Arts & Culture Jennifer Williams refocused & shifting her brand
May 05, 2016
By Amen Oyiboke
Staff Writer
“I learned so much from my mother,” said reality TV star Jennifer Williams. “She taught me about strength.”
Williams said this while sitting across from me at Panera Bread in North Hollywood. The conversation started with laughs and giggles about reality TV, but her face changed when I asked about her mom.
“It was extremely rough for me because it happened so rapidly. It was like a whirlwind,” said the 41 year-old about the passing of her mother last December from cancer. Her knowledge of her mother’s terminal illness was all discovered while she was filming “The Next 15”. “I really didn’t understand death until I saw my mom take her last breath. I learned through that whole experience is that we really have to take time and spend it with our loved ones.”
With Mother’s Day around the corner, it’s hard not to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice of being a mother and what it can teach a person. Although, Williams doesn’t have children she has learned so much from the love of her mother.
“I found myself where I had to be real. I really understood what true love was after taking care of my while she was sick. Caring for her made me understand what true love is because I was there taking care of her,” she said.
Star of shows “Basketball Wives”, TV One’s “The Next 15” and Black Hollywood Live’s web show “Just Saying” Williams is reshaping her brand and image.
“I believe everyone evolves and people usually saw me as a quiet person [on Basketball Wives] and a different person on ‘The Next 15’. People didn’t get to really see the real Jennifer and see what I really am,” Williams said. “You can’t know people by seeing them for only 44 minutes on television.”
On “The Next 15” Williams is join by reality TV alums Claudia Jordan, Laura Govan, Benzino, Tiffany “New York” Pollard and Karamo Brown. The show gave viewers a peek into how real reality shows are by debunking scripted theories, but showed how situations are influenced or instigated. It was also a plus for cast members who haven’t appeared on TV for a while revamp their reality TV personas.
“You know you’re never really prepared for reality TV. It’s a lot of work because people will make their own conclusions about you. I really had to learn that I have to learn myself and really dig into the inside and know who you are by embracing your flaws,” said Williams.
It seems as though reality TV has become second nature for the direction of television in the last decade. The popularity of peeking into the lives of others through a TV shows has viewers addicted to the everyday lives of others. However there are some things that reality TV just doesn’t show.
“I am a businesswoman that is loyal and lover,” said Williams about her personality and entrepreneurial drive. “People who watch television just see me as being stuck up, but they don’t know that I will do anything for my family and my close friends.”
Many do not know that Williams graduated cum laude with a degree in political science from Fairleigh Dickerson University with goals of becoming an attorney. But after working at a law firm she decided to pursue becoming a real estate broker. Alongside being a real estate broker, she owned fitness studios in Toronto and Chicago and she also has her beauty line Lucid Cosmetics.
Each of Williams’ businesses represents the importance of small businesses. That’s why she recently made an announcement of becoming a celebrity supporter of the Hilary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign.
“I like what she stands for when it comes to small businesses,” Williams explained. “Out of all the candidates I like what she is bringing to the table. Everyone isn’t perfect and everyone doesn’t have a solution to everything going on right now in our country, but she comes close to what I value.”