Wendy Williams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wendy Williams
Williams in 2005
Born	Wendy Joan Williams (1964-07-18) July 18, 1964 (age 61) Asbury Park, New Jersey, U.S.
Other names	Wendy Williams Hunter
Education	Northeastern University (BA)
Occupation	Broadcaster media personality writer
Years active	1986–2023
Television	The Wendy Williams Experience The Wendy Williams Show Wendy Williams: What a Mess!
Spouse(s)	Bert Girigorie ​ ​ (m. 1994; div. 1995)​ Kevin Hunter ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2020)​
Children	1

Wendy Williams Hunter (born Wendy Joan Williams on July 18, 1964) is an American former broadcaster, media personality, and writer. Before becoming famous on television, Williams was a radio DJ and host. She became well-known in New York City for her bold and direct style on the radio.

She gained attention for her strong opinions about celebrities. In 2006, a VH1 reality TV show called The Wendy Williams Experience showed what happened behind the scenes of her radio show. From 2008 to 2021, she hosted her own popular TV talk show, The Wendy Williams Show, which was shown all over the country.

Williams has also written several books, appeared in movies and TV shows, and even toured with her own comedy show. She also created her own product lines, including fashion, jewelry, and wigs. In 2009, Williams was honored by being added to the National Radio Hall of Fame. On her 50th birthday, the town of Asbury Park, New Jersey, where she grew up, named a street "Wendy Williams Way" in her honor.

In 2023, Williams stopped broadcasting due to health reasons. She was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.

Early Life and Education

Wendy Joan Williams was born on July 18, 1964, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. She was the second of three children born to Shirley and Thomas Dwayne Williams. Both of her parents were teachers. Her mother taught special education, and her father was a teacher and school principal. In 1969, her father became the first Black school administrator in Red Bank, New Jersey.

After some difficult events in Asbury Park in 1970, her family moved to Wayside, a mostly white, middle-income suburb. They went to a Baptist church and visited Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, every summer. As a child, doctors suggested Williams take medicine to help with her hyperactivity. She also struggled with how she felt about her body because of a diet her parents put her on when she was young. Williams was a Brownie in the Girl Scouts and volunteered at a hospital. Her parents thought she would become a nurse.

Williams as a student in Ocean Township High School's 1980 yearbook

Williams was an announcer at her younger brother's Little League Baseball games. She graduated from Ocean Township High School in 1982. She was one of only four Black students in her class. Her grades were not as good as her older sister's, who received a university scholarship at age 16. Williams felt she was "a multicultural woman who happens to be Black" because of her suburban upbringing.

Williams went to Northeastern University in Boston, hoping to become a television anchor. However, less than a month after starting, she switched to radio because she felt she could advance her career faster there. Her parents did not approve of this change. Williams graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and a minor in journalism. She was a disc jockey for the college radio station, WRBB. Rapper LL Cool J was her first celebrity interview. As an intern for Matt Siegel at radio station WXKS-FM, Williams would talk about the TV shows Dallas and Dynasty on air.

Media Career

1986–1994: Early Radio Days

Two weeks after graduating from college, Williams started her career as a disc jockey at WVIS in the Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands. She didn't like the job much because she didn't learn as much as she hoped. Because of low pay and being far from her family, Williams started sending her resume and demo tapes to other radio stations.

After eight months, she left WVIS and got a job at WOL in Washington, D.C. But she found the station's oldies music style didn't fit her personality. She kept sending tapes and on November 1, 1987, she started as a weekend fill-in at WQHT in New York City. The station hired her full-time for overnight shifts, so she left WOL.

Williams was fired from WQHT after two years. She briefly worked at WPLJ before being hired by WRKS. WRKS gave Williams a permanent morning position in May 1990. She joined Jeff Foxx and Spider Webb on the station's "Wake-Up Club." There, Williams started sharing news and rumors about rappers and celebrities in a segment called "Dish the Dirt." Celebrities she talked about, like Bill Cosby and Russell Simmons, called the station and asked for her to be fired, but they were not successful.

As she became a popular radio personality, WRKS moved Williams to host the evening show in April 1991. By 1993, she was the most popular host in her time slot in New York City. She received a Billboard Radio Award for her work.

In 1993, Williams co-hosted a national song countdown show called Top 30 USA and USA Music Magazine in 1994. By mid-1994, WRKS's ratings had dropped. To fix this, WRKS moved Williams back to mornings on September 26, 1994. However, another company bought WRKS less than three months later and moved Williams to WQHT. She started hosting the evening show there on December 12, 1994.

1994–2001: WQHT and WUSL

Williams started going to parties to get information for her radio show and also read tabloid newspapers. She continued her gossip segments and gave advice to teenage girls during "Ask Wendy." Williams's popularity grew a lot after she read a magazine article about a rapper. She became known for talking about this and other rumors.

