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Denise ‘Vanity’ Matthews Dead: Vanity 6 Lead Singer Dies At Age 57

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Vanity (born Denise Katrina Matthews), the lead singer of the girl group Vanity 6, died in Fremont, California on Monday. CNN reports that the former star’s death was confirmed by Gisela Hernandez from Washington Hospital Health Care System, who did not disclose the circumstances under which Matthews died.

The singer was discovered by Prince, who first noticed Matthews at the start of her career as a model. Prince also later assembled the singing group Vanity 6. In her prime in the mid-1980’s, Matthews had a hit song ‘Nasty Girl’ (released in 1982) with the group. The song was number one on the dance music chart, and made the Top 10 on the R&B list.

Matthews later left the group to start a solo career which included roles in films like The Last Dragon, Action Jackson and 52 Pick-Up. As a solo music artist she had only one hit, the R&B song Under the Influence.

Washington Times reports that Prince had initially suggested that she make her stage name “Vagina.” Matthews allegedly refused and instead decided on Vanity, which she came up with herself. She separated herself from her stage name and from show business in the 1990’s after a scare with crack that left her kidneys permanently damaged. Matthews turned to Christianity and became an Evangelist in an attempt to stay away from the the bad influences of show business, saying she “threw out 1,000 tapes”:

When I came to the Lord Jesus Christ, I threw out about 1,000 tapes of mine — every interview, every tape, every video. Everything.

Fans and friends including Billy Idol and Solange Knowles have expressed their sadness over her passing. Idol tweeted, “I am really sad to hear of Vanity/ Denise Matthews’ passing. I will always treasure our time together. RIP”, while Knowles tweeted, “Rest in Peace Vanity.”

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