Vanessa Williams Recalls Bursting 'into Tears' When She Met Lena Horne: 'She Meant That Much'

getty (2)

Vanessa Williams and the theater community came together to honor late Broadway luminary Lena Horne.

On Monday, the singer and actress, 59, performed "Stormy Weather" outside of the newly minted Lena Horne Theatre — formerly the Brooks Atkinson — which became the first Broadway house to be named for a Black woman.

Williams sang the classic torch song, notably performed by Horne in the 1940s, numerous times when she starred in After Midnight at the Brooks Atkinson. She said it felt fitting to sing the tune outside of the now Lena Horne Theatre, renamed to honor the Cabin in the Sky star's contributions to Broadway and beyond.

"She's made such a tremendous path, not only in theater but in film as well and her television performances — and her always pushing the envelope," Williams told PEOPLE outside of the theater, adding that Horne served as an inspiration to many.

"Not only did I get a chance to meet her numerous times, but I got the Lena Horne Award back in the '90s for my accomplishments, and she's been a wonderful role model through her activism, through her stories, her career, her life, her loss, her triumphs. She's not just a gorgeous face," Williams added.

GAB Archive/Redferns

RELATED: Lena Horne, Hollywood Trailblazer, Dies at 92

Horne, who died in 2010 at the age of 92, was not only known for her talent but for her part in the Civil Rights Movement and the fight for equality.

Williams, the first Black woman to be crowned Miss America in 1983, told PEOPLE that she "burst into tears" the first time she met Horne shortly after winning the pageant.

"I was going to an event here in the city. And I came to her table, and I was just like, 'Hi!' She's like, 'It's okay. It's okay.' She knew that she meant that much to me."

RELATED VIDEO: See Samuel L. Jackson on First Day of Rehearsal for Play Directed by Wife LaTanya Richardson

The POTUS star also acknowledged "the amount of progress that we've made on the Great White Way" and how Horne was a big part of those changes.

"When she was doing a duet with Tony Bennett — he told me a story about the two of them — and this was probably in the '50s or '60s, and they were not supposed to touch or kiss or whatever. And they did it anyway at the end of the song because that's the activism and that was the burning desire to buck the system that she had."

RELATED: See Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond Bring Jason Robert Brown's 'Parade' to New York City Center

Horne's granddaughter Jenny Lumet was also outside of the theater Monday to celebrate the legacy her grandmother left behind.

"I didn't realize how emotional it was gonna be, and now I'm kind of weeping buckets," Lumet told PEOPLE. "My grandma's a Bed–Stuy girl, and we're a New York family. So to have her always be in New York City in the theater district, it means everything."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

She added, "Representation means everything, and to know that there was somebody who — even though she was afraid — kept going, I think that's important. Especially now."