Prince Protege Vanity Passes Away At 57

Vanity, whose real name was Denise Katrina Matthews, passed away in a Fremont, CA hospital on Monday … according to sources close to her family. By 1984, she’d left Vanity 6 and disassociated from Prince, but was signed to a solo deal with Motown Records and appeared in the Motown-produced film The Last Dragon as a sexy pop star harassed by an evil music mogul. The group toured with Prince on his 1999 tour, but she quit right after that.

Matthews was the lead singer of the group Vanity 6, whose biggest hit was the 1982 single, “Nasty Girl”.

Vanity detailed the wild life that included drug use and cocaine abuse that led her to an overdose and could’ve killed Matthews years ago. Her passing comes almost five months after she launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help with medical costs that has accrued after what she said were 23 surgeries and a diagnosis of Sclerosis Encapsulating Peritonitis. Her addiction had severely damaged her health, however, and she was forced to undergo a kidney transplant in 1987.

Born in Niagara Falls, Canada and largely raised in the greater Toronto area, Vanity began her career in entertainment as a model, moving to New York City when she was 17. She renounced her Vanity persona and devoted her life to evangelism. She remained active in her local church up until her death. We’re told she was in church on Saturday evening and told the congregation she was “ready to go home”.