Stephanie E. Williams

Last updated
Stephanie E. Williams
Born
Stephanie E. Williams

(1959-02-04) February 4, 1959 (age 65)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1981–2009

Stephanie E. Williams (born February 4, 1959) is an American actress best known for her work on TV soap operas, first on CBS-TV's The Young and the Restless as Amy Lewis, a character she portrayed from January 1983 to March 1988, then on ABC-TV's General Hospital as Dr. Simone Hardy and also on ABC-TV's One Life to Live as Sheila Price. [1]

Contents

Life and career

Born and reared in St. Louis, Missouri, Williams attended University City High School where she danced, performed gymnastics, appeared in school musicals and was chosen Homecoming Queen. She attended Webster University in St. Louis and the University of Missouri in Kansas City on dance scholarships, while independently studying psychology.

Dancing career

After dance performances at the St. Louis Municipal Opera and the Kansas City Starlight Theater, Williams decided to pursue a professional dancing career and moved to New York City after auditioning and winning a dance scholarship to the Alvin Ailey Dance Academy. Shortly thereafter, she made her New York debut as a dancer in an off-Broadway production of "Take It from the Top," which was written, produced and directed by legendary actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.

In 1980 she landed a featured dancing role in the Broadway revival of "West Side Story," and danced on her birth date of February 4 at the White House for the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. Later that year she won a role in the feature film, The Fan , starring Lauren Bacall and James Garner.

Hollywood acting

In 1981, Williams moved to Los Angeles to portray the role of dancer Stephanie Harrison on the hit NBC television series, Fame . While on Fame, she served as assistant choreographer to director/actress Debbie Allen. In 1985, she was one of the three hottest soap-opera couples chosen to be on the cover of TV Guide. [1] She also appeared in the 1985 James Ingram music video "I Want to Come Back" which was directed by Allen. [2] In 1986 she was a nominee for the NAACP Image Awards as best supporting actress in a daytime drama for her role as Amy Lewis on The Young and The Restless .

She also had roles in Boiling Point , Meteor Man , Murder at Midnight , and Back to the Future Part II . [1] On the Los Angeles stage she appeared in such productions as "The Choice Is Yours," "A Woman’s Choice" and "Ceremonies in Dark Old Men." In 2000, Williams narrated a musical tribute to Porgy and Bess for the Compton Heights Band in St. Louis, Missouri.

Additionally, Williams guest-starred on several prime-time television series such as Moesha , Parenthood , Roc , A Different World , Midnight Caller , The Love Boat , and had a recurring role as Alexis’ secretary Pamela, on the ABC-TV series Dynasty . She also performed in Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime , a three-part television special in which she served as choreographer of the first part.

Radio/Other appearances

Williams co-hosted songwriter Stevie Wonder's KJLH and Fort Lauderdale's Mystik 1580 morning radio show. She also co-produced the Mystik Kids literacy radio show, as well as, an annual 24-hour radio-thon on Florida's Mystik 1580 radio station, which benefited their new African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Williams co-founded a non-profit organization in 1991, which collaborated with the Los Angeles Unified School District to promote literacy among children. As a result, the "Books Brighten Your Life Campaign" was created honoring our first mentor LeVar Burton for his "Reading Rainbow" legacy.

She also founded the Brighten Your Life Youth Foundation, Inc and P.Y.G.O. Inner-Prizes, Inc., which operated out of New York and Los Angeles, California until recently when re-structured and renamed for her Saint Louis, Missouri, endeavors.

Public speaking

Since the early 1980s Williams has been publicly speaking to school assemblies and organizations around the country including: the American Heart Association, MD Anderson Cancer Institute, Grace Hill, NAACP ACT-SO, Faith Based Organizations, Correctional Institutions in Bermuda, Chino, California and Saint Louis, Missouri. Williams also was a committee member for University City's "Proposition U" and was awarded a certificate of recognition for informing community residents and helping to pass the tax initiative to rebuild University City schools. On May 9, 2013, her P.Y.G.O. Ed-u-tainment Group provided the entertainment for the University City Chamber of Commerce's "A Taste of U. City" event - a fundraiser and showcase of over thirty University City Businesses.

Recent

In 2013, Williams was elected as one of two permanent YWCA – Pagedale Policy Council Parent Representatives to act as a link between the people making and carrying out decisions, and the people Head Start/Early Head Start serve sitting on three committees; she also served as chairman of the Evaluation Committee. On May 5, 2014, Williams received a Head Start Volunteer Award Certificate for outstanding service at the YWCA-Pagedale Center.

On May 14, 2014, Williams graduated from a 12-week Step Up To Leadership Course facilitated by the Community Action Agency of Saint Louis County, Inc (CAASTLC) and later partnered with a classmate to create an introductory 6 week book club reading room for children between the ages of 5 and 14 to increase literacy, and instill a love for reading by bringing books to life through the art of acting and dancing at "R.A.A.," a local St. Louis non-profit organization.