Williams created a website, www.gowendy.com, which was connected to her radio show. It had photos and rumors about celebrities and got many views each day. In April 1997, WQHT suspended Williams for one week after she mentioned her website on air. The station suspended Williams again in September 1997 for comments she made online about a colleague.

WQHT permanently removed Williams in 1998. Her fans protested outside their offices. Williams believed her removal was due to pressure from music industry executives. She said, "I stopped caring about artists when I realized it's more profitable to talk about them than with them."

After leaving Hot 97, Williams was hired by a Philadelphia radio station, WUSL ("Power 99FM"). She was very open about her personal life on air, discussing her miscarriages and other experiences. She helped the station's ratings improve significantly.

2001–2008: Return to New York Radio

Williams in 2005

In 2001, Williams returned to New York radio when WBLS hired her full-time for a syndicated show from 2–6 p.m. Her friend, MC Spice, provided voiceovers for the show, often adding short rap verses. The New York Times said her "show works best when its elements – confessional paired with snarkiness – are combined." By 2008, her show was broadcast in many cities across the country. Williams left her radio show in 2009 to focus on her television program and spend more time with her family.

Media outlets have described Williams's 2003 interview with Whitney Houston as one of her most famous. After Williams asked Houston about her marriage, they had a heated discussion. In 2006, Wu-Tang Clan performer Method Man had a public disagreement with Williams after she shared details about his wife's health.

2008–2016: The Wendy Williams Show Success

In 2008, Debmar-Mercury offered Williams a six-week TV trial for her own talk show. On July 14, 2008, Williams launched her daytime talk show, The Wendy Williams Show, in four cities. The New York Times noted that the show was a "breakthrough in daytime" because it introduced a new style of talk show. After a successful trial, Fox signed a deal to broadcast the show nationally starting in July 2009. BET also began airing the show at night. In 2010, BET started showing the program internationally in 54 countries. The show attracted about 2.4 million viewers daily, with Williams often being one of the top female hosts on daytime television.

Williams on The Wendy Williams Show in 2011

Williams hosted a game show for GSN called Love Triangle (2011). She also played a judge on the Lifetime network show Drop Dead Diva (2011) and was a guest judge on The Face (2013). Williams was a contestant on the twelfth season of Dancing with the Stars; she was the second person eliminated.

Williams appeared in the movie Think Like a Man (2012), based on Steve Harvey's book, and its sequel, Think Like a Man Too (2014). In 2012, it was announced that Williams would work with producers Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones to create movies and TV shows for diverse audiences. These projects would be presented under "Wendy Williams presents."

In February 2013, Williams and her husband, Kevin, started a reality television production company called Wendy Williams Productions. This company would create unscripted shows, including reality TV and game shows. Williams was an executive producer on the show Celebrities Undercover (2014). She also executive produced a biographical film for Lifetime, Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, which premiered on November 15, 2014. In September 2015, the documentary series Death By Gossip with Wendy Williams premiered on the Investigation Discovery channel, hosted and produced by Williams. In 2013, Williams was cast to play Matron "Mama" Morton in the Broadway musical Chicago. She performed from July 2 to August 11, 2013. Her preparations for the musical were shown in the TV Guide series Wendy Williams: How You Doin', Broadway?!.

2017–2021: Health Challenges and Show's End

Williams in 2019

Williams's health issues caused her to take breaks from hosting her show, including three weeks in 2018 and six weeks in 2019.

During this time, Williams received some criticism for comments she made on her show. In January 2020, Williams was criticized for comments about a celebrity's appearance. After a petition to fire her gained many signatures, Williams apologized on Twitter and her show donated to charities. The following month, Williams apologized for other remarks she made.

Williams hosted her show from home from March to May 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After that, she took a break due to fatigue from Graves' disease. She returned to the studio in September of that year. The next month, Williams competed in season four of The Masked Singer as "Lips."

In July 2021, Williams received criticism for her tone when reporting on the death of a 19-year-old TikTok star. Williams did not return to her show after that month due to ongoing health issues; guest hosts filled in for her. She tested positive for COVID-19 in September 2021.

Production of The Wendy Williams Show ended in 2022 because of Williams's continuing health challenges.

Other Projects

Williams in 2018

Writing

Williams has written several books. She released an autobiography in August 2003 called Wendy's Got the Heat, co-written with journalist Karen Hunter. It talks about her life, including childhood experiences and marriages. This book was a best-seller on The New York Times list for nonfiction. The autobiography was reprinted in paperback in August 2004, a month before her second book, The Wendy Williams Experience, which contained celebrity news and interviews. In May 2013, Williams released an advice book, Ask Wendy. Over the years, Williams also wrote columns for Honey and Life & Style magazines.

