In the 1980s, Canadian-born singer and actress Denise Matthews was considered one of the sexiest women in the entertainment industry. A chance encounter with Prince at the American Music Awards landed her a spot leading a hot new girl group and give her a brand-new stage name – Vanity.
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But years of partying and drug use would eventually take a toll on her health and lead to her untimely death 10 years ago this week — Feb. 15. 2016 — at age 57.
This is the story of Vanity.
Born in Canada
Denise Matthews was born January 4, 1959, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. One of three sisters, her mother was of Polish-Jewish descent, and her father was African-American. After modeling and competing in pageants in and around Toronto, she moved to New York City as a teenager to further her career.
“I had the choice between going into the martial arts or going into the modeling field,” she told Donnie Simpson in a 1985 interview.
Meeting Prince
Matthews met Prince in 1980 at the American Music Awards, an encounter that would kick off their steamy personal and professional relationship. The “Controversy” singer convinced Matthews to come to Minneapolis where he would change her name and put her front and center in his new girl group.
Vanity 6
Once she got to Minneapolis, Prince gave Matthews a makeover, changing her name to Vanity and making her the lead singer of Vanity 6, along with singers Brenda Bennett and Susan Moonsie. The trio would come to be known for performing in lingerie, an idea Vanity said Prince came up with.
“One night, he saw me in my underwear, and he wanted to know if I wanted to perform in it,” she told David Letterman in a 1985 interview. “And I thought it was a great idea.”
“Nasty Girl”
In 1982, Vanity 6 had their first hit with “Nasty Girl.” Although the sexy lyrics made some people blush, the funky track was infectious, sending it to the top of the Billboard dance charts that year and making it a certified dance floor classic that is still a jam over 40 years after its release.
Their self-titled album was certified gold in 1983, but it would be the only album Vanity 6 would ever make.
Rolling Stone Cover
In a time before social media, fans had to rely on magazine covers to get a glimpse of their favorite stars. Prince fans went crazy over this April 28, 1983, Rolling Stone cover photo by Richard Avedon featuring the legendary singer and his beautiful muse, Vanity.
Going Solo
Despite their early success, Vanity 6 didn’t last long. Just two years after “Nasty Girl,” Vanity left the group to sign a solo contract with Motown Records in 1984. She went on to release two records by herself, “Wild Animal” and “Skin on Skin.”
Becoming an Actress
In the mid-1980s, Vanity turned her interest to acting, with roles in movies like “The Last Dragon” and “Action Jackson.”
But there’s one iconic role that she actually turned down – playing Prince’s love interest in the 1984 cult classic “Purple Rain,” a role that Apollonia Kotero famously played instead.
Rolling With Rock Stars
Prince and Vanity’s on-again-off-again romantic relationship lasted a little over two-and-a-half years, as she confirmed to David Letterman in a 1985 interview.
After her time with Prince, Vanity was linked to several popular rock stars, including Billy Idol and Adam Ant. By this time, she had come to be known as a party girl involved in heavy and frequent drug use.
The Walking Dead
In a 1992 interview with Joan Rivers, Matthews reflected on her hard-partying days, admitting to being “extremely wild” and engaging in harmful behavior, including smoking cocaine. She went on to say that during that time in her life, she was possessed by demons.
“For 33 years, I was the walking dead,” she said. “I played it off well. I would carry on with a mask. I masked myself with clothes, with makeup.”
Finding Faith
Vanity’s years of addiction to crack cocaine took a toll on her health. In 1994, she experienced kidney failure which almost took her life. She saw that health scare as a sign that she needed to change her ways – and her name from Vanity back to Denise. By the late 1990s she had become a Christian evangelist who eagerly shared her story of how turning her life over to the Lord helped save her.
Married to a Murderer
Vanity tied the knot in 1995 with NFL player Anthony Smith. In her biography, she wrote about their quick courtship, getting engaged just one month after they started dating. But the couple was only married for a year, divorcing in 1996. Just a few years later, the world would learn that Smith had a dark side.
In 2016, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of the 1999 kidnapping and killing two brothers as well as the 2001 brutal beating and killing of another man. According to ESPN, no motive was determined for the killing.
A Tragic Ending
Even after her days as Vanity were long behind her, Matthews dealt with a series of health issues related to her heavy drug use in the 1980s. She tragically died of kidney failure in February 2016 in a California hospital.
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