When the M&Ms commercial introducing the character of Ms. Brown debuted during the Super Bowl, actress Vanessa Williams' phone went crazy with people wondering if she had provided the voice of the animated figure. Just one person knew leading up to air time. "The only person I told was my 11-year-old daughter, because I surprised her and showed her the story boards when I went in to do the ad," the star told omg!. (Williams is mom to Sasha with ex-husband Rick Fox, as well as three older children from a previous marriage.)
For Williams, whose favorite candy was already peanut M&Ms, the role seemed natural. "When they were breaking down the character, they said they wanted her to be intelligent and sound like Wilhelmina Slater," the role Vanessa played in her Emmy-nominated stint on "Ugly Betty." "Obviously she's not as wicked as Wilhelmina and certainly not as snarky and sarcastic, but I wanted to bring an intelligence, an authoritative spin [to it]. You know, Ms. Brown has been running the M&Ms brand for 70 years, and is the smartest of all the colors -- she actually created the other colors -- so I wanted to give her that seasoned sound, the mature, intelligent sound. That's one I can channel pretty easily."
The gig isn't over yet. On Tuesday, Vanessa helped launch M&Ms Museum of Chocolate Art, which will be open in NYC through Sunday, and features a 300-pound chocolate sculpture of Ms. Brown. She also provided the voice for the character on a virtual tour of the museum that chocolate fans can watch anywhere.
And Vanessa, 48, has more fun things planned. On February 17, she'll attend the 43rd NAACP Image Awards, where she's once again nominated for the category she won last year, outstanding actress in a comedy series for her "Desperate Housewives" role. (Williams also won twice for "Ugly Betty," and once for the movie "Soul Food," and has been nominated eight more times!)
Whether she wins or loses, you can bet the star will stun on the red carpet, most likely in a look she styled herself. "I've got relationships with some designers that I've worn before that I know are wonderful to work with," she explained. "I usually say, 'Hey, I'm doing this, can you send over what you have?' And if it's a big thing then I might have something that's custom-made or one-of-a-kind. I like to kind of do it myself, even though it takes a lot of time and I definitely wait until the last minute."
Two months later, on April 17, Vanessa will release an autobiography she's written with her mother, Helen Williams, called You Have No Idea: A Famous Daughter, Her No-Nonsense Mother, and How They Survived Pageants, Hollywood, Love, Loss, and Each Other. The former beauty queen revealed that working on the project with her mother was a wonderful experience. "It definitely enriched my story to hear my mother's perspective of when I was going through situations ... what she felt as a mother, being a protector, being a mentor, being a parent," Vanessa said. "And certainly after having four kids, I respect her more than [ever] and marvel at the job she did as parent."
Of course, the actress will also continue her day job on the final season of ABC's "Desperate Housewives," although she swears she doesn't know how it will end. "We usually get the script the night before we start shooting the next episode, so they kind of keep us in the dark," Williams said. "I hope that my character makes it out ... we have about seven more episodes to shoot, so I hope she makes it to the bitter end." Either way, Vanessa is likely be back on TV soon; she's already reading scripts.
As if all that weren't enough to keep her busy for the forseeable future, the "Save the Best for Last" singer revealed that she's also working on some new songs in the studio. For now, you can catch Vanessa on ABC's "Desperate Housewives" at 9 p.m. ET/PT Sundays.
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