Williams has also written fiction books, including a series about a radio host named Ritz Harper. She co-authored the first two novels, Drama Is Her Middle Name (2006) and Is the ... Dead, or What? (2007), with Karen Hunter. Zondra Hughes co-wrote the third book, Ritz Harper Goes to Hollywood! (2009). In 2014, Williams released a romance novel, Hold Me in Contempt.

Music and Comedy

Williams interviewed Blu Cantrell in 2003; their conversation was released as a DVD with the singer's album Bittersweet. Williams and Virgin Records released a compilation album, Wendy Williams Brings the Heat: Volume 1, in June 2005, featuring various rap artists.

In 2014, Williams was invited to participate in Lipshtick, an all-female comedy series in Las Vegas. Williams made her sold-out comedy debut on July 11, 2014. Her comedy tour was called "The Sit-down Comedy Tour." Williams returned to Lipshtick later that year. Williams also hosted her "How You Laughin'" Comedy Series in November 2014. In 2015, Williams announced a 12-city comedy tour called "The Wendy Williams Sit Down Tour: Too Real For Stand-Up."

Charity Work and Activism

In 2005, Williams funded a $1,000 scholarship for a Black female high school student studying communications in college. Later recipients in 2006 and 2007 also received internships at WBLS. In 2009, she helped donate money and school supplies to Asbury Park Middle School.

After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Williams visited her hometown of Asbury Park and paid for meals for 300 people, face painting, and balloon animals for children. She supported Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election and promoted an NAACP voter helpline. Williams posed for PETA's campaign in 2012. Williams also participated in Philly Pride that year.

In 2013, she took part in The Heart Truth fashion show to raise awareness for women's heart health. Williams supported the 2015 removal of the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina State House. Williams attended Los Angeles Pride in June 2019 and rode on a float at the WorldPride parade in New York in July. In September, Williams became an ambassador and honorary board member of the Lymphatic Education & Research Network.

The Hunter Foundation

Williams and her former husband created The Hunter Foundation in 2014. This non-profit organization helped fund programs to fight poverty and provided resources for people recovering from addiction. During the 2016 holiday season, the couple hosted dinners for over 1000 people in need through the foundation. In 2017, the organization donated $1000 for the opening of an emergency food pantry. In 2018, the organization paid for a student's college tuition. In March 2019, The Hunter Foundation launched a 24/7 national hotline. The Foundation was closed after Williams's divorce in May 2019. After this, Williams partnered with SNAX-Sational Brands and Operation Backpack to raise funds for backpacks filled with school supplies for children in New York homeless and domestic violence shelters.

Products and Endorsements

While working for WRKS, Williams was a spokesperson for a hip-hop clothing brand. In 2006, she became a spokesperson for George Veselles champagne and Alizé liqueurs. Williams launched a jewelry and shoe line on shopping channel QVC called "Adorn" in 2012. In 2013, Williams released a wig collection to online retailers. She sold a self-titled clothing line in 2015 on shopping channel HSN and continued the partnership the following year by releasing shoe and winter clothing collections.

Personal Life

In 1994, Williams married her first husband, Bertrand "Bert" Girigorie. They separated after five months and divorced about 18 months later. Williams met her second husband, Kevin Hunter, in 1994; they married on November 30, 1999. Her husband became her agent. She had one son in August 2000. In April 2019, Williams filed for divorce due to personal reasons. Although the divorce was finalized in January 2020, her legal last name remains Hunter.

Achievements

City University of New York professor Tanisha C. Ford credits Williams for creating a style that other personalities use for their own gossip segments. Scholars ThedaMarie Gibbs Grey and Bonnie J. Williams-Farrier believe Williams is among the African American women who helped popularize the term "sipping tea" through their TV shows. Williams's voice is popular on TikTok; her quote "That's what she said, and you know what? I— what was that? ...OK ...James" is used in many videos. Other phrases like "Oh she passed away?" and her mispronunciation of singer Dua Lipa's name as "Dula Peep" became internet memes. YouTube users have uploaded videos of various Williams's sayings, such as her misinterpreting the word "corona" as "cornova."

Williams was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2009. On her 50th birthday in 2014, Asbury Park renamed the street where she grew up Wendy Williams Way. She received the 2,677th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 17, 2019. A wax figure of Williams is located at Madame Tussauds New York. In Washington, D.C., various items related to Williams's career, such as a microphone, outfit, and wig, are located at a television exhibit in the National Museum of American History. A documentary, Wendy Williams: What a Mess!, and a TV movie, Wendy Williams: The Movie, are based on her life.

Film and Television Appearances

Film

Television

Documentary

Awards and Honors

See also

In Spanish: Wendy Williams para niños