Prince Protege Vanity Dies At 57

Vanity, a protege of Prince who briefly achieved stardom as the lead singer of the all-girl group Vanity 6, died Monday in a California hospital, the gossip site TMZ reported.

She was 57.

The Canadian-born pop singer and actress had been battling inflammation of her small intestines, the latest in a string of health problems.

Vanity, born Denise Katrina Matthews, had asked fans to help her pay for her treatments through a GoFundMe page as she fought a condition called, sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis. In 1994, a crack cocaine overdose left her kidneys so damaged that she required regular dialysis.

"Boy, it is not fun suffering in this body of weak flesh... but Jesus is straightening out all my crooked places in my heart as I go through this time of pain," the born-again Christian wrote on the GoFundMe page.

It’s a sad ending for an artist who showed so much promise with Vanity 6’s 1982 hit, “Nasty Girl,” produced by Prince.

Vanity 6 accompanied the megastar on his "1999" tour, before Vanity broke out on her own solo career. That may have led to the rift with her mentor that led him to recast a part he had carved out for her in his hit 1984 movie, "Purple Rain," which ultimately went to Apollonia Kotero.

The former model, though, still managed to parlay her looks into a steady string of movies, including "The Last Dragon" (1985), "52 Pick-up" (1986) and "Action Jackson" (1988).

After her 1994 overdose, Matthews left Hollywood and rededicated her life to her local church.

Sources told TMZ that she attended services as recently as Saturday night, when she told her fellow congregants that she was ready to go home.

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