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 ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

'' as Amy Lewis, a character she portrayed from January 1983 to March 1988, then on ABC-TV's ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'' as Dr. Simone Hardy and also on ABC-TV's ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'' as Sheila Price.

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 Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri, United States. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. The university has an alumni net ...

in St. Louis and the University of Missouri in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

on dance scholarships, while independently studying psychology.

Dancing career

After dance performances at the

St. Louis Municipal Opera The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheatre, amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first ...

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 Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis; December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, Film director, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received num ...

and

Ruby Dee Ruby Dee (born Ruby Ann Wallace; October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress. She was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005. She received numerous accolades, including an Emmy Award, ...

. 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 Betty Joan Perske (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014), professionally known as Lauren Bacall ( ), was an American actress. She was named the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the America ...

and

James Garner James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...

Hollywood acting

In 1981, Williams moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of 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 Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award ...

. In 1985, she was one of the three hottest soap-opera couples chosen to be on the cover of TV Guide. She also appeared in the 1985

James Ingram James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song. After beginning his career ...

music video "I Want to Come Back" which was directed by Allen. 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 ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

''. She also had roles in ''

Boiling Point The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the pressure surrounding the liquid and the liquid changes into a vapor. The boiling point of a liquid varies depending upon the surrounding envi ...

'', '' Meteor Man'', '' Murder at Midnight'', and ''

Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale; both wrote the story. It is a sequel to the 1985 film ''Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the Back ...

''. 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 ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...

'' for the Compton Heights Band in St. Louis, Missouri. Additionally, Williams guest-starred on several prime-time television series such as ''

Moesha ''Moesha'' (, ) is an American television sitcom that aired on UPN from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. The series stars Contemporary R&B, R&B singer Brandy Norwood, Brandy as Moesha Denise Mitchell, an African-American teenager living with ...

'', '' Parenthood'', '' Roc'', ''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show''. It aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...

'', ''

Midnight Caller ''Midnight Caller'' is an American drama television series created by Richard DiLello, which aired on NBC from October 25, 1988, to May 10, 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growi ...

'', ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'', and had a recurring role as Alexis’ secretary Pamela, on the ABC-TV series ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

''. 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

*'' The Fan'' (1981) - Dancer *''

'' (1989) - Officer Foley *''

'' (1993) - Sally Mercer *'' The Meteor Man'' (1993) - Stacy a Teacher *''Pay the Price'' (2000) - Upset Fan #2 *''The Nation'' (2009) - Betty

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Stephanie E. Living people 1957 births Actresses from St. Louis American stage actresses American film actresses American television actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses