In case you have been reading along and doing double takes at Hervey's photos, you're not imagining things — she does look familiar. That's because she's the daughter of legendary singer, actress, and pageant queen Vanessa Williams. The Lion Babe musician told us that her mother's career influenced her to persevere with her own dreams of performing.
While her mom occasionally passes along beauty product recommendations like the prescription-strength lash-lengthening serum Latisse and Proactiv Deep Cleansing Wash ($35), Hervey cites Wlliams's elegance as the ultimate lesson she's learned from her.
"She’s very elegant and graceful, whether she’s facing challenges in life or how she handles herself with people," she gushed. "The way she carries herself as a person is something that when you’re around it, you hope to embody it."
The way Hervey carries herself is poised and graceful, too, but it's not just due to her mother's nurturing. The singer is also a trained dancer and named legendary choreographer Pina Bausch as one of her greatest sources of inspiration. Hervey still dances quite frequently, especially during shows, but she would likely have pursued that passion as a career if Lion Babe hadn't succeeded. "I’d probably be in a company or performances around Brooklyn, which hopefully that would have taken me somewhere."
Above all, though, we know that Hervey's star is just beginning to shine due to two defining characteristics: the kind of personality that motivates her to succeed and how that has shaped her outlook on creating new work. Hervey listed musicians like Prince, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Tina Turner as guiding forces in shaping her artistry.
"People with really strong presences and unique looks who’ve been able to last and have been themselves . . . that’s the best kind of artist," Hervey insisted. "The ones you can tell aren’t really competing with anyone except themselves. That’s always what I try to do." She's tried and triumphed — once you hear her sing and see her perform, you know that this lion babe is already in a class of her own.
