Apollonia Kotero

Kotero had taken part in a nationwide audition to find a replacement for Vanity before being cast by Prince in the role that had originally been given to Vanity. It was at this time that Prince gave Kotero the stage name, Apollonia, and she also inherited Vanity's former lead role in Prince's girl group, with original members Brenda Bennett and Susan Moonsie. Purple Rain eventually became a huge success and Apollonia attained overnight stardom.

The newly renamed Apollonia 6 released one album in October 1984, and released the hit single "Sex Shooter." The band became famous for appearing on stage only in lingerie. Although the album is credited to producer Jamie Starr, it was produced by Prince himself.

Apollonia had originally recorded a version of the song "Manic Monday" for the 1984 Apollonia 6 album. Written by Prince, the song would later become a worldwide hit single for the girl group The Bangles. It was rumored that Prince had lost interest in the Apollonia 6 project, and therefore removed several potential hit singles from their album shortly before its release: "Manic Monday," "The Glamorous Life" (which instead ended up on the debut album of drummer Sheila E), and "Take Me With U" (the duet Apollonia performed with Prince, which ended up on the Purple Rain soundtrack album). "Take Me With U" is Apollonia's highest charting single, reaching #25 on the Top 40 chart in the U.S..

Apollonia left the Prince camp in 1985 to pursue a role on television in Falcon Crest (1986). She was allowed to appear under her own stage name, Apollonia, and also performed several solo songs, none of which would be released (one of the songs, which was often played and referred to on the show was a title called "Red Light Romeo," which was written by U.S. songwriter Jon Lind who had penned the U.S. #1 hit, "Crazy For You," for Madonna). Kotero stayed on the show for 10 consecutive weeks, playing the girlfriend of teenage heartthrob Lorenzo Lamas.

In 1988, she released her first solo album, simply titled Apollonia, on Warner Bros. Records. Containing high energy dance music, three singles were released from the album: "Since I Fell For You," "The Same Dream," and "Mismatch." It was produced by several hit producers, such as Ric Wake (Taylor Dayne, Diana Ross), Terry Lupton (Michael Learns to Rock, Jamie Stevens), or songwriter Andy Goldmark (Jennifer Rush).

Apollonia starred in three straight-to-video movies: Back To Back, Black Magic Woman, and Ministry of Vengeance.

Shortly after these films and the release of her debut album, she retired for nearly five years. She married General Hospital actor Kevin Bernhardt. She was also married to Greg Patchal before Purple Rain.

In the mid-1990s, she slowly returned to show business and did guest appearances on the U.S. TV shows Sliders (with Jerry O'Connell) and Air America (starring Lorenzo Lamas, with whom she had previously starred together in Falcon Crest in 1986).

More recently, Kanye West's 2007 hit song "Stronger," used her name in the lyrics, and on December 1, 2007, she appeared at a Project Angel Food charity event in Beverly Hills, CA.