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Suggested Topics:
- Women's Empowerment Issues
- Black Women in Media Entertainment
- Motivation
- Other topics upon request
Vanessa Bell Calloway has
emerged as one of America’s hottest actors.
Her work on stage, screen, and television clearly
demonstrates why she has maintained her staying
power. She is a favorite of audiences across the
country and her work has garnered her six NAACP
image Award nominations.
Vanessa’s life on the big screen
has been a very busy one. In Biker Boyz, a recent
DreamWorks production, which features an all-star
cast and is directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood,
Vanessa is reunited with Lawrence Fishburn. She
is also featured in three soon to be released
independent films. If You Were My Girl was written
and directed by Troy Beyer and Vanessa plays opposite
Steve Harvey. In Dawg, Vanessa appears with Elizabeth
Hurley and Dennis Leary. And All About You, featuring
a strong ensemble cast, is set for release later
this year.
In the feature film The Brothers,
Vanessa plays Morris Chestnut’s therapist.
As Ikette Jackie, Vanessa garnered critical acclaim
in Touchstone’s film What’s Love Got
To Do With It, which also starred Fishburn and
Angela Bassett. Vanessa co-starred opposite Sylvester
Stallone in Universal Picture’s Daylight,
a high-energy action packed drama. She played
the wife of Denzel Washington in Crimson Tide,
and the wife of Glen Turman in Touchstone’s
The Inkwell. She was also one of the lead voices
in Bebe’s Kids, an animated feature based
on characters created by the late comedian, Robin
Harris. Fans still remember Vanessa for her role
as the almost bride in Paramount Picture’s
Coming to America with Eddie Murphy.
Fans of television film know Vanessa’s
work well. Currently, she is starring in her own
film entitled A Private Affair, a BET/Arabesque
production that airs regularly the BET station.
She also co-starred in a Showtime film, Red Sneakers,
which was directed by Gregory Hines, Love Song,
a film made for MTV starring Monica, and a TNT
film, Memphis, with Cybill Shepherd. Vanessa has
co-starred in two HBO releases. She played opposite
Sinbad in The Cherokee Kid and featured with Wesley
Snipes and Jasmine Guy in America’s Dream:
The Boy Who Painted Christ Black, which was directed
by Bill Duke. Her role as Johnnie Mae in The Temptations,
a mini series produced by Hallmark and Suzanne
dePasse for NBC, earned her a fifth NAACP Image
Award nomination.
Vanessa’s diversity in performance
and presence does not end with film. She co-hosted
the BET talk show Oh Drama! That also featured
Kim Whitley and Julissa Marquez. The talk show
was a special blend of format elements similar
to The View and Real TV, which made the chemistry
of the three hosts dynamic and unpredictable.
The variety of roles Vanessa has
played keeps her from being pigeonholed. Because
of her ability to bring a unique presence of character
to a particular piece, she appears in a different
light with each role she plays. Her recurring
role on David Kelly’s Boston Public, earned
her sixth NAACP Image Award nomination. Vanessa
has guest starred on the Lifetime show For The
People, and on the UPN productions The Parkers
and One On One. Other guest stars include The
Division (Lifetime), Diagnosis Murder (CBS), Moesha
(UPN), The Gregory Hines Show (CBS), Touched By
an Angel (CBS), Equal Justice (ABC), LA Law (NBC),
and A Different World (NBC). One of her most memorable
television roles to date was her portrayal of
Maggie in the CBS series Under One Roof with Joe
Morton and James Earl Jones. She also starred
opposite Larry Hagman in Orleans (CBS) and gained
great popularity as the sultry Yvonne Caldwell
on daytime television’s All My Children
(ABC).
Her diversity moves beyond acting.
Vanessa is also an accomplished dancer who trained
with Alvin Ailey, George Faison, and Otis Sallid.
She completed her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree,
with concentration in dance, from Ohio University.
On stage Vanessa treated audiences to her dancing
talent in Michael Bennett’s original Broadway
production of Dreamgirls. On television, she has
danced in the Disney productions MOW, Polly, and
Polly Coming Home, and the CBS production, Stompin’
at the Savoy, which were all directed by Debbie
Allen.
Incorporating her head for business
with her acting and dancing talents, Vanessa’s
newest love is the dinner theater she created,
co-producing four plays with her production partner
Adleane Hunter. Black Woman’s Blues by Gus
Edwards played at the new Regency West Dinner
Theater in Los Angeles’s Leimert Park to
receptive audiences for several months. Vanessa
choreographed and starred in the woman’s
narrative piece, which also featured Dawnn Lewis,
Wendy Raquel Robinson, and Aloma Wright. The show’s
popularity has garnered production dates in other
cities across the United States. Louie and Ophelia,
also written by Gus Edwards, was Vanessa and Adleane’s
first production. Vanessa starred in this piece
with Ted Lange. The show ran for sever months
to standing room only audiences at the Regency.
For several years, Vanessa was a
spokeswoman for Essence Magazine, traveling to
shopping malls across the United States, hosting
the one-hour show, Essence on the Mall. Often
recalling that experience, she notes, “I
loved interacting with people. It was an experience
that I treasure.” Vanessa is also known
for her humanitarian efforts. For more than a
decade, she and her husband hosted a “Thanks
for Giving” party each November, to collect
food, clothes and household items for the homeless
and other disadvantaged people. She also works
very closely with the Jenesse Center, a shelter
for victims of domestic violence and Crystal Stairs,
program that helps women transition successfully
into the workforce. Both programs are in Los Angeles.
Vanessa Bell Calloway, who
lives in Los Angeles with her husband, anesthesiologist
Dr. Anthony Calloway, and their beautiful daughters,
Ashley and Alexandra, is a talent people want
to follow. The quiet intensity of her performances
always leaves an audience wanting more, wand with
each performance, she demonstrates the quality
of her diversity and presence that separates her
from the rest. |
