Vanilla Ice

Vanilla Ice

  • Birthday: 1967-10-31
  • Place of birth: Dallas, Texas, USA
  • Also know as: Robert Van Winkle

Biography

Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally by his stage name Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor and television personality. Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, he released his debut album, Hooked, in 1989 through Ichiban Records, before signing a contract with SBK Records, which released a reformatted version of the album in 1990 under the title To the Extreme; which became the fastest-selling hip hop album of all time and contained Ice's best-known hits: "Ice Ice Baby" and a cover of "Play That Funky Music". "Ice Ice Baby" was the first hip hop single to top the Billboard charts and has been credited with helping to diversify hip hop by introducing it to a mainstream audience. In late 1990, Ice began an eight-month relationship with Madonna, and appeared in photographs for her book, Sex. In April 1991, Ice began to film the SBK-produced Cool as Ice, in which he played a leading role. Cool as Ice opened on October 18, 1991, in 393 theaters in the United States, grossing $638,000, ranking at #14 among the week's new releases. Reviews of the film were negative and he received a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star. Although he was successful, he later regretted his business arrangements with SBK, which had paid him to adopt a more commercial appearance and had published fabricated biographical information without his knowledge. Ice attempted suicide with a heroin overdose on July 4, 1994, but was revived by his friends. After being revived, Ice decided that it was time to change his lifestyle. He was inspired to change his musical style and lifestyle. While his later albums haven't charted or featured much radio airplay because of their less mainstream, rock-oriented sound, he has a loyal underground following. His return to music in 1998, Hard to Swallow went gold while his other releases Bi-Polar and Platinum Underground have done well. Uncertain about his future career, Ice studied real estate and started working on the side renovating and selling houses. In late 1995, he set up a recording studio in Miami and joined a grunge band, Pickin Scabz. In 2009, he began hosting The Vanilla Ice Project, a home renovation show in Florida, on DIY Network. In 2011, Ice published a book on the subject, Vanilla Ice Project – Real Estate Guide, on how to succeed in real estate. In June 2011, he filmed a role in the movie That's My Boy, starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg, His sixth studio album, WTF - Wisdom, Tenacity and Focus, was released on August 19, 2011, through Radium Records. While the record featured an array of different styles, like other recent Vanilla Ice albums, it also featured Ice's return to Electronica. In 2016, Vanilla Ice competed on season 23 of Dancing with the Stars. He was partnered with professional dancer Witney Carson. On January 4, 2019, Dave Franco was cast to star as Ice in a biopic chronicling the rapper's life. Description above from the Wikipedia article Vanilla Ice, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography

Cool as Ice

1991

As Johnny

Booking Sounds Video Collection

0000

As Narrator (voice)

Zombie Plane

0000

As Vanilla Ice

American Dream/American Knightmare

2018

As Self (archive footage)

That's My Boy

2012

As Vanilla Ice

Teen Vid II

1991

As Self

Da Hip Hop Witch

2000

As Self

The Bros.

2007

As Self

The Ridiculous 6

2015

As Mark Twain

Big Money Rustlas

2010

As Heckler #3

The Wrong Missy

2020

As Vanilla Ice

The New Guy

2002

As Music Store Employee

Sandy Wexler

2017

As Testimonial

Sex

1992

As

Production

keyboard_arrow_up