Mixing Media

Posted June 9, 2008 by Ashley V. Neglia

Whitney Houston beware: Wendy Williams, 43, the opinionated, big-haired radio host known for her no-holds-barred approach to celebrity interviews, will star in her own hour-long daily TV talk show on WNYW Fox 5 starting July 14.

The 22-year radio veteran made a name for herself from 1995 to 1998 as New York’s Hot Girl on HOT 97. When she moved to the Philadelphia market in 1998 to become a morning anchor at hip-hop and R &B station WUSL POWER 99, Williams became pregnant and was placed on bed rest. Instead of taking a few months off, Williams had microphones installed in her home so she could continue the show.

“Being able to broadcast while gestating was a wonderful thing,” Williams says.

Her tenacity paid off, and in September 2001, The Wendy Williams Experience debuted on 107.5 WBLS in New York. With Williams at the helm, the 2–7 pm show, which is now in syndication, became a platform for Williams’ unfettered honesty, advice, and candid interviews.

Best known for a confrontational interview with Newark-born diva Houston in 2003, Williams plans to stick to what she does best on her new TV show.

“I would love to talk to Miley Cyrus,” says Williams. “Her parents, too.”

An Ocean Township High School graduate, Williams describes herself as a “consummate Jersey girl.” Even as her on-air career flourished in Manhattan, Williams never made the leap across the Hudson.

“When I go through the Holland Tunnel, there’s an exhale,” she says. “Life is very peaceful in Jersey, and I don’t want my son to be part of the madness and his mom’s insane world.”

Williams lives in Montclair with her husband of ten years, Kevin Hunter, and their 7-year-old son, Kevin.