LOS ANGELES — Many predicted Vanessa Williams would fade into obscurity when she gave up her Miss America crown because of a scandal over nude photographs, but her star shone brightly Monday.
Williams received the 2,331st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fellow cast members from the TV show "Ugly Betty," in which she plays a villainous magazine editor, showed up to cheer for her at the ceremony in front of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
"We were so happy to get Vanessa," said Salma Hayek, the show's executive producer. "She is brilliant because she is so nasty on the show, but in reality she is the sweetest person."
Williams stepped down as the first black Miss America in 1984 after Penthouse magazine published nude, sexually explicit photographs of her taken several years earlier. In the years since, she has sung on Broadway, released Grammy-nominated albums and acted on screens both big and small.
On Monday, she thanked fellow "Betty" cast members for attending the ceremony on their day off.
"I love working with these people," she said. "I also want to thank my family for allowing me to live my dreams. The sun didn't shine today, but my heart is shining."
Others who attended the ceremony included producer Peter Gruber, "Betty" co-star Rebecca Romijn and Williams' brother, Chris, a cast member on the new Fox series "The Wedding Bells."