Roshumba Williams (Black Woman)

Television host, correspondent, model, actress, author. Roshumba Williams has accomplished all of these mediums and moves gracefully between them. Roshumba's professional career began in 1987 when she left her family home in Peoria, IL for Paris, to pursue modeling. With $150 and a dream, Roshumba set out on her journey to become one of the world's top models. After two days of pounding the pavement, Roshumba secured an agent who sent her to the designer Yves St. Laurent who was so impressed with her talent that he immediately put her on the runway in his haute couture fashion show.

This exposure led to high profile assignments with Christian Dior, Chanel, Versace, Armani, Cover Girl, Maybelline and Samsung to name a few. At the same time, Roshumba, with her fresh natural beauty drew attention from magazine editors which landed her on the covers and pages of Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Essence and Cosmopolitan.

What turned Roshumba from a model to a household name was her appearance in Sports Illustrated's infamous Swimsuit Edition. Roshumba was the first featured African American model appearing in four consecutive issues.

It was during the worldwide publicity blitz for SI that television reporters interviewing Roshumba suggested that she should join their side of the camera. The producer of "The Making of The Swimsuit Issue" invited Roshumba to join Lifetime Television as the host of their programs targeting a younger audience. That show was called The Wire.

As with modeling, success followed Ms. Williams in her broadcast career with shows such as The Making of a Supermodel for E! Entertainment , a long stint as an on-air personality for VH1, Fox Style News, hosting specials for HGTV, correspondent and anchor for Entertainment Tonight and as a recurring guest on Oprah, Politically Incorrect, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Late Night With Conan O'Brien and Hollywood Squares. Theatrically, Roshumba has appeared in feature films such as Woody Allen's Celebrity, Robert Altman's Prêt-à-Porter and the independent film, Hair Show. As an actor on television she has been seen in the series Mortal Kombat, Ally McBeal, Fastlane and many others.

Ms. Williams wrote, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being a Model, (MacMillan USA) which offers poignant advice to young women about breaking into the modeling and fashion business. It continues to be a best-seller in it's category.

Roshumba lends her time to a number of charities such as The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation, The United Negro College Fund, The Revlon Breast Cancer Awareness initiatives and others. Earlier this year, she was seen as a judge on the NBC reality show, "The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search," and is currently seen in syndication as a host of "Live Like A Star" and "The President Clinton and President George Bush Sr. Tsunami Benefit" airing on E! and the Tennis Channel. Look for Roshumba on television in 2006 on The TV Food Network's "Secrets of Celebrity Diets" and on BET's "The Remix."

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