Kerry Washington took top honors on Friday night at the 2013 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards.
 
The actress, 36, won three awards: Best Supporting Actress ("Django Unchained"), Best Actress in a Drama Series ("Scandal") and President's Award for her public service work on behalf of President Barack Obama.

Washington is the first African-American woman to lead the cast of a primetime drama since Diahann Carroll in "Julia" over 30 years ago. Carroll gushed: "I think she's enjoying one of the great moments of her life right now in our industry."...

The biggest and most memorable event of 1963 was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, its 50th anniversary will be marked on November 22. The civil rights movement was in full swing as Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech and the Vietnam conflict had begun. Gas was 29 cents a gallon and the average cost for a new home was $12,560.

Also that year, the Beatles released their first album 'Please Please Me.' Notable films released in 1963 were The Great Escape, From Russia with Love, The Birds, Cleopatra and The Pink Panther. Popular TV shows included, The A...

NBC's Who Do You Think You Are? follows some of the most iconic and beloved celebrities as they trace their family roots to wherever it may lead them. Each week, viewers are taken on an often emotional and surprising search to discover ancestral stories of tragedy, heroism, heartbreak and triumph.

Starpulse had the pleasure of participating in a conference call with executive producer Lisa Kudrow and actress Vanessa Williams ("Desperate Housewives") about their experiences on the acclaimed show.

Vanessa, what were you hoping to find out about your family by doing the show?

Vanessa Willi...

Eva Longoria and her husband Tony Parker held hands after leaving the NRJ radio studios in Paris today. Eva looked sexy in thigh-high black boots, a black shift dress and sunglasses.

"Desperate Housewives" returns for the new season on Sunday, Sept. 26, with Vanessa Williams joining the cast. Vanessa will join the Wisteria Lane crowd as the wife of a baseball star.

Fellow castmate Marcia Cross kept a brave face during her husband's cancer battle earlier this year for the sake of her kids and refused to tell the twins their father was fighting for his life. Tom Mahoney has since received ...

Jennifer Grey is set to make use of her Dirty Dancing training with a stint in the upcoming season of hit TV show Dancing With The Stars.

The 50 year old made her name as Frances 'Baby' Houseman in the 1987 classic, opposite Patrick Swayze, and she's preparing to don her dance shoes once again. She'll show off her fancy footwork along with David Hasselhoff, Michael Bolton, R&B singer Brandy, veteran actress Florence Henderson, Jersey Shore star Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino and Vanessa Williams' ex-husband Rick Fox.

Other stars preparing to hit the dance floor for the 10th series incl...

ABC's hit TV show "Ugly Betty" has been canceled. The cult comedy, which had become a global hit, debuted in 2006 and turned Emmy Award-winner America Ferrera into a household name.

But there won't be a fifth season of the show - the program's current fourth season will be its last. "Ugly Betty" will wrap up in April.

In a joint statement, executive producer Silvia Horta and ABC TV executive Steve McPherson announced, "We've mutually come to the difficult decision to make this Ugly Betty’s final season, and are announcing now as we want to allow the show ample time to write a satisfyi...

What goes together better than peanut butter and jelly? Celebrities and athletes of course. Here's our list of the top celebrity/athlete couples that have seen canoodling on red carpets and football fields.

Victoria and David Beckham - She's best known as Posh Spice form the girl group, Spice Girls, and he's the best soccer player in the world. They should have named their first child Soccer Spice.

- Click pic for next page -

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom - Among reports that the duo's recent marriage is a hoax, Khloe and Lamar claim to be going strong. The Los Angel...

Ah, the Emmys. The one Awards show on TV that has a nonchalant attitude toward its honorees and the medium it seeks to honor. A ceremony that seeks to put on a funny show, not blow smoke up the behinds of the many winners mostly seem like they'd rather not be there.

