TAKE FIVE: VANESSA WILLIAMS

Friday, Nov. 3, 2006 | 7:24 a.m.

Who: Vanessa Williams

When: 8 tonight through Sunday

Where: The Orleans

Tickets: $69.95; 365-7075

Guess who isn't the title character in "Ugly Betty?"

That would be former beauty queen Vanessa Williams, who co-stars in the new ABC comedy-drama series.

Williams was the first black to win the Miss America crown, but her reign was cut short in 1984. She resigned after Penthouse magazine announced it would publish nude photos of her. Williams recovered from the career setback and went on to become an accomplished singer and act ress. Her latest role is the villainous Wilhelmina Slater, the bitter creative director of a New York fashion magazine, in "Ugly Betty." Stepping out of her bad-girl character, Williams will perform tonight through Sunday at the Orleans. Here are five reasons to check out Williams:

1. How often do you have the opportunity to see a former beauty queen - still gorgeous at 43 - who has conquered adversity to achieve stardom?

2. Williams, the daughter of two music teachers, really can sing. She used her voice to help her overcome scandal, hitting it big with her first album, "The Right Stuff." She has sold more than 6 million albums and received 15 Grammy nominations. Her catalog includes albums such as "The Comfort Zone," "Star Bright" and "The Sweetest Days." Her memorable singles include "Save the Best for Last," "Dreamin'," "Work to Do," "Love Is" and "Colors of the Wind."

3. She routinely pops up on television, starring in such made-for-TV fare as "Stompin' at the Savoy," "The Boy Who Loved Christmas," "The Jacksons: An American Dream," "Bye, Bye Birdie," "Nothing Lasts Forever," "The Odyssey," "Don Quixote" and "The Courage to Love." Before "Ugly Betty," she appeared in the series "South Beach."

4. Her film career has been decent, if not spectacular. She has starred alongside gover-nator Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Eraser," Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson in "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man," Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia in "Hoodlum" and Samuel L. Jackson in "Shaft."

5. Broadway may never work in Las Vegas, but we can still appreciate those who have performed there. Williams replaced Chita Rivera in "Kiss of the Spider Woman" in 1994, and she was nominated for a Tony in the revival of "Into the Woods" in 2002. Of all the facets of her multifaceted career, she seems to enjoy Broadway most of all. "Broadway is the easiest and most fulfilling," Williams told the Sun in a recent interview. "I can stay home during the day and sing and dance every night for a live audience. That, to me, is a perfect balance to everything."