Susan Moonsie-Mohan (born January 21, 1964) is a

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

ian-born American singer. She is best known as a member of the 1980s musical groups Vanity 6 and

Apollonia 6 Apollonia 6 was a 1980s American female singing trio. Origin Apollonia 6 was created by recording artist Prince, who had also created the group Vanity 6 one year prior in 1982, but the groups did not exist simultaneously. After a number of dis ...

that were associated with recording artist

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

Life and career

Susan Vashtie Moonsie was born in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

on January 21, 1964, the daughter of a conservative school teacher. She grew up in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

, where she met Prince at a local

discotheque A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gene ...

when she was sixteen in 1980. In 1981, he formed a

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

that would be called "The Hookers" with Moonsie and her sister Loreen along with Cavallo, Ruffalo & Fargnoli employee Jamie Shoop. Then in 1982, Moonsie became a member of Vanity 6 along with set designer Roy Bennett's wife Brenda Bennett and lead singer

Vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic ...

. Moonsie was given a "teenage

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Hum ...

" image by Prince for shock value—Susan claimed she was only 16 years old at the time, although she was 18 years old when the group was formed. The group had a hit on the US R&B Chart with their single " Nasty Girl." After lead singer Vanity's departure in 1983, Moonsie and Bennett were joined by Patricia "Apollonia" Kotero, who replaced Vanity in the group. Prince changed the group's name to

and they appeared in the 1984 film '' Purple Rain'', which co-starred Apollonia, and had a minor hit with the song "Sex Shooter" that same year. In the 1980s, Moonsie provided vocals on some of Prince's tracks. Moonsie has lived between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

(in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

) and

since 2000. Married with two children, Moonsie purchased Hardy Park Bistro in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 Unit ...

with her son, Aaron Mohan, in 2020. She has also worked as a real estate broker.

Relationship with Prince

Moonsie had an on-and-off romantic relationship with Prince from about 1980 to 1985. They became very close during his 1980–81 Dirty Mind Tour and she was his main girlfriend until he met Denise "Vanity" Matthews in 1982. Some have stated that Moonsie chose to end her relationship with him around 1983 after he became infatuated with Vanity, and she became good friends with Vanity. Another story suggests that their relationship continued until 1984 when Prince began a close relationship with Susannah Melvoin (the twin sister of

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

guitarist

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

). Prince is believed to have written the song "

When Doves Cry "When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain''. According to the DVD commentary of the film '' Purple Rain'' (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a ...

" about his relationship with Moonsie. His song " Private Joy" was also reportedly written about her. Moonsie kept in touch with Prince through the years, up until his death in 2016.

In pop culture

Moonsie is mentioned in the lyrics of the

Timex Social Club Timex Social Club is an American R&B group, formed in 1985 and best known for the 1986 hit single " Rumors". History Originally known as the Timex Crew, members included Marcus Thompson (founder), Gregory "Greg B" Thomas, Michael Marshall, C ...

hit song " Rumors". "Did you hear that one about Susan, some say she's just a tease. In a camisole, she's six feet tall. She'll knock you to your knees". This fact was confirmed by Timex Social Club founding member and lyricist Marcus A. Thompson.

Life and career

Relationship with Prince

In pop culture

References

Further reading