Mark conceived it and wrote it and wrote specifically for me and had that vision. So I would be just concerned about who the team was.”
When Desperate Housewives first aired in 2004, it became a worldwide phenomenon, known as much for its glossy suburban secrets as for the real-life drama rumoured to swirl around its leading ladies, with outlets often reporting on set rifts. But Vanessa is still close to Susan Delfino actress Teri Hatcher. “I see Teri,” she says. “I’ve been over here for almost a year and a half now. It’s been maybe two years. I saw her for her birthday. Her daughter Emerson came through the summertime. I think Teri will probably come in the next few months.”
While old friends remain close, Vanessa’s focus these days is firmly on her work. Married three times, first to music manager Ramon Hervey II in 1987, then to NBA player Rick Fox in 1999, her 2015 marriage to Jim Skrip came to a quiet end back in 2021. “I don’t know any Christmas romance that will happen anytime soon,” she admits. “But you know, I am at a stage now where I’ve got lots of freedom and I’m happy, you know, doing what I do.”
Mum to Melanie, 38, Jillian, 35, Devin, 32, and Sasha, 25, as well as grandmother to three-year-old Sunny, the star is also taking on a deeply personal new project about the scandal that changed her life. Raised by two music teachers, then studying for a music theatre degree, Vanessa first cut her teeth in showbiz via beauty pageantry – going on to be crowned as the first Black Miss America in 1983, aged 20.
Her historic reign was cut short the following year when unauthorized nude photographs were published without her consent in Penthouse magazine. She was forced to resign her crown and the controversy made global headlines, leading to an onslaught of racist and sexist abuse, including death threats. Vanessa has previously described the “pressure, shame, judgment” she had to cope with. She also lost acting jobs and faced ridicule on a vast scale.
But she didn’t let any of it stop her from making her mark on the world, and she is now making a documentary about what happened. “I’m working on a documentary, and that’s fascinating and exciting, but also exhausting,” she says. “Trying to get all the details right and tell the story, because it’s been 42 years, it’s a while. But in perspective, again, we just talked about how modern-day society receives and respects women and all the avenues that we have to achieve. You know, 40 years ago, it was a much different world. So that’s what I will be illustrating when I talk about my side of the story.”
A career in the spotlight means she has sage advice for her daughters, two of whom have followed her into the music industry. “I’ve got two daughters that are singers, so they understand the rejection, the sacrifice, but also the elation you get when you get a chance to create,” she explains.
“So the advice is to keep doing what makes you excited, what you’re good at, and don’t be afraid to take any opportunity. As for what I do next, you’ll have to wait and see.” Knowing Vanessa’s remarkable ability to turn setbacks into comebacks and have smash hits across disciplines and genres, whatever she does, she’ll no doubt, ‘Save the Best to Last.’
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