Wendy Williams is one lady who has continuously fought her way to the top. Here’s a look at Wendy Williams’s young life.
Wendy Williams is a famous TV host, but her life has been filled with significant challenges that threaten to overshadow her early achievements. In March 2023, her former manager, Bernie Young, filed to become her legal guardian due to serious health issues.
The TV star is also involved in a legal battle against Wells Fargo. As a result, Wendy’s finances and health has captured the attention of many. This situation is particularly poignant given Wendy’s remarkable journey from her young life to her current position in the public eye.
But how was Wendy Williams’s young life, and how did she become famous?
Wendy Williams’s Young Life: Getting to Know Her Better
Wendy Williams Hunter, born July 18, 1964, grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Later, she moved with her family to the upper-middle-class suburb of Wayside in Ocean Township following the race riots in 1970. Her family attended a Baptist church and spent summers in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, an African American vacation town.
Her parents put her on a diet after she gained weight in elementary school, which led to poor body image. However, despite these challenges, Wendy was active in the Girl Scouts as a Brownie and volunteered as a candy striper, making her parents believe she would become a nurse.
Wendy’s parents, Thomas Dwayne and Shirley Williams had three master’s degrees combined. Hence, they had certain educational expectations for their children, Wendy not excluded.
The former radio host graduated from Ocean Township High School in 1982, ranking 360th in a class of 363. Wendy’s performance in school was opposite to that of her sister Wanda who received a university scholarship at age 16.
While in school, Wendy stuck with the white kids more as she could use “white” diction. After high school, she enrolled at Northeastern University to study television communications.
However, she switched from television communications to the radio a few weeks after starting. Wendy said she felt she could advance her career faster as a radio anchor. This move wasn’t acceptable to her parents.
Wendy graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication. To appease her parents, she also acquired a minor in journalism.
The TV star is known for her controversial on-air personality and celebrity feuds. As a testament to her success, the Council of Asbury Park renamed the street where she grew up to Wendy Williams Way on her 50th birthday.
Wendy Williams’s Career Took Off Early
Wendy’s career began two weeks after graduation as a disc jockey on a small radio station in the Virgin Islands. But after eight months, she left due to low pay and isolation from her family. She then worked for other radio stations, including Washington, DC’s WOL, but left because the station’s oldies radio format was incompatible with her personality.
The TV personality continued sending her demo tapes to other stations and eventually began working for New York City’s WQHT. She was later fired from WQHT and briefly worked for WPLJ before being hired by WRKS.
During her show, Wendy began talking about celebrities and soon became a popular radio personality. By mid-1994, Wendy was moved back to mornings on WRKS to reverse the station’s rating decline.
However, she was transferred to WQHT three months later, where she began hosting the evening drive time slot. Wendy also worked for Hot 97 until 1998 and Philadelphia’s WUSL, where she discussed her life on air, including her miscarriages, breast enhancement surgery, and former drug addiction. In 2001, she returned to the New York airwaves when WBLS hired her full-time for a syndicated time slot.
In 2008, Wendy debuted her daytime talk show, “The Wendy Williams Show.” It attracted an average of 2.4 million daily viewers and was broadcast nationally by Fox. She has also hosted a game show for GSN and served as a judge on several television shows.
Wendy Williams Has a Thing for Controversies and Feuds
As a young woman, Wendy Williams was involved in several controversies and feuds. She had public spats with celebrities. She has also been criticized for her comments, sometimes deemed offensive.
Wendy has also been the target of threatening behavior, such as receiving mailed bullets and dead fish. One of her most infamous interviews was with Whitney Houston in 2003, where they engaged in a heated argument.
Wendy also faced backlash for promoting sperm theft during a segment of her show. She encouraged a woman to stop taking birth control pills without telling her partner. The former radio host was accused of victim-blaming singer Kesha in 2016, and in 2018, she received criticism for her comments on an alleged 14-year-old victim of R. Kelly.
She has also had conflicts with others regarding parenting style, public breastfeeding, transphobia, and homophobic remarks. In 2021, she faced backlash for her insensitive comments on the murder of TikTok star Swavy.
Wendy has proven to be a force to be reckoned with. She has faced countless challenges and has still achieved success. However, in 2021, Wendy Williams had to step back from her career for health reasons.
