Diva Muffin Zappa (born July 30, 1979) is an American artist and actress who has also recorded a one-off comedy single. She is the youngest child of musician

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of A ...

and wife

Gail Zappa Adelaide Gail Zappa ( Sloatman; January 1, 1945 – October 7, 2015) was the wife of musician and composer Frank Zappa and the trustee of the Zappa Family Trust. They met in Los Angeles in 1966 and married while she was pregnant with their first ...

Personal life

Diva Zappa was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. She has three older siblings: sister

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

, and brothers Dweezil, and

Ahmet Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

. According to Frank, she was given the name ''Diva'' "because of the loud quality of her voice. She's audible at 300 yards." Diva Zappa won an award at age 12 in a poster contest to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect. Diva's father Frank died in 1993. Following the death of her mother Gail in October 2015, Diva and her brother Ahmet were awarded control of the Zappa Family Trust with shares of 30% each, while Moon and Dweezil were given smaller shares of 20% each. As beneficiaries only, Moon and Dweezil will not receive distributions from the trust until it is profitable per the trust agreement; in 2016, it was still in debt and they must seek permission from Ahmet, the trustee, to earn money with their father's music or from merchandise bearing his name. The uneven divide of the trust has resulted in several conflicts between Zappa's children, including a feud between Dweezil and Ahmet over Dweezil's use of his father's music in live performances. In a 2016 interview with the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', Diva Zappa said her primary role in the trust is to be present when her father's work is highlighted.

Career

Diva Zappa's first film appearance was in the 1998 film '' Anarchy TV'', along with her older siblings. Since then, she has also appeared in '' Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror'' (1998), ''

National Lampoon's Pledge This! ''National Lampoon's Pledge This!'' is a 2006 American comedy film starring Paris Hilton, who also served as an executive producer. The film was released straight to video. Plot When a dorm toilet explodes on the first day back to school, a gr ...

'' (2006), as well as various TV shows including '' Felicity'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', and ''

The Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six-episode radio series, it has since spanned a total of 20 television episodes for BBC Three which a ...

''. In 1999, Diva released a comedy single called "When the Ball Drops" about her "hunt for someone to make out with on the

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

Tipper Gore Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore (née Aitcheson; born August 19, 1948) is an American social issues advocate, activist, photographer and author who was the second lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She was married to Al Gore, the 45th vi ...

played drums on the recording and Kristin Gore sang backup vocals. Since 2002, Diva has run her own website/business called "Hand Made Beauty" where she sells her own self-designed and made clothing. The clothing is primarily

knit Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat o ...

ted or

crochet Crochet (; ) is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term ''crochet'', meaning 'hook'. Hooks can be made from a variety of m ...

ed, and consists of hats, ponchos and skirts. A percentage of all sales are donated to the Creative Visions Foundation. She was initially taught how to knit by actress

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career s ...

. She does not plan her work, preferring instead to work in a spontaneous manner. In 2011, Zappa had her first UK show of "contemporary knitwear art and couture canvases" with an exhibition titled "Bruce" at the

Maison Bertaux Maison Bertaux is a French pâtisserie in Greek Street, Soho, London. The shop began in 1871, making it the oldest pâtisserie in London. Maison Bertaux Maison Bertaux was founded in 1871 by a French communard from Paris named Monsieur Be ...

Gallery in Soho. The exhibition featured an embroidered photograph of her brother Dweezil playing guitar. A full-length dress Diva knitted was worn to the

2009 Grammy Awards The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the ...

by Chloé Trujillo, the wife of

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instru ...

bassist

Robert Trujillo Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician, best known as the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash ban ...

. She also made a cape for

Diablo Cody Brook Maurio (''née'' Busey; born June 14, 1978), known professionally by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, '' Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unl ...

. On October 29, 2013, she appeared in the UK premiere of her late father's orchestral work ''

200 Motels ''200 Motels'' is a 1971 surrealist musical film written and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer, and featuring music by Zappa. An international co-production of United States and the United Kingdom, the film stars the Mothers of Invention, ...

'' at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

, London, playing the role of Groupie 2 (Lucy). She can be seen in season two of the NBC show '' Good Girls'' as a midwife.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Hand Made Beauty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zappa, Diva 1979 births American film actresses American textile artists American businesspeople in retailing Living people 21st-century American businesspeople American television actresses American fashion designers American fashion businesspeople American artists of Arab descent American people of Italian descent American people of Greek descent American people of Danish descent American people of French descent American people of Portuguese descent Women textile artists Businesspeople from Los Angeles 21st-century American businesswomen American women fashion designers Zappa family