On 'Who Do You Think You Are?' (Fri., 8PM ET on NBC), archivists hunted through 19th century documents to reveal inspiring truths about Vanessa Williams' ancestry. One great-grandfather was never enslaved and volunteered in the 26th Colored Infantry during the Civil War.

Her great-great grandfather was one of the first African American representatives in the Tennessee state legislature. Reading from a tribute found in the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Williams said, "'He has bequeathed them a legacy more precious than gold, more imperishable than monumental brass -- a spotless name.' He sounds a lot like my dad," the actress said, tearing up. "It just makes me so proud of the men that I am descended from and the family that I come from."

The acclaimed alternative series 'Who Do You Think You Are?' is back for season 2 tonight (8PM ET, NBC), kicking off with 'Ugly Betty' and 'Desperate Housewives' actress Vanessa Williams.

In its first season, the show followed executive producer Lisa Kudrow; actors Matthew Broderick, Brooke Shields and Susan Sarandon; director Spike Lee; and former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith as they traced their family trees on personal journeys of self-discovery.

In season 2, celebrities undertaking genealogical searches will include country superstar Tim McGraw, actors Steve Buscemi, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd, Kim Cattrall, talk show host / comedian Rosie O'Donnell and singer Lionel Richie.

Williams told TV Squad she decided to search her late father's ancestry so she could redefine her idea of what it's meant to be free.

While serving as a guest judge on 'RuPaul's Drag Race,' Vanessa Williams watched the show's contestants prep for competition on the other side of a two-way mirror.

One drag queen "had a tuck that was unbelievable," she said on 'Lopez Tonight' (weeknights, 12AM ET on TBS). "I couldn't find out where the stuff was."

"Where does it go, on vacation?" joked George Lopez. She replied, "I have no idea! All I saw was some silver gaffer's tape, and it was gone. Gone."

It was all about aggressive choreography on 'RuPaul's Drag Race' (Mon., 9PM on Logo). With Vanessa Williams on hand, the challenge was to perform a knock-out routine lip-synching to her song 'The Right Stuff.'

Two contestants took RuPaul's edict to "lip-synch for you life" perhaps a little to literally. It was a cat-fight on the catwalk. At times it looked like it was choreographed and intentional, but at others it looked as if the pair was genuinely trying to sabotage one another.

All sense of grace was gone as one or the other would flop to the ground and then try to regain their composure and their feet.

There's no major time jump for the seventh season of 'Desperate Housewives,' but when Vanessa Williams' new diva, Renee Perry, sashays into town in the Sept. 26 season premiere (9PM ET, ABC), the Wisteria Lane women may wish they could travel back to a pre-Renee time.

This is Spoilers Anonymous In-Depth, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we discuss and give our two cents about recently-released spoilers and how they may affect the storylines, shows and fans. This in-depth version of the column goes hand in hand with our weekly spoilers column where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air.

This week we discuss various spoilers recently released for the upcoming season of 'Desperate Housewives.'

Watch out, ladies of Wisteria Lane, because Wilhelmina Slater is coming to town. According to reports, 'Ugly Betty' alum Vanessa Williams is joining the cast of 'Desperate Housewives' season 7 as a series regular. "She'll be moving into the neighborhood next season to cause trouble in all the ladies' lives," said creator Marc Cherry, though she won't be at the forefront of next season's mystery. No word yet on Williams' premiere date. [TV Guide Magazine]

In honor of Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday, which took place last month, Vanessa Williams does a risque song and dance number on 'Live With Regis and Kelly' (weekdays, syndicated), peeling off her outfit and performing in lingerie, then removing that to reveal an even skimpier undergarment underneath.

Kelly Ripa and a somewhat flustered Regis Philbin then greet Williams after her performance. "Vanessa, while you were taking it off, Regis was taking it off too," Ripa said.

Watch the video after the jump.

