Vanity (performer)
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| Vanity | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Denise Katrina Matthews |
| Also known as | Denise Matthews-Smith D.D. Winters |
| Born | January 4, 1959 Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Dance-pop, R&B |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, model, actress |
| Labels | Motown Records A&M Records Geffen Records |
| Associated acts | Vanity 6 Prince |
Denise Katrina Matthews (born January 4, 1959), better known as Vanity but sometimes credited as Denise Matthews-Smith or D.D. Winters, is a Canadian-born singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, model, and full-time preacher. She was the lead singer for the Prince-mentored female trio Vanity 6, which recorded the 1982 R&B hit "Nasty Girl".
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[edit] Early life
Matthews was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, to a mother of German Canadian descent and to a father of Afro-Canadian descent. She is the sister of Canadian model Patricia Matthews. Growing up in Niagara Falls, Matthews came from what she described in interviews as a "broken home". Her parents divorced when she was young, and her mother plunged into alcoholism and depression. Matthews' father was very abusive towards her and her sisters. As a child, along with her sisters and step siblings, she regularly moved back and forth between her father and stepmother, mother and grandparents.
[edit] Career
[edit] Modeling
With Diana Ross as an idol, Matthews dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star. She first began doing local beauty pageants before moving to Toronto, where she modeled. At the age of 18, Matthews moved to New York to further her career. She signed with Zoli Model Agency, but since she was not very tall, her modeling career was limited to commercials and photoshoots and included no runway work. Matthews became the face for Pearldrops toothpaste, before completing another modeling stint in Japan. In late 1979, Matthews played a bit part in the horror movie Terror Train, which was filmed in Montreal. Matthews went back to Toronto to film the B-movie Tanya's Island. At this time, she billed herself as D.D. Winters.
[edit] Music
In 1982, she met Prince at a backstage party at the American Music Awards, where she was working as a model for the night. Prince re-named her Vanity, stating he saw his female reflection when he looked at her. Later that same year, she became the lead singer of the group Vanity 6. Their trademark was explicit sexuality in their lyrics, performances, and attire (extending even to the group's name, with 6 alluding to the number of breasts in the group). The group's biggest hit, "Nasty Girl", was produced by Prince. In late 1982, Vanity 6's album and songs started becoming popular, and they went on the 1999 tour with Prince and The Time until spring 1983.
After one album, Vanity decided to leave her role in Vanity 6 and the proposed film Purple Rain in 1983. Several songs for Vanity 6's proposed second album were recorded. They were later released in bootleg style. The press reported there were a few reasons why she left Prince's camp: from wanting more money for the film than Prince was willing to pay her, to the break up of their relationship, as well as fighting over her newly acquired crack cocaine habit.
She signed a lucrative record deal with Motown Records in 1984 and recorded two albums, Wild Animal and Skin On Skin. Long versions of the singles "Pretty Mess" paired with "Mechanical Emotion" (which featured Morris Day on backing vocals), originally on Wild Animal were released on a 12" by Motown. Her solo albums were moderate successes, with her biggest hit coming from "Under the Influence", off of her 1986 album Skin On Skin. Not long after Vanity's second album was released, she was dropped from Motown and signed with A&M Records. She then signed with Geffen Records.
In 1988, under the production of friend/former The Time member Jesse Johnson she recorded songs for the Action Jackson soundtrack. That year Vanity also worked on a third album with famous Janet Jackson producers (and two more of Vanity's old peers from her days with Prince/former Time band members) Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, as well as Tony LeMans, but the album was either never completed, or never released. This ended Vanity's work as a recording artist.
[edit] Acting
Matthews starred in a handful of movies, including The Last Dragon (featuring Vanity's underground hit "7th Heaven"), the gritty 52 Pick-Up and the 1988 action thriller Action Jackson, in which she starred opposite Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, and Sharon Stone.
Matthews also played a villain torturing Nancy Allen's character in 1990's amnesia-plot TV movie Memories of Murder. She guest starred in an episode of Miami Vice in its third season; she posed for Playboy in 1985 and in 1988; and, in 1992, she appeared in an episode of Highlander: The Series opposite Adrian Paul.
