American star actress and singer,Vanessa Williams is joining the judging panel of the 95th Miss America pageant competition. The former beauty queen made history in 1983 as the first African-American woman ever to be crowned Miss America, but was famously forced to resign 10 months into her reign after nude photos from her past appeared in Penthouse.
"For years, I'd walk into an audition and feel the judgment," Williams told PEOPLE in 2012 of the aftermath. "I was a scandalous Miss America. Vanessa the Undressa. But I silently thought, one day you'll see what I'm made of." The scandalous Miss America will join six other celebrity judges including Zendaya, Brett Eldredge, snowboarding bronze medalist (and fellow newlywed) Amy Purdy and Taya Kyle, author and wife of the late U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle, when the competition airs live on ABC on Sunday at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.In the three decades since the scandal, the recently married star has gone on to become a Grammy-nominated singer and Emmy-nominated actress (for her role on Ugly Betty).
