Vanessa Williams plays an influential fashion editor on ABC's hit show Ugly Betty, and she's a style icon in her own right, so she was an obvious choice for our annual Spring Fashion Issue, which you'll find in newspaper's across the country this weekend. In the magazine Williams dishes on everything from her top five fashion must-haves to just how similar she is to her ruthless, Botoxed character, Wilhelmina Slater. But we've got some extra scoop for you from the photo shoot.   

Photographer Mike Ruiz shot Vanessa for the cover and inside story, and sent us this fun photo of the two of them from the set, which he says "is a good indication of how sweet she is."  Here's his full report: "Vanessa was an absolute delight and consummate professional. We reminisced about the good old days including the time she did the cover of Interview (which I loved and kept a copy of for years after.) The music we listened to was appropriate for the nostalgia of the day. We were grooving to Michael Jackson's Thriller and other of his greatest hits all day. We had a limited amount of time but were able to do three wardrobe changes. She was very warm and self assured which was reflected in how amazing she was in front of my lens."

(photo courtesy Mike Ruiz)