[edit] Personal life
Besides Prince, Matthews was linked to Adam Ant, Billy Idol,[1] Micki Free, and André Cymone during the 1980s.
In 1987, she and Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx were engaged. She joked during interviews that she would then again become Vanity 6 (Sixx). They never married, however. Matthews was a contributor to Sixx's book, released in 2007, called The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star, in which Sixx gives detailed accounts of his drug-filled year in 1987, which includes numerous and often bizarre incidents with Vanity, who was heavily addicted to crack cocaine.
In 1995, after a month-long courtship, Matthews married football player Anthony Smith, of the Oakland Raiders.[2] They divorced in 1996.
[edit] Later life
Matthews formally gave up her stage name "Vanity" and became a born-again Christian in 1994, the year she almost died from the effects of smoking crack cocaine. According to Matthews, after being rushed to the hospital, doctors said she had three days left to live and she was on life support. She told everyone in interviews that Jesus spoke to her during this time and saved her if she promised to give up her "Vanity" persona. In 1995, Matthews was quoted "When I came to the Lord Jesus Christ, I threw out about 1,000 tapes of mine—every interview, every tape, every video. Everything."[3]
In interviews she gave during this period, Matthews expressed embarrassment and shame about her "sinful" life as Vanity—from her crack cocaine addiction to her lifestyle and wardrobe choices. Soon after, she broke off all ties to Hollywood and her former life.
In 1996, Matthews became Director of Public Relations for The Genesis Technology Group. After a kidney transplant in 1997, Matthews decided to fully devote her life and work to evangelism. She now travels to speak at churches across the United States and overseas.
Due to the detrimental effects on her health stemming from her use of drugs for over a decade during her days as Vanity, Matthews must now perform peritoneal dialysis at home five times a day.[1]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
[edit] With Vanity 6
- Vanity 6 (1982)
[edit] Solo
- Wild Animal (Motown, 1984)
- Skin On Skin (Motown, 1986)
[edit] Soundtracks
- (1985) The Last Dragon: the song "7th Heaven"
- (1988) Action Jackson: the songs "Undress", "Faraway Eyes", and "Shotgun" with David Koz and featuring vocalist Kareem
[edit] Singles
[edit] With Vanity 6
| Year | Title | U.S. | U.S. R&B | U.S. dance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "He's So Dull" | — | — | — |
| "Nasty Girl" | 101 | 7 | 1 | |
| "Drive Me Wild" | — | — | — |
[edit] Solo
| Year | Title | U.S. | U.S. R&B | U.S. dance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Pretty Mess" | 75 | 15 | 13 |
| 1985 | "Mechanical Emotion" | 107 | 23 | — |
| 1986 | "Under the Influence" | 56 | 9 | 6 |
| "Animals" | — | — | — | |
| 1988 | "Undress" | — | — | — |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Christian, Margena A. (2007-11-26). "Vanity". Jet (Johnson Publishing Company) 112 (21): 49. ISSN 0021-5996. http://books.google.com/books?id=1joDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49&dq=vanity+anthony+smith&ei=TAkWS_OsNYSyNMjVsJoL#v=onepage&q=vanity%20anthony%20smith&f=false.
- ^ "Vanity Weds Pro Football Star Anthony Smith After Monthlong Courtship". Jet (Johnson Publishing Company) 87 (23): 14. 1995-04-17. ISSN 021-5996. http://books.google.com/books?id=czkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14&dq=vanity+anthony+smith&ei=TAkWS_OsNYSyNMjVsJoL#v=onepage&q=vanity%20anthony%20smith&f=false.
- ^ Rettenmund, Matthew (1996). Totally Awesome 80s: A Lexicon Of the Music, Videos, Movies, TV shows, Stars, and Trends Of That Decadent Decade. Macmillan. pp. 57. ISBN 0-312-14436-9.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Vanity at the Internet Movie Database
- Vanity at Allmusic
