Real name: Denise Katrina Smith Also known as: Denise Matthews, Denise Matthews-Smith, D.D. Winters

Born: January 4, 1959 Birthplace: Niagra Falls, Ontario, Canada

Marital Status: Divorced Husband #1: Anthony Smith, married 1995-1997

Was romantically linked to: Adam Ant, Prince, Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue)

The woman who would become famous as the international sex symbol known as Vanity, was born Denise Matthews and was also known as Denise Smith. Denise had a troubled childhood: her mother left the family when she was a child, and Denise says she was raised by an abusive father who would beat her up. When Denise met Prince in the early '80s, he was a rising star and she was an unknown actress and model. They met after Denise had given some lyrics to Prince's manager, who passed her work on to Prince. Prince and Denise began an intense love affair soon after they met. Prince decided to put together an all-girl singing group, with Denise as the star of the group. Prince toyed with idea of calling the group Hookers. It was also rumored that Prince originally wanted Denise's stage name to be Vagina and the group to be called Vagina Sex. But realizing those names would be too controversial, Denise was given the name Vanity and her group was called Vanity 6.

Vanity 6 was never about talent: the group was all about sex appeal. Not surprisingly, Vanity 6's biggest hit was a song called "Nasty Girl." Vanity 6's first and only album was a modest success and it wasn't long before Vanity decided she wanted a solo career. Vanity was scheduled to play the leading lady role in Prince's movie "Purple Rain," but she exited the project. Some reports say she quit, others say she was fired. Not long afterwards, Prince and Vanity split up for good, and Vanity was replaced in the film by Appolonia (real name: Patty Kotero), who was also romantically involved with Prince.

After breaking up with Prince, Vanity released two solo albums, which were minor hits. She also starred in some movies, including "The Last Dragon" and "Action Jackson," none of which were major box office hits. In the late '80s, Vanity started dating Nikki Sixx, bass player for Motley Crue. In the Motley Crue tell-all book "The Dirt," Nikki said he and Vanity often freebased cocaine together and that Vanity would play mind games with him. Although it was reported in the media that Nikki and Vanity were engaged, Nikki now claims they were never officially engaged and that Vanity would only say they were engaged when she was high on cocaine. Vanity cheekily said in interviews that after she married Nikki, she would be Vanity Sixx. But the relationship didn't last and except for the occasional acting role, Vanity's career as an entertainer slowed down significantly.

In the mid-1990s, Vanity became a born-again Christian and said she no longer wanted to be known as Vanity but as Denise. Even after she stopped being Vanity, Denise gave interviews to the media about herself, and in many of the interviews she said she was disgusted by her past in the entertainment business. According to Nikki Sixx in the book "The Dirt," Vanity lost a kidney and had hearing and eyesight problems because of her drug abuse. In a documented TV interview, Denise admitted that she had abused cocaine when she was Vanity and after becoming a born-again Christian, she said she burned or threw away many of her possessions that reminded her of Vanity. In 1995, Denise married pro football player Anthony Smith after a month-long courtship. Denise said in a Jet magazine interview that as soon as she met Anthony, God told her that Anthony was destined to be her husband. But the marriage didn't last and it ended in divorce. She has reportedly vowed to never work in the entertainment industry again, and according to the Internet Movie Database, one of Denise's recent occupations has been as a public relations director for the Genesis Technology Group. Denise, who is now an evangelist who gives sermons around the U.S., has written an autobiography called "Blame It On Vanity," and it will reportedly be published sometime in 2002/3. Her decision to publish her autobiography indicates that Denise hasn't retired from the public eye. Today, Denise remains devoted to Christianity and spends a lot of time in church.

from 80sxchange.com