Tonight was the premiere of the third season of Ugly Betty. I don’t know if the reason I enjoy this show is because I worked at a magazine named MODE for four years (and howl at how the ‘glamourous’ magazine world is depicted) or that I delight in the combination of campiness and earnestness. Well after watching today’s show I know it isn’t Betty’s fish-out-of-water story alone that keeps me coming back. Actually, it is Vanessa Williams’ devilishly over-the-top portrayal of Wilhemina Slater.

Williams, once only known as the dethroned Miss America, is the very definition of a comeback story. And she is obviously enjoying this time in her life. On the show, Williams chews up every scene she is in with abandon. I love the facial expressions, grand gestures, the way the character schemes to get what she wants, and the fact that she doesn”t let a setback stop her. (Although some of her behavior is eerily similar to how some folks really act at major fashion magazines). 

Anyway, Williams’ turn as Wilhemina Slater takes me back to another over-the-top portrayal by a black woman. When Miss Diahann Carroll joined the cast of Dynasty in 1984 as Dominique Deveraux, she proclaimed that “she was going to be the first black bitch on television.” And she didn’t disappoint. With the hair, makeup, clothes, jewelry and furs she was the very definition of a diva of the day. Plus she could handle herself in a catfight with the formidable Joan Collins. Although it was a soap it still made us laugh.

it is not often that we get to see a sister play the evil one (in comedies or dramas). As I have said before we are either servants, cops or professionals like doctors or lawyers (and that has only been in the past decade). But these two actresses are are proof positive that stretching out of box and away from those safe roles can be both satisfying for them and a delight for us. I just don’t want to wait another 24 years to see someone else get their chance.