Bad news….The original bad gal – Prince’s protege and lead singer in Vanity 6 – Vanity, has died at the age of 57.
She had been battling inflammation of her small intestines, the latest in a string of health problems.
Vanity, born Denise Katrina Matthews, had asked fans to help her pay for her treatments through a GoFundMe page as she fought a condition called, sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis. In 1994, a crack cocaine overdose left her kidneys so damaged that she required regular dialysis.
“Boy, it is not fun suffering in this body of weak flesh… but Jesus is straightening out all my crooked places in my heart as I go through this time of pain,” the born-again Christian wrote on the GoFundMe page.
It’s a sad ending for an artist who showed so much promise with Vanity 6’s 1982 hit, “Nasty Girl,” produced by Prince.
Vanity 6 toured with Prince in 1999, before Vanity broke out on her own solo career. That may have led to the rift with her mentor that pushed him to recast a part he had carved out for her in his hit 1984 movie, “Purple Rain,” which ultimately went to Apollonia Kotero.
The former model, though, still managed to land a role in a steady string of movies, including “The Last Dragon” (1985), “52 Pick-up” (1986) and “Action Jackson” (1988).
Leave a Reply