Vanessa Lynn Williams

Vanessa Lynn Williams was born in Tarrytown, New York with a birth announcement that read: "Here she is: Miss America". She was raised in Millwood, New York. A paternal great-great-grandfather was William Fields, an African-American legislator in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Williams is also of English and Welsh descent. Her mother Helen Tinch met her father Milton Augustine Williams Jr. (1935–2006) while both were music education students at Fredonia State Teachers College in the late 1950s. They became elementary school music teachers in separate districts after marriage. Milton also served as the assistant principal of his school for an extended period of time.

Williams was raised Catholic, the religion of her father. Her mother, who had been raised Baptist, converted to Catholicism when she married. Williams was baptized at Our Lady of Grace Church in the Bronx. Her mother played the organ at St. Theresa's Church in Briarcliff Manor for weddings and at Mass, and Williams used to assist her mother by turning the pages of sheet music.

Williams and her younger brother Chris, who later became an actor, grew up in Westchester County, a predominantly white middle to upper-class suburb of New York City. Williams believes she may have been the first African-American student to go from the first grade to the 12th grade in the Chappaqua Central School District. She attended Robert E. Bell Middle School, as did her children years later. Williams revealed that the shop and home economics teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Fink, were still there when her children attended.

A child of music teachers, Williams grew up in a musical household, studying classical and jazz dance, French horn, piano, and violin. She was offered the Presidential Scholarship for Drama to attend Carnegie Mellon University during the college application period, one of 12 students to receive it, but decided instead to attend Syracuse University on a different scholarship. In 1981, Williams joined Syracuse's College of Visual and Performing Arts, Department of Drama as a musical theater major. She stayed at Syracuse through her second year until she was crowned Miss America 1984 in September 1983.

In May 2008, Syracuse granted Williams a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. According to Syracuse News, "Williams earned the remaining credits for her degree through industry experience and her substantial performances on stage and screen." Williams delivered the 2008 convocation address, telling Syracuse seniors to "treasure this moment. These days are irreplaceable and are the beginning of the rest of your life."