Jillian Hervey

Jillian Kristin Hervey (born June 19, 1989) is an American dancer, singer and member of the group Lion Babe. She is the daughter of Ramon Hervey II and singer, actress and former Miss America Vanessa Williams. Early life In addition to parents Hervey and Vanessa Williams, Jillian Hervey is the niece of actor Chris Williams and the great-great-great-granddaughter of William A. Feilds, a formerly enslaved African-American who was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives during Reconstruction; the latter connection was uncovered when the television show Who Do You Think You Are? traced the family's genealogy. In addition to having African-American heritage, Hervey is also of mixed English, Welsh, Irish, Finnish, Italian, French and Portuguese descent. Hervey was raised Catholic. Hervey grew up in Chappaqua, New York, dividing time between the homes of her parents who divorced when she was eight. She has remarked on her experience of being, in her words, "the only black girl, ever, in any capacity" growing up, as well as her awareness of the harassment her mother faced after she was the first African-American woman to be crowned Miss America. Hervey told the Telegraph, "Even when I was a child, I knew...When my mom would go on her tours, and she was in Alabama and there were snipers on rooftops trying to kill her, or people would send her envelopes with pubic hair inside."