Overview (4)

Born October 31, 1967 in Dallas, Texas, USA Birth Name Robert Matthew Van Winkle Nicknames Ice Man

Ice

Iceman

Robbie Height 6' (1.83 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Vanilla Ice was born Robert Matthew Van Winkle on October 31, 1967 in South Dallas, Texas. He was raised by his mother, Camilla Beth (Dickerson). His father left when he was four years old and since then, he has had many stepfathers. He has German and English ancestry on his mother's side.



In his teenage years, Robert was a poor student who got dismal grades and skipped school often. He was 18 when he was in the 10th grade, and dropped out of school. During the late 80s Ice made a living by washing cars. He observed the culture and dancing of some of his peers, and later signed up at a local nightclub as a performer. He was a natural at rapping and dancing and needless to say, the audience loved him. He later got the nickname "Vanilla Ice", because he was white.



In the year of 1989, Ice signed up with SBK records and released his first LP, "Hooked", which contained the single "Play that Funky Music" that was sent to radio stations to play. The single wasn't a huge success, and "Hooked" received poor sales. Later, in 1990, a local DJ decided to turn the "Play that Funky Music" record and play what was on the other side. That single was "Ice Ice Baby", which sampled "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie. Contrary to "Play that Funky Music", "Ice Ice Baby" was a huge success, and radio stations everywhere received requests to play that song. Ice re-released "Hooked" as "To The Extreme", which contained "Ice Ice Baby", and it sold over 15 million copies and holds the record for the highest selling rap record ever.



Vanilla Ice fever was everywhere. Soon there was hundreds of merchandise, such as a Vanilla Ice doll and a board game. Ice was featured on a tour of 'M.C Hammer', which influenced his dress style. Soon, he was wearing baggy jump pants and large, loud jackets with a quote on the back. "Ice Ice Baby" was on the number #1 spot for 16 weeks, and so was "To The Extreme". It was only after the success of "Ice Ice Baby" that Queen and David Bowie received credit for the sample of "Under Pressure". Vanilla Ice joked they were different, because he adding one note in his version. Ice then released "Extremely Live", which contained music from one of his concerts. It sold 500,000 copies and reached Gold status.



Later in 1991, Vanilla Ice decided to get involved in the movie business. He made an appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) and then later scored his first feature film, Cool as Ice (1991). The movie was flop, having spent only three weeks in the box office before dropping out.



Ice spent 2 years taking up motocross under his real name, and completely dropped out from the music world. In 1994, he released another album called "Mind-blowin'" which introduced Ice's new, dread-locked, dope-smoking image. "Mind-blowin'" didn't last long, since SBK records went bankrupt. Ice nearly died of an overdose of drugs, and was revived by one of his friends. He later married, and had two children.



In the next 4 years, Vanilla Ice focused on family life while still playing a couple of shows, mostly overseas or small venues. Then, in 1998, Ice made a comeback with his next album, "Hard To Swallow", his first nu-metal release, produced by Ross Robinson. The album was a far cry from his earlier works, and featured explicit language. There was even a rap-metal version of "Ice Ice Baby", called "Too Cold". Although the album only sold 100,000 copies, it was well-received by fans and made Ice almost respected again. It was followed by "Bi-Polar", "Platinum Underground" and "WTF", which combined nu-metal, rap-rock and hip-hop music with other genres, including country and reggae.



More recently, he has had his biggest mainstream resurgence, hosting the series The Vanilla Ice Project (2010), and recording a debut single with Jedward, "Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)", a mash-up of the two songs. He will also be returning to film in the Adam Sandler comedy That's My Boy (2012). At the 2011 Gathering of the Juggalos, it was announced that Vanilla Ice had signed to Psychopathic Records.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Scarlett Duplantis <shop@happygirl.com>

Spouse (1)

Laura Giarritta (30 March 1997 - 2019) ( divorced) ( 2 children)

Trade Mark (4)

Pop music with emotional lyrics about a boy and a girl



Sex Symbol



His American Trademark Costume with Red White and Blue



Bright blonde Hair with Bright Bold Blue eyes



Trivia (21)

Chosen by People Magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. [1991]



His ex-wife owns a Miami surf-shop called "2 The Xtreme", named after Vanilla Ice's first album.



Owns 20 Yamaha sport bikes, 15 jetskis and a speedboat.





Was sued by Queen and David Bowie for using a part of the popular song "Under Pressure" in his song "Ice Ice Baby". [1990]

Dropped out of R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas.



His 1991 hit "Ice Ice Baby" is the first rap single to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.



A former Florida state motocross champion.



Daughter Dusti Rain, born in 1998.



Daughter KeeLee Breeze, born 2000.



In 1998, he played a free concert in Birmingham, Alabama to promote a thrash metal version of "Ice Ice Baby". During the show he threw copies of his album into the audience and the audience responded by throwing them back.



First white rapper to win a platinum record.



His great-great-grandfather John Richard Van Winkle was a CSA military from Arkansas and was a descendant of Jacob Walichs of XVIIth century Holland.



Son of William Basil Van Winkle and wife Camilla Beth Dickerson.



Before making it big, Vanilla Ice opened up for MC Hammer, NWA, Tone Loc, EPMD, Public Enemy, The DOC, Ice-T, Egyptian Lover, Sinbad, Boogie Down Productions, Sir Mix-A-Lot and Paula Abdul.



Was ranked in 1993 as the 6th best Jet Ski racer in the world and had a deal with Kawasaki.



Wrote the first draft of "Ice Ice Baby" in 15 minutes when he was age 16.



In 1987, Ice was stabbed four times during a fight outside of a South Dallas nightclub and had to spend ten days in the hospital.



Has made millions renovating and selling houses.



Released a new album named "Platinum Underground". [August 2005]



He is mentioned in The Offspring's "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy.").



In his childhood town of Carrollton Texas, there is a street named after him.



Personal Quotes (3)

When 'Ice Ice Baby' was selling a million records a day I bought several properties: a home next to Michael J. Fox in L.A., a palace in Miami and a mountain cabin in Utah. Then, a few years later, I took a break from touring, saw that my properties had cobwebs, so I sold them, and - to my surprise - I made a huge profit!



It took me a while and a lot of hard times to figure out my purpose, I am so happy with my life. I just want to help make other people happy too.



Learn from my mistakes and you don't have to make them yourself.



Salary (1)