Prince protégé Vanity dead: Singer dies aged 57

Matthews died at Washington Hospital in Fremont, as CBS 5 reports, and TMZ spoke to sources close to her family who confirmed that the death happened Monday. She was diagnosed with sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis and started a GoFundMe page to help her raise money for her treatments. The singer worked closely with The Purple One but struggled with health issues which she blamed on drug use. The group’s most explosive hit came in the form of “Nasty Girl”, written and produced by none other than Prince.

She was a part of Vanity 6 until 1984 when they disbanded after their debut release and she signed with Motown Records.

After her 1997 kidney transplant, she became a Christian evangelist – a story she expanded on in her self-published autobiography Blame It on Vanity.

Vanity now known as Denise Matthews performs with the group Vanity 6 on the TV Show “Solid Gold”.

He tweeted: “Today my friend & Sister Denise Katrina Matthews p/k/a #Vanity passed away”. She also appeared in films in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including “The Last Dragon”, “52 Pick-Up” and “Action Jackson”. After that, she left the pop world behind to become an evangelical minister. She apparently had been suffering from kidney problems for many years related to crack abuse, and had been on dialysis. 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). “She knows about this one”. She loved & trusted him wholeheartedly.

“But years later, Matthews “[developed] a crack cocaine addiction that caused her to suffer near-fatal renal failure in 1994”.