Every day millions of American TV viewers tune in to the syndicated Wendy WIlliams Show. 

She's been a fixture on daytime TV since 2008.  But her media career began long before that. 

Some have even called her a "shock jockette". 

When I met her in 2003, Williams was a major radio personality but had not yet broken out onto the national stage in a major way.  She had just written her first book, Wendy's Got The Heat.