Us Weekly – August 05, 2019

’

BY Va n essa Wi l l i a m s

Thesinger,actressandformerMiss

h her legendary life

KNOW ABOUT

ME

Visit

hsn.com to

shop Williams’

new apparel

line.

view helps clear my

mind. A bonus is having

a chilled cocktail in hand.

2. My favorite book of all time

is Hop on Pop [by Dr. Seuss].

It’s the book my father taught

all of my children [Melanie,

32, Jillian, 30, and Devin, 26,

with ex Ramon Hervey II; and

Sasha, 19, with ex Rick Fox]

to read with.

3. My nickname is Ness —

although, when I was in utero,

my dad called me Thumper

because I was so active.

4. My biggest regret is posing

nude as a teenager.

5. My parents gave me the

blueprint to be the woman

I am today.

6. My best splurge was a blue

Maserati GT I bought more

than 10 years ago. I enjoy it

every time I start the engine.

7. I’d love to collect

diamonds, but my

bank account can’t

afford that yet.

8. My first concert was Wild

Cherry in seventh grade.

9. My worst personality trait

is being impatient. I want

what I want when I want it,

which is now!

10. The best piece of advice

I was ever given came from

my mother: “You’ll have to

do better than everyone else

just to be considered equal,

growing up as a black girl in a

white school.”

11. The hardest lesson I’ve

learned is: Trust your gut.

12.My hidden

talent is playing the

French horn. I used

to play, but I’m not

good anymore.

13. My personal mantra is:

“Success is the best revenge.”

I don’t have a guilty plea-

My most dramatic fan

encounter was in Buffalo,

N.Y. [in 1988], when I was

promoting my first album,

The Right Stuff, and the fans

were rocking my limo with

excitement.

16. My favorite fan moment

was in 1984, when I met the

legendary Lena Horne — she

was everything I aspired to be.

17.I relax

by doing a

crossword

sun with a

18. Lasagna is my most

requested dish. I make it each

year at holiday time, when all

my kids return home.

19. My first celebrity crush was

on Michael Jackson, when the

Jackson 5’s ABC album came

out [in 1970]. Loved his cute

face and Afro. My crush now

and for many years is Sting.

20. My first job was babysit-

ting the kids across the street.

21.I couldn’t live

without my flip-flops.

I wear them daily and

panic if I can’t find them.

22. I listen to Howard Stern

every day and have been

a huge fan of his show for

nearly 20 years.

23. My biggest pet peeve is

cars driving slowly in the left

lane. It’s called the passing

lane for a reason.

24. My secret obsession is

watching TLC’s Say Yes to the

Dress marathons.

25. I’m a thrill seeker, but

free-climbing a rock with your

bare hands is insane. CL

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(^60) | AUGUST 5, 2019