Vanity, Prince’s One Time Ingénue, Dies at 57

Vanity, who was born Denise Katrina Matthews – died on Monday after years of battling  kidney failure due to her years of drug abuse which eventually took its toll.

The lead singer of Vanity 6 and former protégé of Prince also contracted an abdominal infection, which led her to set up a GoFundMe page last year where she divulged the seriousness of her condition.

Matthews was born in Canada and spent a good portion of the eighties enjoying the benefits of her exotic good looks, which inevitably caught the attention of Prince who was also cultivating a cult status during that memorable period of excess and exaltation.

She also dabbled into acting, by starring in high thrill flicks like The Last Dragon and Action Jackson.

But her struggle with drug abuse forced Matthews to seek drastic measures to save her life. After almost dying of a drug overdose in 1994 – the singer decided to become a born-again Christian. This shift towards the light was sealed in 1997 when she received a kidney transplant – Matthews saw it as a second chance and became completely immersed in evangelism.

In 2010 – she released her autobiography, Blame It on Vanity. Matthews married Anthony Smith of the Los Angeles Raiders in 1995 but the marriage only lasted a year. She was also linked to Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx.

Her death may have come as a shock to most but for those who were close to her – it was a sad end for a woman who ended up being the victim of the times.