Scarborough beauty pageant judge meets beauty queen royalty at awards
Scarborough beauty pageant judge and historian came face to face with beauty queen royalty in London on Friday night to present her with a top pageant industry award.
Vanessa Williams' story, documented in Sally-Ann's first book, Misdemeanors, is truly inspirational: crowned the first Miss America of colour in 1983, she was cruelly pressurised to resign when nude photos of her were published in a magazine.
America seemed to turn on her, and it was only through sheer determination and talent that Vanessa rose from the ashes to craft an extremely successful career as a singer, enjoying a worldwide smash hit with Save The Best For Last.
She became an in-demand actor, appearing most notably in Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives. Furthermore, the Miss America Organisation issued Vanessa with an official apology and reinstated her back into the titleholders' Hall of Fame.
Vanessa is currently starring as Miranda Priestley in The Devil Wears Prada, which is the fastest-selling musical in the history of the Dominion Theatre. All this, despite losing her beloved mum just last month.
Sally-Ann met her at the stage door to present her with an Iconic Queen award She was surprised and delighted to receive the award and Sally-Ann said it was one of the biggest honours of her pageant career to present it to her.