Sure, the last couple years were awful, but this year we have the inimitable Neil Patrick Harris at the helm, and with the possibility that this may be Emmy's final year on broadcast television, they're certain to pull out all the stops and ratchet up the funny.

And with that stellar introduction, here is the 2009 Primet...

Ellen DeGeneres has lost her crown as the Queen of daytime TV - the hosts of The View ended her four-year run as Best Talkshow Host at the Daytime Emmy Awards.

The beloved funnywoman had held on to the prize since 2005, but faltered at the ceremony on Sunday when she came up against "The View's" feisty foursome Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Barbara Walters.

But it wasn't all bad for DeGeneres - her daily chatshow pulled back by picking up four awards during the night.

Fellow chatshow hosts Rachael Ray and Tyra Banks also walked away with prizes, winning Best ...

Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg are to test their general knowledge on TV after signing up to appear on a special celebrity edition of quiz show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire."

Vanessa Williams, The Hills star Lauren Conrad and human rights leader Revd. Al Sharpton will also feature on the popular show as it celebrates its 10th anniversary.

All the stars will have to answer one question correctly - and if they succeed, $50,000 will be donated to their nominated charity, according to AllHipHop.com.

The special shows will be screened in the U.S. across two weeks, beginning on Sunday.

...

To paraphrase Ned Flanders, apparently an Emmy nomination is easier to get than an acceptance letter from Arizona State.

This morning, Emmy tried to one-up Oscar's new rule of ten by including six nominees in the acting categories and a whopping seven in the series categories. Yes, if you made a television series this year, or appeared on one, chances are you heard your name called in North Hollywood this morning.

With so many nominess, it seems impossible that any deserving performances or series were left out. Right? Sadly, no. And, of course, there are plenty of nominees who sh...

Tina Fey's "30 Rock" led the pack this morning with 22 Emmy nominations, while "Mad Men" tops the drama pack with 16 nominations. TV movie "Grey Gardens" garnered 17 nominations, and "Into the Storm" received 14 nominations.

Check out the nominees in major categories for the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards:

COMEDY SERIES

"Entourage"

"Family Guy

"Flight of the Conchords"

"How I Met Your Mother"

"The Office"

"30 Rock"

"Weeds"

DRAMA SERIES

"Big Love"

"Breaking Bad"

"Damages"

"Dexter"

"House"

"Lost"

"Mad Men"

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Bryan Cr...

Vanessa Williams was promoting her new album "The Real Thing" in New York City yesterday wearing a psychedelic glittery pantsuit. She also got in the 80s spirit by sporting a single purple feather-like earring and a wide silver and blue belt.

What do you think of Vanessa's look? Let us know in the comments!

Image © Sylvain Gaboury / PR Photos

Image © Sylvain Gaboury / PR Photos

Image © Sylvain Gaboury / PR Photos

Click the pics for Vanessa Williams' gallery:

Click here to follow @Starpulse on Twitter!

Vanessa Williams has come out in defense of Lindsay Lohan following reports her recent stint on Ugly Betty was marred by infighting and diva antics.

Lohan's role on the show was cut down from six episodes to four, leading to speculation that her onset behavior was to blame. However Williams, a regular star in the hit series, insists that stories about Lohan being difficult to work with are simply not true.

She says, "That's what the press does, that's what gossip's about, and media is about. I had a few scenes with Lindsay. She was a hard worker, she showed up on time and in the...

Ah, the Emmys, the most entertaining awards show and often the most frustrating. Why is it so frustrating? Because the voters get it wrong. They get the winners wrong more often than casual sports bettors. In fact, they get it so wrong that predicting the winners is often a fool's errand since it's impossible to determine what will strike the Academy's fancy as the reasons for their choices are as mystifying as the results.

Luckily, Starpulse.com has one such fool. So it's time for a round of everybody's favorite game: Who Will Win and Who Should Win?

Best Comedy Series Nomine...

With the writer's strike a distant memory and an exciting new fall season dead ahead, we're finally ready to celebrate TV again. And what better way than with a lavish awards show?

