A few Miss America winners have gone on to be famous for other things, and there probably isn't a title holder better known than Miss America 1984, Vanessa Williams. As an actor, she starred in movies including Eraser and Soul Food, and earned three Emmy nominations for her Ugly Betty. As a singer, Williams racked up a string of '90s hit singles, including "Love Is," "Save the Best for Last," and "Colors of the Wind." Hers is also a comeback story, as Williams was the first (and so far only) Miss America to resign, per History.
In July 1984, Penthouse announced that it would publish nude and sexually provocative photos of Williams, which she'd posed for two years earlier while serving as a photographer's receptionist, according to Time. At the time, Williams had believed her image was being captured for use as silhouettes (per Vanity Fair) and that none of the shots would ever leave the photographer's studio. But after she was named Miss America, that photographer sold the shots. Pageant directors were deeply troubled by it all, and Williams, the first Black winner of the Miss America competition, had to quit.
32 years later, Miss America Organization CEO Sam Haskell offered a live, televised apology to Williams and her mother, calling Williams "a beautiful and talented lady," who "lived [her] life in grace and dignity," particularly throughout the scandal that caused her resignation. Williams said the apology was "so unexpected but so beautiful." And if you're thinking, "Wow, what a guy that Sam Haskell is!" just wait...
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