Secrets to Your Success: Wendy Williams
Talk show host Wendy Williams may seem outgoing and confident these days, but she insists she's always felt like an outcast.
Growing up in suburban New Jersey, Williams says she struggled in school and failed to live up to her academically-focused family's high standards. She graduated at the bottom of her class and was told she'd never be successful, but Williams found her niche in college - when she became a successful radio DJ. From there, her career took her to New York, where she became well-known not just for playing hot music, but for dishing out hot gossip. Williams was suspended without pay on more than a few occasions, but she says that only helped her career as she became known for saying things other people wouldn't.
In 2008, Williams left radio to start her own successful syndicated television talk show. On air, she's shared her own personal stories, something she says has been a main reason her show has been such a success. She's shared openly about her battle with cocaine, medical issues, plastic surgery and personal struggles, and says her fans love her for it. She says that these days, she's making the kind of TV show she would want to watch, and she's happy to be doing it.
