| Vanity | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Denise Katrina Matthews |
| Also known as | Denise Matthews-Smith, D.D. Winters |
| Born | January 4, 1959 Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Soul, R&B, Funk |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, model, actress |
| Labels | Motown, A&M, Geffen |
| Associated acts | Vanity 6, Prince |
| Website | www.denisematthews.com |
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 former singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and model from the 1980s until the early mid-90s. She was the lead singer for the female trio Vanity 6, which recorded the 1982 R&B hit "Nasty Girl".
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Vanity was born Denise Matthews in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Her mother was of German descent [2] and her father was African Canadian.[1] She is the sister of Canadian model Patricia Matthews. Growing up in Niagara Falls, she came from what she described as a "broken home". Her parents divorced when she was young, and her mother suffered from alcoholism and depression. Matthews' father was 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.
With Diana Ross as an idol, Matthews wanted to become a Hollywood star. She began entering local beauty pageants before moving to Toronto, where she modeled. She won Miss Niagara Hospitality in 1977, and went on to compete for Miss Canada in 1978. At the age of 19, she 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 appeared in ads for Pearl Drops toothpaste, before completing a modeling stint in Japan. As Vanity, she posed twice for Playboy magazine, in May 1985 and again in April 1988. Throughout the 80s to the mid 90s, Vanity appeared in many magazines around the world. Additionally, she was the cover model for the funk/r&b band Cameo's 1982 album Alligator Woman, as well as their 1984 album She's Strange.
In 1982, she met Prince at the American Music Awards,[2] 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. That same year, Prince having learned that she could sing asked her to become the lead singer of the group Vanity 6.[2] They were known for their sexually explicit lyrics, performances, and costumes, with the "6" in their name alluding to the female trio's breasts. 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. Vanity 6 made headlines and gained a following with their provocative performance style during the tour.
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 as bootlegs.
She signed a record deal with Motown Records in 1984 and recorded two solo albums, Wild Animal and Skin On Skin. Extended versions of the single "Pretty Mess" from Wild Animal b/w "Mechanical Emotion" which featured Morris Day, were released as 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 either left or 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 movie soundtrack, including the song "Faraway Eyes", which became one of her most well-known hits. That year Vanity also worked on a third album with two of her peers from her days with Prince, former The Time 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.
In 1980, Matthews had a small role in the horror movie Terror Train, which was filmed in Montreal a year earlier. She then went to Toronto to film the lead role in the B-movie Tanya's Island. At the time of both film roles, she was billed as D.D. Winters. After her music career started, Vanity starred in a number of movies, including The Last Dragon, which featured her underground hit "7th Heaven", in 1986 she starred in Never Too Young to Die opposite John Stamos. The film also featured Gene Simmons. She went on to appear in 52 Pick-Up and 1988's Action Jackson, her highest profile role, in which she starred opposite Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, and Sharon Stone.
From the mid 80s to the early 90s, she also guest starred on numerous TV shows. She played a villain who tortured Nancy Allen's character in the 1990 TV movie Memories of Murder, guest starred in an episode of Miami Vice's third season, and in 1992 appeared in an episode of Highlander: The Series She also appeared in an episode of Friday the 13th:The series in the episode entitled "Mesmer's Bauble".
Vanity liked to paint surrealistic and erotic paintings in her free time. She also personally designed many of her own original outfits that she would wear on stage or at events.
Besides Prince, Vanity was linked romantically to Adam Ant, Billy Idol,[3] In 1987, she stated that she and Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx were engaged (although Sixx denied this claim). She joked that she would become Vanity 6 (Sixx) again. They never married. In Sixx's 2007 autobiography, The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star, he describes his 1987 drug use with Vanity, who was addicted to crack cocaine at the time. In 1995, Vanity married football player Anthony Smith, of the Oakland Raiders.[4] They divorced in 1996. Due to the effects on her kidneys of years of drug use while a performer, she must now undergo peritoneal dialysis five times a day (each session is 20 minutes long).[3]
She lives in Fremont, California.[5]
Vanity gave up her stage name and became a born-again Christian in 1994, the year she almost died from the effects of smoking crack cocaine. She claims that after being rushed to the hospital, doctors said she had three days left to live while on life support. She said that Jesus came to her at this time and spoke to her, saying if she promised to give up her Vanity persona, he would save her. In 1995, she was quoted as saying "When I came to the Lord Jesus Christ, I threw out about 1,000 tapes of mine—every interview, every tape, every video. Everything."[6] She has stated that she has chosen not to receive anymore revenues from her work as Vanity, and has cut off all ties with Hollywood and her former life in the music business.[7] She has expressed embarrassment and shame about what she characterizes as her sinful life as Vanity, including her drug addiction and other lifestyle choices. After a kidney transplant in 1997, she decided to devote her life to evangelism. She now speaks at churches across the United States and overseas.
In 2010, Matthews released her autobiography, Blame It On Vanity.[8]
While the versions with Vanity's vocals remain officially unreleased, all 3 have been leaked extensively to the internet.
| Year | Title | U.S. | U.S. R&B | U.S. dance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "He's So Dull" | — | — | — |
| "Nasty Girl" | 101[9] | 7 | 1[10] | |
| "Drive Me Wild" | — | — | — |
| Year | Title | U.S. | U.S. R&B | U.S. dance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Pretty Mess" | 75[11] | 15 | 13[10] |
| 1985 | "Mechanical Emotion" | 107[9] | 23 | — |
| 1986 | "Under the Influence" | 56[11] | 9 | 6[10] |
| "Animals" | — | — | — | |
| 1988 | "Undress" | — | — | — |
Vanity appeared in 7 released music videos: