Vanity

Early life and modelling career

Denise Katherine Matthews was born on January 4, 1959, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, to Helga Senyk, who was of Polish Jewish descent, and Levia James Matthews, a Black American. She had three sisters and several half siblings. Her childhood was marked by severe physical and verbal abuse from her father, who died when she was 15 years old. Matthews later stated this abuse caused her significant negative self image, and she told Jet magazine in 1993 that she believed her father was in hell for his actions. She began entering local beauty pageants as a teenager, winning Miss Niagara Hospitality in 1977 and competing for Miss Canada the following year. Seeking a broader career, she moved to Toronto to model and then to New York City, where she signed with the Zoli Model Agency and used the professional alias D.D. Winters. Due to her short stature, her modelling work was confined to commercials and photo shoots rather than runway work, and she appeared in commercials for products like Pearl Drops toothpaste. Her early fame included being named one of Playboy magazine's top sex stars of 1979, and she also ventured into acting with small roles in the 1980 horror film Terror Train and the lead in the B movie Tanya's Island.

Rise to fame with Vanity 6

Matthews's life changed dramatically in 1982 when she met the musician Prince at the American Music Awards. After learning she could sing, Prince invited her to front a girl group he had formed, initially called The Hookers. He proposed the stage name Vagina, which she refused, and they settled on Vanity, with Prince considering her the female form of himself. The group was renamed Vanity 6, with Matthews as the lead singer. The trio, known for performing in lingerie, recorded one self titled album in 1982, and their single "Nasty Girl" became an international hit, cementing Vanity's public image as an erotic "nasty girl". In later interviews, Matthews expressed discomfort with this manufactured image, stating she felt compelled to adopt it for financial reasons and had preferred a style more akin to Diana Ross. The group's association with Prince brought significant media attention, and the pair appeared together on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine on April 28, 1983. Her time with the group was short lived, however, as she left Vanity 6 in August 1983, a decision that also led her to drop out of a starring role in Prince's 1984 film Purple Rain, a part that ultimately went to Apollonia Kotero. Matthews explained her departure was driven by a desire to pursue her own solo music and creative independence, wanting to see if she could succeed without the help of others.

Solo music and film career

After leaving the group, Vanity signed a solo deal with Motown Records in 1984. She released her debut album, Wild Animal, that same year, which blended funk and pop styles. The album produced two minor hit singles, "Pretty Mess" and "Mechanical Emotion", which charted on the US pop and R&B lists. Her mainstream film debut came in 1985 with a starring role in the martial arts musical The Last Dragon, which also featured her song "7th Heaven". She sought the role of Shug Avery in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple but was told she looked too young for the part. Vanity's second and final album, Skin on Skin, was released in 1986 and yielded the top 10 R&B hit "Under the Influence". Her film work intensified in 1986 with starring roles in the action film Never Too Young to Die opposite John Stamos and the neo noir crime thriller 52 Pick Up. Her highest profile acting role was in the 1988 action film Action Jackson, where she co starred with Carl Weathers, Craig T Nelson and Sharon Stone. Film critic Roger Ebert singled out her performance as the movie's one redeeming merit. During the filming, however, Matthews was heavily using cocaine, and she entered a rehabilitation program in Los Angeles after production wrapped. She continued to act in television through the early 1990s, with guest spots on Miami Vice, Friday the 13th The Series, and Highlander The Series, and her final film role was in the 1993 thriller Kiss of Death.

Personal relationships and struggles

Matthews's romantic life was often tumultuous and highly publicized. Her relationship with Prince began shortly after they met in 1982, and she moved to Minneapolis to live with him, later recalling she initially thought he was gay because he kept following her. The romance lasted approximately a year, ending around the time she left Vanity 6 in 1983. She was later romantically linked to musicians Adam Ant, who wrote a song titled "Vanity" for her, and Billy Idol. In 1986, she began a relationship with Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx, and she proposed to him just three weeks after they met. Their engagement was announced on television in September 1987, with Matthews joking she would become Vanity Sixx. A planned wedding at the Crystal Cathedral in December 1987 was postponed and Sixx ultimately called off the engagement in 1988. In his memoir, Sixx wrote that Matthews introduced him to freebasing cocaine, which intensified his drug dependency. After becoming a born again Christian, Matthews met Oakland Raiders football player Anthony Smith in late February 1995. She proposed to him three days after they met, and they married in April 1995 in a ceremony at his home in Playa del Rey on the first anniversary of her sobriety. The marriage was strained by disagreements over her charitable nature, which included inviting homeless people into their home, and ended in 1996 due to Smith's volatile behaviour, and Smith was later convicted of three murders. Throughout the 1980s, Matthews struggled with severe cocaine addiction, which ultimately led to catastrophic health consequences.

Religious conversion and later life

A major personal transformation began for Matthews in 1992 while filming the movie Da Vinci's War. Actor Sam J Jones invited her to read the Bible during a lunch break, leading her to become a born again Christian. She publicly renounced her stage name Vanity, reverting to her birth name Denise Matthews, and vowed to no longer accept sexualized roles. She traveled extensively throughout the southern United States with her agent, giving her testimony of conversion to Christianity. In 1994, her years of drug abuse culminated in a near fatal kidney failure from an overdose, and doctors said she had three days to live while on life support. Hospitalized for three months, she later recounted a vision where Jesus told her he would save her if she abandoned her Vanity persona. Upon recovering, she radically ended her entertainment career by cutting ties with Hollywood and destroying memorabilia from her past life, throwing items like gold records and unreleased Prince recordings down an incinerator, though some were rescued by her agent. After receiving a kidney transplant in 1997, Matthews dedicated herself full time to evangelical work. She became the head of Pure Hearts Ministries in Fremont, California, and made speaking engagements at churches worldwide. In 2010, she published her autobiography, Blame It On Vanity Hollywood, Hell and Heaven, detailing her life story.

