The holidays are officially underway, and Vanessa E. Williams is bringing the cheer in a brand new Lifetime film, Welcome to the Christmas Family Reunion. In an exclusive interview, theGrio sat down with the actress to break down her new role, her personal holiday traditions, and more.
Williams is truly excited about her latest film. The Emmy-nominated actress, known for her roles in New Jack City, Soul Food and more, is featured in Lifetime‘s latest film alongside Wendy Raquel Robinson. Reuniting with Robinson was a particularly special opportunity, Williams told theGrio.
She gushed, “This was only the second time ever getting to work with my girl Wendy Raquel Robinson, who is a hoot and is so fantastic! I wish we had more scenes together.”
She said the project was “particularly wonderful” because it was shot in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was an opportunity to see people, work with people, be outside and really continue to work,” she explained.
Working with newer young actors (Asia’h Epperson, Michelle Argyris and more) also provides Williams an exciting opportunity to offer advice on the trade.
“It’s so uncertain for an artist to begin with and then it became even more uncertain in these times,” she shared. “So it was hard to advise, but you know, you just want to be there and let them know that things will be better and we’ll get back to some point of normalcy at some point in the future.”
Welcome to the Christmas Family Reunion also gave Williams, a self-proclaimed “Christmas baby,” a chance to celebrate the holidays even earlier.
“I wasn’t born on Christmas, I was born in May, but I always loved the magic of it, just the wonderfulness of it,” she said. “When my boys were young it was about Santa Claus, trimming the tree and hot chocolate and everything and trying to create that for them.”
Now that her boys are older and due to the current state of the world, she explained it’s up to her to “create special moments.” She added, “I find that you have to make it sacred…it’s a practice and as my boys grow, I have to create new things to do to commemorate and celebrate.”
“I lost a number of people this year,” she continued. “These are first holidays for a number of people who are close to me, without close loved ones…so it’s really about having an opportunity to share this opportunity with them and create that magic.”
Welcome to the Christmas Family Reunion premiered Nov. 29 on Lifetime.
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