Apollonia – American singer, model, and actress
Apollonia’s real name is Patricia Kotero. She was born on 2 August 1959 in Santa Monica, California. Patricia’s parents emigrated from Mexico. Besides her, they had 4 children. Kotero’s father worked in a restaurant. Her mom was a social worker and assisted with elderly people. At 16, Patricia quit school to work in the modeling business. She became very successful as a model.
At the beginning of 1980’s, Patricia decided to hone her acting skills. She landed secondary roles in such TV series as Tales of the Gold Monkey, Fantasy Island, CHiPs, Matt Houston, and Knight Rider. She also worked on music videos. Kotero appeared in Ray Parker Jr.’s music video for "The Other Woman" and Eddie Money’s "Shakin". In 1984, the artist appeared in the TV show The Mystic Warrior as Wicahpi.
Between 1983 and 1985, Kotero performed with the band Vanity 6, which was later renamed Apollonia 6. That’s when Patricia adopted the pseudonym. The creator and producer of the girl band was Prince. He helped the young women record their debut album Apollonia 6 (1984), which featured such hits as "Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian", "Sex Shooter", "Blue Limousine", "In a Spanish Villa", "A Million Miles (I Love You)", "Some Kind of Lover", and "Ooo She She Wa Wa". After the release of “Sex Shooter”, the band went on a world tour.