Yes, the Emmy nominations were revealed at dawn in Los Angeles Thursday morning in a delightful little ceremony that saw Neil Patrick Harris and Kristin Chenoweth squeeze about two-dozen jokes in between their reading off the teleprompter.

There were surprises leading to gasps from the press, and plenty of nominations they all saw coming. Newcomer "Mad Men" led the drama category with 16 nominations w...

Enough drama, time to laugh! The Emmy nominations are upon us, two days away in fact, so it's time to round out our suggestions to The Academy's blue ribbon panel. In the final installment, the focus turns to comedy and the actors who make us laugh every week.

This category is far more loaded than the drama section with far fewer obvious mistakes on the ballot and a ton of strong performances from the men and the women (rather than watching the ladies struggle with substandard material from their mostly male counterparts. Yes, I will clamor for more female writers and directors every...

Jennifer Love Hewitt and Patrick Dempsey have been named America's sexiest TV stars. The two actors have claimed alternative covers of TV Guide's Sexiest Stars issue and Love Hewitt's onscreen husband in hit thriller Ghost Whisperer, David Conrad, is far from surprised she is the tops.

He says, "In the three years that we've been filming, there's always a moment when I just go, `Wow, that's a really beautiful woman.'"

Also making the new magazine hot list is Dempsey's Grey's Anatomy co-star star Justin Chambers, along with Vanessa Williams, Taye Diggs, Eva Longoria Parker and Lo...

Sixteen years ago we were first introduced to Melrose Place, an innocent (at least it started that way) spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210 that took place in a West Hollywood apartment complex. I know as an 8-year-old boy I was excited to see what the lives of 20-something people would be like. I assumed lots of swimming and talking about art. I was wrong, so very very wrong. Seeing as the show ended its run almost 10 years ago we should look back and see just where those over-sexed and off-kilter roommates have gone. Now I can relate to what the show was about!

Thomas Calabro (Dr. ...

Lindsay Lohan is in talks to play a fallen beauty queen in an upcoming episode of hit sitcom Ugly Betty. Lohan's character is forced to take a job at a fast food restaurant after struggling to pay her rent, according to The New York Observer.

The role will reportedly run for three episodes.

A show source says, "Betty tries to help Lindsay's character by getting her a job at Mode, the fashion magazine where she works on the show."

If Lohan agrees to appear on the show she'll follow star guest Victoria Beckham, who has played herself on the program - as a bridesmaid to Vaness...

Jerry O'Connell's attempt to serenade Rebecca Romijn with a Vanessa Williams song at their summer wedding backfired when a horrified Williams took the stage to finish the number off in style.

Romijn admits her Ugly Betty co-star Williams did the right thing - because romantic O'Connell was "butchering" her Save The Best For Last hit.

She says, "Jerry did something very sweet. He decided to sing a song called Save The Best For Last by Vanessa Williams - who happened to be one of our wedding guests. Let me tell ya, he butchered the song and she came in at just the right moment and ...

(New York, NY) 10-time Grammy award-winning megastar Kenny 'Babyface' Edmonds, an icon figure of live performance, songwriting, and production whose work on his own music and others' has resulted in more than 100 million career sales, has completed his 11th album, Playlist, which will arrive in stores September 18th as the first album on the newly re-launched Mercury Records label, it was announced today by Antonio "L.A." Reid, Chairman Island Def Jam Music Group and David Massey, President, Mercury Records.

Playlist will be Babyface's first album devoted (mostly) to cover versions of...

In preparation for the 10th anniversary of "National HIV Testing Day," black celebrities and their allies are joining forces Monday, June 25, with Screen Actors Guild, The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Artists for a New South Africa and the Black AIDS Institute to raise awareness of the urgent need to stop the spread of HIV in Black communities by getting HIV screenings in front of the cameras.

