R.I.P. Vesta Williams

BET takes a look back at her trailblazing career.

Keep On Moving - Vesta's love of music never ceased. When she wasn’t recording her own songs, she sang jingles for major advertising campaigns for brands like McDonald’s, Nike, Baskin-Robbins, Diet Coke and Revlon. She even sang the theme song for the ABC mini-series The Women of Brewster Place, which starred a young Oprah Winfrey, and the UPN comedy Malcolm and Eddie, starring Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Eddie Griffin.(Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images for NAACP)
New Expressions - Vesta not only lent her voice to the small screen, but she also showed off her acting chops in Mario Van Peebles's 1993 Black Western Posse, where she portrayed a saloon singer. She even had a recurring role as "Monica," the best friend of Jackée Harry on the television series Sister, Sister, starring twins Tia and Tamera Mowry.  (Photo: WireImage)
Season of Change - In 2000, Vesta and her Polygram labelmate CeCe Peniston released a compilation album just before Williams started a new career as a radio personality. In 2002, she began co-hosting a morning show on KRNB, a station based in Dallas/Ft. Worth. This was also the time when Williams conquered a years-long battle with her weight. She shed 100 pounds and became an advocate for the prevention of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes.(Photo: vestawilliams.com)
Encore - In 2007, she released an album of R&B covers titled Distant Lover. Her last recording was the song "Dedicated," released in December 2010 on Stimuli Music. Several lucky fans caught Vesta’s final performance on September 17, 2011 at the Autumn Jazz Explosion in Portsmouth, Virginia. (Photo: vestawilliams.com)Singing Her Praises - On September 22, 2011, Vesta Williams passed due to heart complications. She was scheduled to perform at the 21st annual "DIVAS Simply Singing!" in Los Angeles one-month later, where 1990s singing star Shanice sang "Congratulations" in her honor.  (Photo: vestawilliams.com)

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New Expressions - Vesta not only lent her voice to the small screen, but she also showed off her acting chops in Mario Van Peebles's 1993 Black Western Posse, where she portrayed a saloon singer. She even had a recurring role as "Monica," the best friend of Jackée Harry on the television series Sister, Sister, starring twins Tia and Tamera Mowry.  (Photo: WireImage)

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