Most of us remember the beautiful, Free Marie, from the music video show, “106th & Park,” right? I know I sure do…she was the only reason I even knew what “106th and Park” was in the early 2000’s. Free and her “106th” co-host, A.J. Calloway, brought a new down to earth edge to BET during that time, with their relatable personalities and flava. Then all of sudden, Free just up and quit and left many of her fans wondering where she’d disappeared to.
Anywho, that was then…this is now, and Free is still around doing her thing. She’s gone from hosting a TV show, to radio, to hosting many events, and lending her celeb’ status to various causes that empower the likes women, imprisoned minority men, healthcare issues such as breast cancer awareness, voting rights and more…
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGAOLKMAeud/
In the midst of Free doing her thing, she took a brief second to drop a bombshell of a revelation on her fans, which flew right under the radar a while back…but we caught it. She disclosed that she has a very famous female cousin whom we all know…at least if we’re true Old School movie/TV show lovers, we do. Her talented cuz’ started in the 80’s era and has continued to make a name for herself in film and television to this day. See who she is below…
WHO IS FREE’S FAMOUS CUZ’?
Bam!!! Free’s cousin is none other than former “Soul Food” (T.V. show) actress, Vanessa A. Williams…or as many of us were first introduced to her, ‘Ms. Rockabye baby!’ from the classic film, “New Jack City!” Who woulda thought it, right?!!
Free and Vanessa both confirmed this after Free posted the below message on Instagram about her cousin:
@missfreemarie: “Congratulations to my cuz @nessawilliams1 the newest cast member of #daysofourlives on @nbcdays @nbctv !!!! Catch that #blackgirlmagic ⚡️ #itworks #family #vanessawilliams #wait are u gonna do love scenes ? Im telling Aunt Carolyn LOVE YOU #Keisha #rockabyebaby”
And then she later had a brief convo’ with Vanessa in the comments section underneath her post…
Needless to say, fans were surprised and one even mentioned the obvious- that Free, now 52 years old; and Vanessa, now 57, are both aging beautifully- a compliment that didn’t go unnoticed by Free. She thanked the commenter and attributed their ageless beauty to the strong genes in their fam’…
By the way, in case you didn’t catch that caption Free included in her IG post about her cousin (which has since been deleted), Vanessa’s latest gig is on the long running soap opera, “Days of Our Lives.” It’s always a beautiful thing to see an entertainer from back in the day, still being able to feed their fam,’ by doing what they love. Free and Vanessa keep doing what you do…we love it!
