Vanessa (butterfly) Vanessa (butterfly) Vanessa is a genus of brush-footed butterflies in the tribe Nymphalini. It has a near-global distribution and includes conspicuous species such as the red admirals (e.g., red admiral, Indian red admiral, New Zealand red admiral), the Kamehameha, and the painted ladies of subgenus "Cynthia": painted lady, American painted lady, West Coast lady, Australian painted lady, etc. For African admirals see genus, "Antanartia". Recently, several members traditionally considered to be in the genus "Antanartia" have been determined to belong within the genus "Vanessa". The name of the genus may have been taken from the character Vanessa in Jonathan Swift's
Vanessa Williams same state had applied. When Williams appeared as Miss America in a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Vanessa A. accidentally received her check for the appearance, which she returned. In the area of acting, the two ran into name conflict when Screen Actors Guild rules prohibited duplicate stage naming. Vanessa A. had registered the name "Vanessa Williams" first, so as a compromise, Williams was occasionally credited as "Vanessa L. Williams" in acting credits. To compound the confusion, both actresses starred in versions of the drama "Soul Food" (Williams in the film version, and Vanessa A. in its TV series adaptation). The