Vanessa Williams & Esmerelda

Vanessa Williams & Esmerelda

Even in her mid-50s, Vanessa Williams is still a siren whenever you see her on a screen. True beauty lasts forever, and Williams was born with plenty of it. She made history when she was the first African American to be crowned 'Miss America' in 1984. That was her platform to go on and carve a career as both a singer and an actress, with her first album hitting the shelves four years later in 1988. She loved singing, but acting turned out to be her true strength, and her career continues today in movies like 'Suicide Squad.'

We're calling on yet another Disney princess to provide an animated alternative to Williams, and this time it's Esmerelda from 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame.' Esmerelda made history in animation in much the same way as Williams did in her beauty pageant - before her, we'd never seen a character with dark skin cast as a love interest by Disney. The similarity rings true all the way through to the distinctive green eyes.

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Did You Know...

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Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.

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Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.

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Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.

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Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.

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