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  • Denise Matthews, Lead Singer of Vanity 6, Dies at 57

    Denise Matthews, best known by her stage name Vanity, lead singer of the 1980s band Vanity 6, died Monday in a Fremont, California hospital, from kidney failure and an abdominal illness. She was 57.

    Once involved in a romance with legendary singer/songwriter Prince, he helped Denise Matthews on her road to stardom.

    Vanity 6’s biggest hit came in 1982. “Nasty Girl” made it all the way to number one on the Billboard dance charts.

    Denise Matthews disbanded Vanity 6 in 1984 and signed as a solo artist with Motown Records. She released two records, “Wild Animal” and “Skin on Skin.”

    After making her records she tried her hand at acting, starring opposite John Stamos in Never Too Young to Die.

    Denise Matthews was linked in the 1990s to rocker boyfriends including Billy Idol, Adam Ant, and Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx. It was during that time she also developed an addiction to crack cocaine. Her addiction nearly cost her her life in 1994 when her kidneys nearly failed. She later said Jesus Christ appeared to her during that period of time, and she gave up her Vanity persona in order to follow him, at his supposed bidding.

    MC Hammer noted via social media that Denise Matthews was a devout Christian up to the moment of her passing.

    Denise Matthews spent the remainder of her life sober and as a devoted practicing Christian. She developed serious medical problems in recent years because of the drug abuse from her past.

    Were you a Vanity 6 fan in the 1980s? If so, you no doubt recall Denise Matthews in her music persona as Vanity. How sad she has lost her life at such a young age.

  • Denise Matthews A.K.A ‘Vanity’ Dies Of Kidney Failure, Singer Had Prior Addiction To Crack Cocaine

    Singer and actress Denise Matthews, who was known by the stage name “Vanity,” has died of kidney failure at the age of 57.

    According to her GoFundMe page, Matthews had been diagnosed with sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis or SEP, an inflammation of the small intestines, and died at a hospital in Fremont, California. The singer also underwent dialysis in 1994, when her addiction to crack cocaine led to renal failure.

    “So pray for me now for I am believing in complete healing of this body longing to be healed made whole my heart,” Denise Matthews wrote on GoFundMe four months before her passing. “I have my vision, i keep it close. I repent daily my sins, my faults and my shortcomings. He has brought me out of so many fires, oh so many, 23 years alive after the doctors pronounced i would be dead way back then 1992…”

    Denise Matthews began her career in the entertainment industry as a model when she was 17 years old. She met Prince at the American Music Awards in 1980 and soon after became his protégé. Matthews became the lead singer of the girl group Vanity 6, and popularized the dance floor hit “Nasty Girl.”

    Denise “Vanity” Matthews And Vanity 6 Sang This Hit in 1982

    When the group disbanded in 1983, Vanity tried to launch a solo career and appeared in several films. During those years, she developed an addiction to crack cocaine, which led to a drug overdose. She almost died of renal failure in 1994 but was able to recover, and later on claimed that Jesus Christ appeared to her and offered her a second chance at life. Matthews then renounced her sexy Vanity persona and became a born again Christian. She spent the last decades of her life as a Christian evangelist.

    Denise Matthews Shares her Journey to Christianity

    Friends from the entertainment industry paid tribute to Denise Matthews on social media.