Vanity was Prince’s original choice to star in his 1984 movie Purple Rain.
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Prince Protege & Vanity 6 lead singer has passed away, Vamity whose real name was Denise Katrina Matthews, passed away in a Fremont, CA hospital on Monday. Reportsnote the 57-year-old singer (f.k.a. Vanity) succumbed to kidney failure and abdominal illness, both of which were linked to a previous history of drug abuse.
Her death was confirmed by Gisela Hernandez, spokeswoman for Washington Hospital Health Care System. “Nasty Girl” went to number one on the dance charts and Vanity 6 joined Prince and the time on their tour to support 1999. She left the group after one album to pursue a solo career, recording the LPs Wild Animal and Skin on Skin. Matthews famously became a Christian fundamentalist after battling a crack cocaine addiction in the early-’90s, which left her with severely damaged kidneys. She remained a born-again Christian until her death. She said, “You can’t throw me in the pool, you’re too little”. Most recently, she had set up a GoFundMe page because she had been diagnosed with sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis, which is an inflammation of the small intestines.
He later worked her name into the song “The Ladder”, singing, “This Prince, he had a subject named Vanity who loved him with a passion, uncontested”. After that Matthews quit drugs and turned to religion. Matthews told Rolling Stone previous year that she had repented of her past ways.
Matthews also pursued acting, starring in the Berry Gordy-produced The Last Dragon in 1985.
“I can’t believe I did freebase with Vanity all night”, the hard-living bassist wrote in his journal at the time. “And people called that glamour”, she told the congregation. The two began a romantic and professional partnership, with Prince putting her group together and writing its music (though he didn’t take official credit).
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Canadian-born, Matthews started out as a model and actress in the 1980s.
