Williams has had a successful career in television . Her first television appearance was on a 1984 episode of '' The Love Boat '' followed by guest appearances in a number of popular shows . In 1995 , Williams starred as Rose Alvarez in a television adaptation of the 1960 Broadway musical '' Bye Bye Birdie '' and portrayed the nymph Calypso in the 1997 Hallmark Entertainment miniseries '' The Odyssey . '' In 2001 , Williams starred in the Lifetime cable movie about the life of Henriette DeLille , '' The Courage to Love '' and in 2003 , Williams read the narrative of Tempie Herndon Durham from the WPA slave narratives in the HBO documentary '' Unchained Memories : Readings from the Slave Narratives '' . In 2006 , Williams received considerable media attention for her comic/villainess role as former model/magazine creative director turned editor-in-chief Wilhelmina Slater in the ABC comedy series '' Ugly Betty '' . Her performance on the series resulted in a nomination for outstanding supporting actress at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards and in 2008 and 2009 , she was nominated in the outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series category for '' Ugly Betty '' . Williams next joined the cast of '' Desperate Housewives '' for its seventh season , where she portrayed Renee Perry , an old college " frenemy " of Lynette Scavo ( Felicity Huffman ) . In 2016 , she joined the cast of '' The Librarians '' , as recurring villainess General Rockwell . She is scheduled to star as Maxine on the VH1 television series '' Daytime Divas '' in June 2017
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
Vanessa Williams