Age ain’t nothing but a number. Whomever first said that phrase certainly had it right.

Take a look at  53-year old former beauty queen, singer and actress Vanessa Williams and her gorgeous daughter, Lion Babe’s Jillian Hervey, covering the January issue of ESSENCE.  Without a doubt, beauty runs in the family. The two could pass as sisters.  Wouldn’t you agree?

In the cover story, Vanessa + Jillian, the stunning duo chat with Essence about being in the business, the sacredness of family and loving the skin you’re in while staying true to who you are at any age.

Williams  shares with ESSENCE  the key to success on her 30-year career.: 

“When they yell, ‘Cameras ready!’ I am the first one there. The director and producer notice. I take whatever I’m doing seriously…”

On dealing with pain:

 “You have to go through the fire. Avoiding the pain is why most people never resolve it. You have to dig deep, sit in it and ugly-cry. Pretending it’s not there and keeping busy are a way of avoiding it…”

Hervey shares embracing her hair at an early age and standing up for herself:

“I never saw myself as always having that hair. Ever. That wasn’t the plan. That was the label. They were like, ‘You need the hair, you need the hair, you need the hair!…”

When the duo signed to Interscope Records, the label loved her video look so much that it insisted she wear it everywhere, even to radio interviews. Hervey, a self-described people pleaser didn’t have the heart to say no.

 “My hair was supposed to represent this freedom, and then it almost became a trap. You can’t even see my face sometimes because the wig is so big.”

These days Hervey was found the strength to put her foot down and has the freedom to ‘transform,’ she says. That might mean donning braids or wearing her hair free and natural…”

See more of interview on ESSENCE.

Essence’s January 2017 issue hits newsstands this Friday.