Partial filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Grayson</span> American actress (1922–2010)

Kathryn Grayson was an American actress and coloratura soprano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Powell</span> American actress (1929–2021)

Jane Powell was an American actress, singer, and dancer who appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s and 50s. With her soprano voice and girl-next-door image, Powell appeared in films, television and on the stage, performing in the musicals A Date with Judy (1948), Royal Wedding (1951), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and Hit the Deck (1955).

Stephanie Zimbalist is an American actress best known for her role as Laura Holt in the NBC detective series Remington Steele.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Guillaume</span> American actor (1927–2017)

Robert Guillaume was an American actor and singer. He played Benson DuBois in the ABC television series Soap and its spin-off, Benson. He also voiced the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King, and played Isaac Jaffe in Aaron Sorkin's dramedy Sports Night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Traubel</span> American opera singer

Helen Francesca Traubel was an American opera and concert singer. A dramatic soprano, she was best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially those of Brünnhilde and Isolde.

Nancy Walton Laurie is an American billionaire, as an heir to the Walmart fortune.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenifer Lewis</span> American actress (born 1957)

Jenifer Jeanette Lewis is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films Beaches (1988) and Sister Act (1992). Lewis is known for playing roles of mothers in the films What's Love Got to Do With It (1993), Poetic Justice (1993), The Preacher's Wife (1996), The Brothers (2001), The Cookout (2004), Think Like a Man (2012) and in the sequel Think Like a Man Too (2014), Baggage Claim (2013) and The Wedding Ringer (2015), as well as in The Temptations miniseries (1998).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shandi Finnessey</span> American model (born 1978)

Shandi Ren Finnessey is an American actress, model, TV host and beauty pageant titleholder. She is best known for winning the Miss USA title, as Miss Missouri USA. She previously held the title of Miss Missouri 2002 and competed in Miss America, where she won a preliminary award. She placed as first runner-up at the Miss Universe 2004 competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Gibson</span> American actress (1925–2013)

Virginia Gibson was an American dancer, singer and actress of film, television and musical theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenna Fischer</span> American actress (born 1974)

Regina Marie Kirk, known professionally as Jenna Fischer, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom The Office (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2007; she was also a producer for the show's ninth and final season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyna Nguyen</span> Vietnamese-American podcaster and former television anchor and reporter

Leyna Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American podcaster and former television anchor and reporter in Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angell Conwell</span> American actress (born 1983)

Angell Conwell is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Leslie Michaelson in the CBS daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless and Lisa Stallworth in the Bounce TV sitcom Family Time. In film, she appeared in Baby Boy (2001) and starred as Veronica on Bigger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Bush Wilson</span> American activist (1919–2009)

Margaret Bush Wilson was an American lawyer and activist. Wilson broke many barriers as an African-American woman throughout her professional career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charla Doherty</span> American actress (1946–1988)

Charla Sue Doherty was an American film and television actress who appeared on the first season of the long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helena Bliss</span> American actress

Helena Bliss was an American actress and singer. A talented soprano, she actively performed in musicals, operettas, and operas in the United States, both on stage and on television and radio, from the 1930s through the 1950s. She is best known for her portrayal of Nina Hagerup in the original Broadway production of Robert Wright and George Forrest's Song of Norway. She also appeared successfully in a few productions on London's West End.

Audrey Christie was an American actress, singer and dancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exie Lee Hampton</span> American educator, community leader and clubwoman

Exie Lee Hampton, born Exie Lee Kelley, was an American educator, community leader and clubwoman in Southern California. She served on the national board of the YWCA during World War II, and was executive director of the Eastside Settlement House in Los Angeles after the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Harriet Williams</span> American activist and civil servant (1898–1992)

Frances Harriet Williams (1898–1992) was an American activist and civil servant. She was born in 1898 in Danville, Kentucky to Frank L. Williams and Fannie (Miller) Williams but grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1919 and earned a master's degree in political science from the University of Chicago in 1931.

Myrtle Foster Cook was a Canadian-born American teacher, political activist, and clubwoman.

Arsania M. Williams was an American educator and clubwoman based in St. Louis, Missouri. She taught for over fifty years in segregated schools, and was president of the Missouri State Association of Negro Teachers, the Missouri Association of Colored Women, and the St. Louis Association of Colored Women. She held national leadership roles in the National Association of Colored Women (NACW).

References

  1. 1 2 3 Reichardt, Nancy M. (March 11, 1990). "Williams Impatient For Part In 'Hospital'". United Feature Syndicate . chicagotribune.com . Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Stephanie Williams - About". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2015. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.