The Writeup: A wonderful showbiz story, Vanessa became the first African American woman to win the Miss America pageant (1984). However, some nude photos she had taken previous to winning the pageant surfaced in Penthouse magazine and she was forced to resign her crown. Seemingly left for dead, Vanessa landed a recording contract and became a star in the music industry. Quite a comeback for a once disgraced beauty queen. While Vanessa had roles in a number of films in the early 90's, she never really hit the big time until her role opposite Arnold Scwarzenegger in 1996's Eraser, a $100 million grosser. Since then she's been a multi faceted talent, singing, acting & endorsing cosmetics product, she even appeared on broadway in Into The Woods (for which she earned a Tony Award nomination). An impressive talent indeed.