Denise Katrina Matthews, aka Vanity, died Monday in Fremont. She was 57 years old.
Vanity was a singer/model who toured with Prince during the 1980s. Later, she gave up her wild stage persona to become a minister.
Vanity enjoyed several hits with the Prince-backed group Vanity 6. Her solo career was also very successful.
Motown Records released Wild Animal, Skin on Skin.
She starred in Berry Gordy’s 1985 musical martial arts movie, The Last Dragon.
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Denise Katrina Matthews career as a model
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Denise Katrina Matthews was a Canadian model and singer. Her specialty was portraying strong female characters. She was often in legal trouble.
In the 1980s, she started her modeling career. Prince was her mentor, and she gave her the name Vanity. She worked with Nikki Sixx and Adam Ant.
She was the first female singer to lead Vanity 6’s 1982 girl band. They were famous for their explicit lyrics and their extravagant clothes. Their biggest hit was Nasty girl.
In 1983, she disbanded the band and joined Motown Records. Motown Records released two albums, Wild Animal and Skin on Skin.
She was part of many movies. Her most well-known movie was The Last Dragon.
On February 15, 2016, she died. According to TMZ, she had kidney disease and an abdominal condition. She was 57 years old at the time of her death.
Her singing voice was legendary
Vanity was a former Prince protegee. She was also the leader of the sexy girls’ band Vanity 6.
Her smooth funk song, “Nasty Girl,” is her most well-known. She was also an actress and released two albums.
She was a crucial figure in the music scene and toured with Prince in the 1980s. Her sexy personality shaped the fantasies of that era.
Matthews was an outgoing woman who had dated rocker boyfriends like Billie Idol, Adam Ant, and Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx before becoming addicted to crack cocaine.
Denise almost died from crack cocaine addiction in 1994.
She converted to Christianity after that and began speaking at churches. She also published Blame It on Vanity: Hollywood Hell and Heaven in 2010.
Denise Katrina Matthews as Actress
Denise Katrina Matthews was her birth name. She was an iconic figure of 1980s Hollywood, appearing in movies like 52 Pick-Up or The Last Dragon.
Vanity’s career slowed down in the 1990s. She was a Playboy Model and had a small part in Miami Vice. She was soon addicted to crack cocaine.
Her stage name was Vanity. This was a reference to her sexually provocative role as the lead singer of the female trio Vanity 6. A few minor hits included “Pretty Mess,” “Mechanical Emotion,” and “Undress.”
Her music career was long-lasting, spanning from the 1980s through the 1990s.
She was a member of the Prince-created female trio Vanity 6 with several hits, including “Nasty Girl” in 1982.
She was also a star in 52 Pick-Up, The Last Dragon, and Action Jackson in her late ’80s.
Denise Katrina Matthews was a Christian
Denise Katrina Matthews, a Canadian actress and model rose to fame as a lead singer in Prince’s 1980s band Vanity 6.
She was also a part of films like 52 Pick-Up and Action Jackson.
She was a well-known singer for her sexually-themed songs and sultry looks. Her 1982 hit, “Nasty Girl,” was her most famous. Denise co-produced it with Prince.
She became a Christian evangelist in the 1990s. She quit her job in 1995 and became a Christian evangelist.
Various conditions, including renal disease, sclerosing-encapsulating peritonitis, and digestive illness, plagued her.
These conditions had been bothering her for several months.
She set up a GoFundMe account earlier in the year to raise funds for medical expenses.
