Denise Katherine Matthews (January 4, 1959 â€" February 15, 2016),
better known as Vanity, was a Canadian singer, songwriter, dancer,
model, and actress who turned away from her music and acting career to
concentrate on evangelism.[1] Her career lasted from the early 1980s
until the early/mid-1990s. She was the lead singer of the female trio
Vanity 6 from 1981 until it disbanded in 1983. They are known for
their 1982 R&B/funk hit "Nasty Girl". Vanity's music career also
included two solo albums on the Motown Records label, Wild Animal and
Skin on Skin, as well as the minor hit singles "Pretty Mess",
"Mechanical Emotion", "Undress" (from the movie Action Jackson), and
"Under the Influence". She also had a successful film career, starring
in the movies The Last Dragon, 52 Pick-Up, and Action Jackson.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Vanity appeared in many
magazines around the world. She died on February 15, 2016, at the age
of 57, due to kidney failure.Vanity was born on January 4, 1959[2] as
Denise Katherine Matthews in Niagara Falls, Ontario, the daughter of
Helga Senyk and Levia James Matthews.[3] Her mother was of
Polish-Jewish descent, and was born in Germany, while her father was
of African-American descent and was born in Wilmington, North
Carolina.[4] Matthews had two sisters, Patricia and Renay.[5] She
revealed to Jet in 1993 that her father physically and verbally abused
her for years. The abuse caused her to have a negative self-image.
"For 15 years, he beat me badly... I wish I could see my father in
heaven, but I won't. He's in hell," she said.[6]Vanity began entering
local beauty pageants before moving to Toronto, where she modeled. She
won the Miss Niagara Hospitality title in 1977[7] and went on to
compete for Miss Canada in 1978. At age 17, she moved to New York City
to further her career. She signed with Zoli Model Agency. However,
because she was short in stature, her modeling career was limited to
commercials and photo shoots and included no runway work. Vanity
appeared in ads for Pearl Drops toothpaste, before completing a
modeling stint in Japan.In 1980, she had a small role in the horror
movie Terror Train, which was filmed in Montreal a year earlier. She
then went to Toronto to film the lead role in the B-movie Tanya's
Island. At the time of both film roles, she was billed as D. D.
Winters. She met Prince when she was Rick James' date at the American
Music Awards.[8] Prince renamed her Vanity, as he considered her to be
the female form of himself. After learning that Vanity could sing,
Prince asked her to become the lead singer of the girl group Vanity
6.[8] "Prince created the whole Vanity Six image. It bothered me at
the time. I lied and said it was the image I wanted. I did it because
he told me I had to do it. If I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t get paid.
I got into it. I wanted the old Diana Ross image," she said.[6] Vanity
6 recorded one album, and had some success internationally with the
single "Nasty Girl". Vanity then left the group (and Prince's
organization), and signed with Motown Records as a solo artist in
1984. She released two albums for Motown in the mid-1980s, and had
mild success on the US pop and R&B charts with a handful of singles.
better known as Vanity, was a Canadian singer, songwriter, dancer,
model, and actress who turned away from her music and acting career to
concentrate on evangelism.[1] Her career lasted from the early 1980s
until the early/mid-1990s. She was the lead singer of the female trio
Vanity 6 from 1981 until it disbanded in 1983. They are known for
their 1982 R&B/funk hit "Nasty Girl". Vanity's music career also
included two solo albums on the Motown Records label, Wild Animal and
Skin on Skin, as well as the minor hit singles "Pretty Mess",
"Mechanical Emotion", "Undress" (from the movie Action Jackson), and
"Under the Influence". She also had a successful film career, starring
in the movies The Last Dragon, 52 Pick-Up, and Action Jackson.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Vanity appeared in many
magazines around the world. She died on February 15, 2016, at the age
of 57, due to kidney failure.Vanity was born on January 4, 1959[2] as
Denise Katherine Matthews in Niagara Falls, Ontario, the daughter of
Helga Senyk and Levia James Matthews.[3] Her mother was of
Polish-Jewish descent, and was born in Germany, while her father was
of African-American descent and was born in Wilmington, North
Carolina.[4] Matthews had two sisters, Patricia and Renay.[5] She
revealed to Jet in 1993 that her father physically and verbally abused
her for years. The abuse caused her to have a negative self-image.
"For 15 years, he beat me badly... I wish I could see my father in
heaven, but I won't. He's in hell," she said.[6]Vanity began entering
local beauty pageants before moving to Toronto, where she modeled. She
won the Miss Niagara Hospitality title in 1977[7] and went on to
compete for Miss Canada in 1978. At age 17, she moved to New York City
to further her career. She signed with Zoli Model Agency. However,
because she was short in stature, her modeling career was limited to
commercials and photo shoots and included no runway work. Vanity
appeared in ads for Pearl Drops toothpaste, before completing a
modeling stint in Japan.In 1980, she had a small role in the horror
movie Terror Train, which was filmed in Montreal a year earlier. She
then went to Toronto to film the lead role in the B-movie Tanya's
Island. At the time of both film roles, she was billed as D. D.
Winters. She met Prince when she was Rick James' date at the American
Music Awards.[8] Prince renamed her Vanity, as he considered her to be
the female form of himself. After learning that Vanity could sing,
Prince asked her to become the lead singer of the girl group Vanity
6.[8] "Prince created the whole Vanity Six image. It bothered me at
the time. I lied and said it was the image I wanted. I did it because
he told me I had to do it. If I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t get paid.
I got into it. I wanted the old Diana Ross image," she said.[6] Vanity
6 recorded one album, and had some success internationally with the
single "Nasty Girl". Vanity then left the group (and Prince's
organization), and signed with Motown Records as a solo artist in
1984. She released two albums for Motown in the mid-1980s, and had
mild success on the US pop and R&B charts with a handful of singles.
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