The American rapper Vanilla Ice is a one-hit wonder who rose to fame with his smash hit single ‘Ice Ice Baby’. Born as Robert Matthew Van Winkle, he was nicknamed Vanilla Ice as a teenager. The product of a broken home, he did not even know the identity of his biological father and often moved when his stepfather changed jobs. As a teenager ,he performed poorly in school and dropped out without graduating. The one thing that set this teenager apart from other youngsters from troubled homes was his tremendous musical talent. He loved hip-hop and practiced break dancing, particularly the move known as ‘ice’, which led to his nickname. He gathered his own group of performers, ‘The Vanilla Ice Posse’ and used to perform on the streets and in clubs. Besides music, he had another passion—motor racing, and had won three straight titles at the National Grand Championship. However, he decided not to pursue the sport professionally after suffering an injury, and started working on his music career single-mindedly. He released his debut album ‘Hooked’, later reissued as ‘To the Extreme’, which featured the single ‘Ice Ice Baby’ which became his claim to fame. The album peaked at No.1 on the Billboard 200 and is credited to have popularized hip-hop among the white audiences.
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Also Known As
Robert Matthew Van Winkle
Education
R. L. Turner High School
Awards
1991 - American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist 1991 - American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop New Artist 1991 - People's Choice Award for Best New Song 2011 - The Factual Entertainment Award for Best Home Show
Spouse(s)
Laura Giaritta (m. 1997)
Children
Dusti Rain (born 1998), KeeLee Breeze (born 2000)