Vanity Prince Protege Dies at 57

Vanity, lead singer of the '80s girl group Vanity 6, has died after years of battling kidney failure and, more recently, an abdominal illness.

Vanity, whose real name was Denise Katrina Matthews, passed away in a Fremont, CA hospital on Monday ... according to sources close to her family. A few months ago she set up a GoFundMe page, and said she'd been diagnosed with sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis -- an inflammation of the small intestines.

She also battled crack addiction in the '90s, and after a 1994 OD her kidneys were shot. She had to undergo nearly daily dialysis treatments.

tmz