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Apollonia Kotero

Apollonia Kotero has built a career where acting, music and modeling regularly overlap. Born on August 2, 1959, in Santa Monica, she began pursuing modeling as a teenager before moving into film and television. Early appearances included CHiPs, Tales of the Gold Monkey, Fantasy Island, Matt Houston and Knight Rider, along with Eddie Money’s 1982 music video for “Shakin’.” Her defining screen opportunity arrived when she landed the female lead in Prince’s 1984 film Purple Rain. Kotero also became part of Apollonia 6, the group renamed from Vanity 6 for the film, alongside Brenda Bennett and Susan Moonsie. The group toured internationally behind “Sex Shooter,” while Kotero’s vocals were featured on Prince’s “Take Me with U,” which reached number 25 on the Billboard Top 40 in the United States. It was a rare role that asked her to operate as actor, singer and on-screen performer at once, bringing the different sides of her career together. After leaving Prince’s camp in 1985, Kotero joined Falcon Crest as Apollonia, the girlfriend of Lorenzo Lamas’s character. She also performed songs on the series, including “Red Light Romeo,” and later released her self-titled first solo album, which produced the singles “Since I Fell for You,” “The Same Dream” and “Mismatch.” Her subsequent film work included Ministry of Vengeance, Back to Back, Black Magic Woman, La Donna di una Sera and Cattive Ragazze. She later returned to television with appearances on Sliders and Air America and hosted The Jazz Channel’s Latin Beat program. Kotero continued working beyond acting and recording, forming Kotero Entertainment in 2005. In 2022, she and Seth Neblett launched the YouTube podcast Apollonia Studio 6, extending a career that has consistently moved between movies, television, music and independent creative projects.