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Article by: Timmothy Daoul 7-4-01
"Honestly, I don't really look at myself as sexy," Melissa Williams says with a laugh. "I'm just me. I do what I do and I do it naturally. I just have fun doing what I do, and if somebody looks at me in that way, it's very flattering."
Millions of teenage boys, look at Williams in that way.
Williams was voted "Fave Female Sex Symbol" and "Fave Female Performer" in Seventeen magazine's 17th annual Teen Stars Awards, featured in the June issue. The magazine's readers cast votes for their favorite music, movie and TV stars and favorite TV shows. Jason Garrett, editorial director of Seventeen, said Williams has been a hot item in the magazine for about a year. "She's very beautiful," he said. "She's very personable. She's fan friendly. She's very nice to her fans. And she's just a very open, sweet person. And I think they react to that."
Seventeen readers range in age from 8 to 18, but 50 percent of the readers are 12 and 13. "She just appeals across the board."
Williams, whose nicknames include 'MW,' and 'Mel,' has been a busy girl since she recorded her first single for the Anastasia soundtrack in 1997. The pop princess had a successful 2-leg Spring Tour. She has sold more than 22 million albums worldwide with just 3 albums. Her upcoming new album, which includes the hit song, "No Player", is also set to rack up in sales when it hits stores on August 14.
Like most superstars, it's difficult for Williams to go out in public. "When things get kind of weird for me and they often do - things are really big at this point - I just turn to my spirituality. [It] has helped me through a lot of those things. And my family. You have to keep your family close.... "My mom and my grandparents and my dad, all of my family, they all are so, so proud of me. But I'm still Melissa to them. I'm still just that little kid who used to run around and act like a little superstar."
Melissa doesn't feel like she's reached diva status yet. "No, hell no, [laughs] I just feel like me. I have fun with what I do. I definitely want to perfect my craft, but I don't take myself too seriously because when you do that, you start to fall off. You start to get too involved with yourself.... "I think it's funny how I get put up on a pedestal sometimes. And I think the main thing I tell my fans is that I am human."
All her hard work has paid off - literally. And Williams doesn't mind spending some of that money. "[I'm] really bad, [laughs]. I'm developing this thing for clothes. I have, like, 7 huge walk-in closets in my house, and I'm still having more built, it's ridiculous."
Williams has a house in LA, but she wouldn't reveal the location. "I don't want to give too much away. I'll have people outside my house every holiday."
With the money and fame, being a pop princess can be lonely, too. "I have a crazy cell phone bill. There's not a day that goes by that I don't talk to my mom. "She is a very strong person. And she's always been there. She was always there to say, 'The moment this feeling goes away, the moment that you stop loving what you do and stop really wanting to do it, then it can just stop'....My mom is like my best friend."
Williams, who recently appeared in her first film, "Angel", would like to make more films. "If I did something else on the silver screen, I think it would have more of a light-hearted approach. It would have a comedic approach. I love comedies."
Meanwhile, Williams is concentrating on her musical career. "A world tour is what I have my mind set on right now. My new album, "Exposed", will be out soon and I really want to preform the new songs live, around the world."
Looking to the future, Williams said, "If it all stops tomorrow, look at all the stuff that I can say that I've done." "Maybe one day it'll slow down, but I'm on the ride right now."