Illness, death and discography

The kidney problems stemming from her cocaine addiction required Matthews to undergo peritoneal dialysis five times a day for 20 minute sessions. Although the 1997 transplant provided temporary relief, her health declined again in 2015 when she was diagnosed with encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis, a severe complication of long term dialysis. Denise Matthews died of kidney failure on February 15, 2016, at a hospital in Fremont, California. She was 57 years old. She left much of her estate to her church, and her ashes were scattered off the coast of Hawaii. Her musical legacy is captured in a concise discography that reflects her brief but impactful career. Her work with Vanity 6 produced one album, 1982's Vanity 6, featuring the definitive hit "Nasty Girl". As a solo artist, she released two studio albums on Motown Records.

Her soundtrack contributions included the song "7th Heaven" for the 1985 film The Last Dragon. For the 1988 film Action Jackson, she contributed the songs "Undress", "Faraway Eyes", and "Shotgun". In 1982, she provided backing vocals on the song "Free" for Prince's album 1999 and spoken vocals on "The Walk" for The Time's album What Time Is It?. She also provided backing vocals on the song "Secrets of the Night" for El DeBarge's 1986 self titled album.

Filmography and cultural impact

Vanity's film career, though relatively brief, featured several notable roles in mid 1980s action and thriller genres. Her performances often leveraged her glamorous, sultry public image, though she later sought more substantive parts. Her key film roles demonstrate her transition from music to acting and include her early work credited under her modelling alias, D.D. Winters. These roles began with Terror Train in 1980 and the lead in Tanya's Island the same year. She achieved mainstream recognition with her role in The Last Dragon in 1985, followed by parts in 52 Pick Up and Never Too Young to Die in 1986. Her most prominent film role was in the 1988 action movie Action Jackson, and her final appearance was in the 1993 film Kiss of Death. On television, she made guest appearances on popular series including Miami Vice in 1987, Friday the 13th The Series in 1989, and Highlander The Series in 1992. Her cultural impact is defined by her dual legacy as a defining 1980s sex symbol and a later evangelist who publicly rejected that same image. Her story is frequently cited in discussions about the pressures of fame, the perils of addiction, and the potential for radical personal redemption.

• Terror Train (1980), Credited as D.D. Winters
• Tanya's Island (1980), Lead role as Tanya
• The Last Dragon (1985), Role as Angela
• 52 Pick Up (1986), Role as Doreen
• Never Too Young to Die (1986), Role as Danja Deering
• Action Jackson (1988), Role as Sydney Ash
• Kiss of Death (1993), Final film role

Questions about Vanity

What was Vanity's real name?

Vanity's real name was Denise Katherine Matthews. She was born on January 4, 1959, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. She used the stage name Vanity during her music and acting career in the 1980s. After a religious conversion in 1992, she renounced the Vanity persona and returned to using her birth name for the remainder of her life.

How did Vanity die?

Vanity, born Denise Matthews, died of kidney failure on February 15, 2016, at age 57 in Fremont, California. Her kidney problems were a direct result of a severe cocaine addiction that spanned a decade. She had undergone a kidney transplant in 1997 and required daily dialysis for years prior to her death. In 2015, she was further diagnosed with encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis, a complication from long term dialysis.

What was Vanity's connection to Prince?

Prince discovered Denise Matthews in 1982 and created the girl group Vanity 6 for her to front. He gave her the stage name Vanity and produced the group's only album. They were also romantically involved for about a year, and she lived with him in Minneapolis. Matthews left the group and her role in Prince's film Purple Rain in 1983 to pursue a solo career, but they remained in contact, and he was notified during her health crisis in 1994.

What movies did Vanity star in?

Vanity starred in several films during the 1980s. Her mainstream debut was in the 1985 martial arts film The Last Dragon. She followed this with roles in the 1986 neo noir thriller 52 Pick Up and the action film Never Too Young to Die. Her most prominent role was alongside Carl Weathers and Sharon Stone in the 1988 action movie Action Jackson, for which her performance received praise from critic Roger Ebert.

Why did Vanity become a Christian evangelist?

Vanity became a born again Christian in 1992 after actor Sam J. Jones invited her to read the Bible during a lunch break on a film set. She renounced her stage name and her performing career. In 1994, she survived a near fatal kidney failure from a drug overdose, an experience she interpreted as a divine intervention where Jesus told her to abandon her Vanity persona. Upon recovery, she ended her show business career and devoted herself full time to born again Christianity, making speaking engagements at churches worldwide and heading Pure Hearts Ministries in Fremont, California.

What was Vanity 6's biggest hit?

Vanity 6's biggest and most enduring hit was the 1982 single "Nasty Girl". The song achieved international success and defined the group's provocative image, with the members performing in lingerie. It was the standout track from their only album, the self titled Vanity 6. The song's notoriety cemented lead singer Vanity's status as a major sex symbol of the early 1980s music scene.

Sources and further reading

• Vanity (Wikipedia)
• Introducing VANITY And Their Debut Record (theaquarian.com)

Checked by the Yadude Books desk. Last updated 2026-10-29.