The group will announce the "1 in a Million" campaign, a call-to-action for 1 million black Americans to get screened for HIV by December 1, 2008 (World is the leading c...

Jessica Simpson has stunned fans by shedding an estimated 25 pounds in a month. The pop star/actress hired celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak to help her get back in shape after a little careless eating left sexy Simpson feeling fat.

Pasternak put his star client on a strict 1,300-calorie-a-day diet, delivering his own nutritional meals to her doorstep. The trainer's 5-Factor Diet and Fitness plan has also been adopted by Vanessa Williams, Katherine Heigl and Simpson's on-off boyfriend John Mayer.

Pasternak admits he's impressed with Simpson's weight loss: "We're making Jessica...

Happy Birthday to "Lost" actor Malcolm David Kelley (1992), "American Pie" actor Jason Biggs (1978), "The Facts of Life" star Kim Fields (1969), skateboard phenom Tony Hawk (1968), actor Stephen Baldwin (1966), actress/singer Vanessa Williams (1963), actor Emilio Estevez (1962), Brooks & Dunn singer Kix Brooks (1955), "The Usual Suspects" actor Gabriel Byrne (1950), singer/songwriter Billy Squier (1950), "Tron" star Bruce Boxleitner (1950), Traffic founder Steve Winwood (1948), comedian George Carlin (1937), TV host Tom Snyder (1936), singer/composer Burt Bacharach (1928), New York Yankees ...

Great pop songs are ones you not only remember forever but remind you of the feelings you had when they shot up the charts. On three decade by decade--the '60s through the '80s--Hip-O/UMe Pop Number 1's albums in the new and ongoing UMe Number 1's series, those #1 songs and the feelings they recall are back. Love Songs Number 1's, also released April 3, 2007, brings together the ultimate love songs that topped the charts. All titles will be released in a ground-breaking environmentally-friendly packaging format. A first for the music industry, the standard package (both sleeve and tray) w...

Happy Birthday to Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine (1979), comedian Dane Cook (1972), singer/actress Queen Latifah (1970), Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell (1966), singer/actress/infomercial host Vanessa Williams (1963), "Flashdance" singer Irene Cara (1959), "The Fifth Element" director Luc Besson (1959), jazz musician Bill Frisell (1951), "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" actor Brad Dourif (1950), soul singer Wilson Pickett (1941), country singer Charley Pride (1938), novelist John Updike (1932), author/actor George Plimpton (1927; d. 2003), "Mission: Impossible" star Peter Grave...

Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson picked up acting prizes at the NAACP Image Awards on Friday, just six days after their Oscar wins.

Whitaker was named Best Actor for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King Of Scotland, while Hudson garnered Best Supporting Actress for her role as Effie White in Dreamgirls, at the star-studded ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Accepting his award, Whitaker said, "Doing this role gave me so many blessings. One was being able to go back to Africa and touch my roots."

Hudson gushed, "There is nothing li...

We all have a favorite Christmas tune, but have you ever wondered which classic pop ditty is the most successful at this special time of year?

Over the past five years, the American Society Of Composers, Authors And Publishers (ASCAP) has tapped into Santa's iPod in an effort to find out just what songs really make Christmas special.

ASCAP experts monitor the popularity of holiday songs using performance data tracked by radio airplay monitoring service Mediaguide and they know when a Christmas classic is re-recorded.

Just released, here's the 2006 top 25 list of bona-fide ...

Executive producer Salma Hayek will go in front of the cameras for a multi-episode story arc on Ugly Betty. The role marks Hayek's first appearance in a network television series. Her first guest starring appearance will be in the episode "Trust, Lust, and Must," airing Thursday, Nov. 2 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. She'll appear in three more episodes throughout the month of November.

Hayek will play Sofia Reyes, a newcomer to the Mode scene who will leave a lasting impression on Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius) and Betty Suarez (America Ferrera).

Ugly Betty stars America Ferrera as Bet...