Vanessa Williams' Daughter Jillian Grew Up To Be Absolutely Stunning

Vanessa Williams' good looks kicked off her career. Becoming the first Black woman to be crowned Miss America showed its dark side when she was forced to give up her title, but Williams moved on from the scandal and built a successful career from its ashes. And she went on to pass her beauty onto her children, proving the stunning genes are strong. That is true for Jillian Hervey, seen above around age 3 in 1992. Like her siblings, Jillian followed in her famous mother's footsteps, making a career as half of the R&B duo Lion Babe. Her musical talents aside, Jillian has also become a beauty inspiration to many.

Jillian, the second out of three children William shares with her second husband, Ramon Hervey, has thick, curly hair that she refuses to tame. In fact, her musical group's name derives in part from the pride in her mane. As seen below at New York Fashion Week in February 2026, Jillian grew up to be gorgeous like her mom, and her hairstyle complements her striking facial features. While Jillian has Ramon's eyes, she has Williams' smile and facial structure. 

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Fans of Williams are often struck to see Jillian as an adult, considering they remember her as the musician's mini-me way back when. "Awww Vanessa all grown up she's beautiful like Mom," an Instagram user commented under Essence's 2016 cover featuring mother and daughter. Another agreed that Jillian won the genetic lottery. "Just like her mom," the second netizen raved. Jillian knows exactly who she is, and she uses her beauty to inspire self-love in others. 

Jillian Hervey was raised by a mother who knew what it meant to be the only Black woman around. That experience shaped how Vanessa Williams saw her own beauty. Black beauty wasn't as valued, though she witnessed — and took part in — the change. She passed all that confidence and pride onto her daughter. "My path was always supported," Hervey told  Vogue in 2020. Like her mother, Hervey also attended a majority-white school, but she had a strong role model at home to help her navigate it. "I accepted that I was different and unique early on," she said. 

While it took time, Hervey learned to embrace her Black hair as if it were a piece of art. "I take pride in the fact that my hair can change and adapt to whatever I wish to express, or not," she said. But it took work. When she was a child, she didn't always love her hair. Her friends didn't have curly hair, and she wanted to fit in. "I definitely struggled with just feeling not confident in my own hair and not being ready to show everyone my natural texture, just because there weren't really people around me doing the same thing," she told Fashion magazine in 2016.

Now, Hervey is the person doing it and inspiring others to love their curls. In 2016, she partnered up with Pantene to promote its curly hair products. "Once I really started to embrace my curls, my entire world changed, and it's made me the woman that I am today," she said (via Us Weekly).