Her life is like a soap opera full of ups and downs that have brought her to the top of her game and rock bottom in broadcasting. She has dealt with addiction problems that landed her in a group home, a philandering husband of over 20 years who got a mistress pregnant while he was on the payroll as Executive Producer of The Wendy Williams Show, and chronic battles with her health; from Graves disease to lymphedema. 

I have been listening to and watching Wendy Williams for year, and I'm unabashedly a fan for a number of reasons. She made it big in media; both radio and TV. That is no small feat, and broadcasting is a tremendously competitive industry. Williams effectively had two strikes against her--being a woman and African American, so I know it took exceptional drive and talent to propel herself to extraordinary success. 

Williams, 56, a Northeastern University grad, started in radio in the Virgin Islands for WVIS. She went on to a position in Washington, DC which allowed her to transition to the larger New York market. I listened to Wendy on the WRKS morning show out of Manhattan where she won the Billboard Award for "Best On-Air Radio Personality" in 1993. WRKS's format changed to WQHT-HOT 97 and the DJ brought her knowledge of Hip-Hop and urban sensibility onto her radio show.  Williams was fired from HOT 97 in 1998, but landed a gig in Philadelphia soon after where she met her husband and her agent, Kevin Hunter.  They returned to New York in 2001 with a great offer: afternoon drive for WBLS with syndication. 

For my money, I have always enjoyed Wendy Williams' earthiness and honesty. She has an awesome DJ voice, too; smoky and resonant. The broadcaster has been criticized for being abrasive in interviews, but she does it in the name of entertainment. It's her hook.

Williams has openly shared her struggles with addiction, and that is not an easy thing to do. Ultimately, she has done a public service by talking about addiction and how to recover. Williams also has been upfront about her breast implants. On top of this, her second husband Kevin Hunter fathered a child with his younger mistress. Williams had been married to him for 23 years, and it was a humiliating blow that played out publicly. She finally admitted to her TV audience her marriage had dissolved; however, Williams said she is grateful that her son Kevin Hunter, Jr, a 20 year old college student, resulted from that union.

The Wendy Williams TV show premiered in 2008. Williams has garnered multiple Emmy nominations for "Outstanding Talk Show Host" and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in February of 2019. In addition to all of this, Williams has a clothing line and best seller books.

Williams' real life story will surely make an engaging movie. You can't make this stuff up! Watch it on Lifetime January 30.