On 'Good Morning America' (weekdays, 7AM ET on ABC), Vanessa Williams lamented the end of 'Ugly Betty' after four seasons, and said that the tight-knit cast had a difficult time leaving the show. ABC officially canceled the show in January due to declining ratings.

"It was tough, I mean, because we spent four years together," Williams said. "We did not want to leave. And our last read-through -- none of us wanted to leave the table. None of us wanted to finish the words that we were saying. It was an extraordinary group of people."

Watch the video after the jump.

Glee - Tuesday April 13, 9:25 pm, Global/Fox

It's back! The all-singing all-dancing insanity that 'Idol' used to justify keeping Michael Lynche on the show is back for sweeps and everyone is very excited (except me, because I am the one person in the universe who doesn't see the appeal). Will is finally single, but instead of jumping Emma's bones like he's been waiting his whole life to do it, he takes some time to think about his new situation. And just when Rachel and Finn seemed to be getting started on something real, she gets sidetracked by a fellow called Jesse St. James. Oh honey, no! Any variation on Jesse James is bad news. Trust.

It's high drama on 'Ugly Betty' (Wed., 10PM ET on ABC). The show is ending its last season, and things are getting, well, pretty tense. In the latest episode, Tyler (Neal Bledsoe) finds a gun and uses it to confront his mom. Tyler's mother Claire (Judith Light) gave him away when he was a child, and Tyler is understandably (if excessively) irritated at all of this. "Everything was better without you," he says to his mother. And then he points the gun at her.

Watch the video after the jump.

'The Blind Side' may have earned several Academy Award nominations and a Best Actress win for Sandra Bullock last night, but Vanessa Williams is clearly no fan of the movie. Williams said on 'The View' (weekdays, syndicated) that the film, which depicts a homeless African-American youngster who is adopted by an affluent white family, does little to improve race relations.

Williams argued that film only reinforces the notion that African-Americans need whites in order to succeed. "Here's another white family that has saved the day," she said, calling the film "another black story" in which "a white person comes in and lifts them up."

Watch the video after the jump.

You really can't say you didn't see this coming. ABC has announced that they have canceled Ugly Betty. The final episode will air this spring. ABC says in a statement that "we've mutually come to the difficult decision to make this Ugly Betty's last season."

I really loved the first season of Ugly Betty, and I continued to watch it into the second season, but somewhere along the line I just lost interest in it. It wasn't the cast, I think it was just that plots kept spiraling into directions I didn't think were interesting (or funny). But now that the show is ending I kinda feel bad about not watching it the last couple of seasons.

So I guess this is the part where we all list our predictions on how the show will end, who Betty will end up, what will happen to Mode, and all that. At least they know the show is ending and can plan a good final episode.

Despite low ratings, Ugly Betty is pushing ownward. Now, Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell will have a potentially recurring role on Ugly Betty as a former lover of Wilhelmia (played by Vanessa Williams) who is apparently a Joe Six Pack rather than an elegant charmer.

Seriously, I've seen Mr. Stokes Mitchell (or it is just Mr. Mitchell?) perform on Broadway and he's very good. His voice has this unmistakable deep, dulcet tone that would translate well to a television romantic lead. Mitchell has appeared on television before as Dr. Jackpot Jackson in Trapper John, M.D.

Wilhelmina Slater just can't catch a break.

Not only does she have a conniving daughter, a dead lover and Daniel Meade's ineptitude to deal with, now she's set to discover that she has a long-lost twin ... well, kind of.

The Ausiello Files is reporting that 'Ugly Betty''s resident devil in Prada is in for a shock in early 2010 when she discovers that she's the subject of a drag queen impersonation act, ingeniously named Wilhediva Hater. But that's not even the best part -- Ausiello's sources say that the man behind Willie's fabulous doppelganger is none other than Vanessa Williams' real-life brother, Chris Williams. There's nothing like keeping it in the family.

In light of this fierce casting, we at Inside TV have taken it upon ourselves to compile a list of our favorite real-life sibling co-stars to have graced the small screen in recent years: