Vanity

Vanity, born Denise Katrina Matthews, was a pop singer, model and actress best known for her personal and professional relationship with Prince.

The two performers met at the American Music Awards in 1980 and soon became involved. He also invited her to be a part of the girl group Vanity 6, which went on tour with him. The group had a hit in 1982 with the song “Nasty Girl.” Vanity went on to release two albums as a solo artist, Wild Animal and Skin on Skin.

She also appeared in films, including Klondike Fever, with Rod Steiger and Angie Dickinson; Terror Train, with Jamie Lee Curtis; Never Too Young to Die, with John Stamos and Gene Simmons; Action Jackson, with Craig T. Nelson and Sharon Stone; and South Beach, with Fred Williamson, Peter Fonda and Gary Busey.

Additionally, Vanity appeared on television, including roles on the series Miami Vice, The New Mike Hammer, T and T, Tales from the Crypt, Sweating Bullets, Silk Stalkings, Highlander and Counterstrike. She also made appearances on The Motown Revue Starring Smokey Robinson, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Soul Train.

Vanity died February 15, 2016, in Fremont, California. She was 57.