Vanilla Ice is an American songwriter, rapper, television host, and actor who came into limelight and caught the attention of the general public in the late 80s when he delivered hit songs all through the early 90s. Without being offensive, it is accurate to say that he is someone who rose to fame and fortune quickly, and at the same pace, he lost the relevance of all. After his downfall, he struggled badly to regain the same reputation but again he failed drastically as all his efforts were in vain. Even in his worse time, he tried to attempt suicide but failed, but some of his loved ones and fans are happy that he is still alive. Later, he left music and explored other activities where he reclaimed his lost confidence and make a re-entry in music.
Vanilla Ice’s story is not that sad enough. He made some fantastic songs back in days that are still popular and much loved. Here is everything about Vanilla Ice that you should read. We mentioned details about his kids, family, net worth, body statistics, and more.
Biography
In the year 1967 of October 31st Vanilla Ice was born as Robert Mathew Van Winkle in Texas (Dallas). There is no mention of his father anywhere; his mother’s name is Camila Beth Dickerson. Vanilla Ice took the last name of his, who was with his mother at the time when he came into the world. It can sadly be speculated that right from his birth he experienced a broken home, which affected his life to a great extent. As a child, his stepfather has moved around a lot as he was a car dealer due to which Vanilla Ice grew up between places. He was psychologically and emotionally disturbed with his problematic background and many problems which were evident in his poor academic performance. Before graduating from the R.L Turner High School in Texas (Carrolton), he dropped off. When Vanilla Ice did not excel in his academics, so he tried his luck in music and succeeded.
He knew the rap, exceptional in poetry as well as a good dancer. Once he mentioned in his statement that as a child, he was greatly influenced by hip-hop. As he said, “It was a passionate thing for me as I love poetry. , and it molded me into who I am today.”
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By the time he reached in his teens, Robert aka Vanilla Ice had perfected his moves in breakdance which made him famous among his friends which were mostly black. They also nicknamed as “ice” as he knew how to perform the ice move without any flaw. And he received the nickname “vanilla” because he was the only white in his friend circle. Hence, his stage name “Vanilla Ice” was invented.
Vanilla Ice Music Career
Initially, Vanilla Ice was perfect and excelled in his dance movies as tend to beat anyone who challenges him. With his dance troupe, he became frequent in Dallas Night Club where he regarded as V.I.P. or Vanilla Ice Pose. Then one night he caught the attention of Tommy Quon owner of City Lights nightclub who made an offer to him of performing every night in his club. This was exciting, especially for Vanilla Ice as he started getting much-deserved attention for his talents and with City Lights night club, he got the perfect platform to showcase his talents.
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When he started performing in the club, he also began writing songs, and by the year 1989, his first album with “Ice-Ice Baby” song was released which became a sensational hit. Back them on most radio stations it was frequently played the song. The success of this song and his first album led to more significant assignments like signing a contract with S.B.K. Records. The same year, he released Funky Music, s single play that again added stars in her music career, and success followed him.
Downfall in Music
When he became successful, then a lot of people started asking questions about his family and background. Such details he never disclosed before in public at that time. It was said that S.B.K. records cooked up some stories about his experience and give me an ideal representation of a normal jolly childhood and how he entered the career of music. They also venture into many things where people like to read about the rising music star. However, Vanilla Sky did not know all about this. Later, he said things all different in one of the interviews which was contradictory from the biography which his fans read.
This discrepancy in his biography leads to the creation of untrustworthiness among his fans, including loyalist fans who started finding flaws in his lyrics. He was accused of making songs that do not hold any creativity and lacks originality. His words then said are inspired by the American-African music style.
Vanilla Sky tried his best to get his music career back, but with each attempt he made, he sank deeper into the oblivion state. In the year 1994 his Mind Blowin Single was not that hit to resurrect his career in music, and the same year in July he tried to take his life with a drug overdose. At that time, he had a near-death experience and was close to dying, but luckily, he escapes that tragedy, and that is why we still have him today.
When he got sober and better, he eventually decided to bury former music star in him named vanilla Sky and wanted to embrace his true identity, Robert Matthew Van Winkle.
Van Winkle started with all adventurous and extreme sports. He took the first dive into jet skiing competitively and for once out of all struggle and hustle in music career he enjoyed his time. In Miami Beach, he even opened the “2 The Xtreme” Sports good store. It is good to mention that during his young age he actively participated in motorsports and also said to won two championships in the same.
By entering in the world of sports and leaving behind his old identity, he regained his self-confidence and fell in love with music again. He also emotionally stated that this was my much-needed therapy session in the year 1998. Later in the year 2003 and 2001, he gave us Hot Sex and Bipolar. Then he released an album “Platinum Underground” in the year 2005. Finally, in the year 2008, he released an album called Ice is back: Hip Hop Classics that also featured cover songs by artists like Bob Marley, Cypress Hill, and Public Enemy.
Unfortunately, none of his songs which he released after the comeback stir the Billboards as compared to songs which he wrote and published at the beginning of his career. However, he made his mark, and we all are glad that he regained his confidence and never back down despite the tragic events in his life.
Vanilla Ice Wife & Kids
In the year 1990, he dated the famous singer Madonna for eight months. However, their relationship did not go beyond dating as they never get married or had kids together.
In the year 1995 then he met Laura Giaritta, and they fell in love passionately with each other and decided to walk down the aisle together. In the year 1997, they eventually got married. Since then they are together and have two beautiful daughters named, Keelee Breeze in the year 2000 and Dusti Rain in the year 1998.
In the year 2016, his wife Laura filed for divorce and said that she wants to quit the marriage as it is a broken relationship for her. However, Vanilla tried to talk her out from this decision, but he fell the victim of the same fate that followed him years back in his career breakdown. Finally, they got divorced after 20 years of marriage.
In the year 2017 of May, Vanilla stirred up things by countersuing the divorce case. This fetched much public attention as the public started asking questions about their marriage and divorce. At that time, it was learned that the couple was already separated long before she filed for divorce and they were occasionally dating when they liked.
John T. Christiansen’s lawyer hired by Vanilla wanted to have Ice 50-50 custody of their daughters, and in case his wife Laura is not ready to do so then she has to pay his lawyers fee. The lawyer also disclosed that Vanilla Ice would not provide any alimony to her as she is well-equipped to take care of her living and finances.
As both parties, Laura and Vanilla treated their divorce as a private matter. Hence, no other update was released about their divorce to the general public.
Net Worth of Vanilla Ice
Vanilla Ice’s net worth is $18 million. His fortune and wealth were accumulated during the 1980s and 1990s when his albums and songs top the Billboard.
