She returned to the Great White Way the next year in the musical 'After Midnight.' in Broadway's 'The Trip To Bountiful' in 2013. Williams co-starred with Cicely Tyson and Cuba Gooding Jr. She also starred on the TV shows 'Ugly Betty' and 'Desperate Housewives.' Her work has been honoured by 4 Emmy nominations 17 Grammy nominations (of which 11 were for her individually) a Tony nomination, 3 Screen Actors Guild award nominations 7 NAACP Image Awards and a Golden Globe, Grammy and an Oscar for Best Original Song for her platinum single 'Colors of the Wind,' from the Disney film 'Pocahontas.' 1 and Top 10 hits on various Billboard album and singles charts, including pop, dance, R&B, adult contemporary, holiday, Latin, Gospel and jazz. Since her 1988 debut album, 'The Right Stuff,' Williams has sold more than 7 million records worldwide and has scored No. It's truly an honour to welcome her back to the Miss America Pageant.' Her return as a huge success is a way for us all to move forward and put the past behind us. 'When I became chairman of Miss America, one of the first calls I made was to Vanessa, to try to find a way to get her to come back. 'Vanessa's career speaks for itself, with all the success that she has had,' Haskell said. Haskell has been trying for a decade to bring Williams back to the Miss America stage, but this was the first year the logistics could be arranged. Vanessa and her family were hurt during the aftermath of the resignation, and that saddened me.' Instead of pursuing what would surely have been a long and stressful legal battle, Vanessa decided to resign and focus on her career. 'When the photos were published, there were people urging her to fight, but close supporters knew if she lost that fight that she would be completely removed from the history books. 'I have been friends with Vanessa for 32 years,' he told The Associated Press.

Sam Haskell, executive chairman and CEO of the Miss America Organization, said his friendship with Williams pre-dated the turmoil caused by the release of the photos. She went on to have a successful career in film, television, music and Broadway. Williams, the first African-American Miss America, won the title in 1984 but resigned after Penthouse magazine published sexually explicit photographs of her taken several years earlier. It begins Tuesday and culminates in the crowning of the next Miss America on Sunday. The Miss America Organization, Dick Clark Productions and the ABC television network announced Tuesday they are bringing back the award-winning actress and singer to serve as head judge for the 2016 competition. Three decades after she gave up the crown amid a nude photo scandal, Vanessa Williams is returning to the Miss America pageant.

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