Diva Zappa
- Artist
- businessperson
- actress
- musician
Gail Zappa
Dweezil Zappa (brother)
Ahmet Zappa (brother)
Lala Sloatman (maternal cousin)
Diva Muffin Zappa (born July 30, 1979) is an American artist and actress who has also recorded a one-off comedy single. She is the youngest child of musician Frank Zappa and wife Gail Zappa.
Personal life
Diva Zappa was born in Los Angeles. She has three older siblings: sister Moon and brothers Dweezil and Ahmet.
According to Frank, she was given the name Diva "because of the loud quality of her voice. She's audible at 300 yards."[1] Diva Zappa won an award at age 12 in a poster contest to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect.[2]
Diva's father Frank died in 1993. Following the death of her mother Gail in October 2015, Diva and her brother Ahmet were awarded control of the Zappa Family Trust with shares of 30% each, while Moon and Dweezil were given smaller shares of 20% each.[3] As beneficiaries only, Moon and Dweezil will not receive distributions from the trust until it is profitable per the trust agreement; in 2016, it was still in debt and they must seek permission from Ahmet, the trustee, to earn money with their father's music or from merchandise bearing his name.[3] The uneven divide of the trust has resulted in several conflicts between Zappa's children, including a feud between Dweezil and Ahmet over Dweezil's use of his father's music in live performances.[4] In a 2016 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Diva Zappa said her primary role in the trust is to be present when her father's work is highlighted.[5]
Career
Diva Zappa's first film appearance was in the 1998 film Anarchy TV, along with her older siblings. Since then, she has also appeared in Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998), National Lampoon's Pledge This! (2006), as well as various TV shows including Felicity, Brothers & Sisters, and The Mighty Boosh.
In 1999, Diva released a comedy single called "When the Ball Drops" about her "hunt for someone to make out with on the Millennium".[6] Tipper Gore played drums on the recording[6] and Kristin Gore sang backup vocals.[7]
Since 2002, Diva has run her own website/business called "Hand Made Beauty" where she sells her own self-designed and made clothing.[8] The clothing is primarily knitted or crocheted, and consists of hats, ponchos and skirts.[9] A percentage of all sales are donated to the Creative Visions Foundation.[8] She was initially taught how to knit by actress Laurie Metcalf.[10] She does not plan her work, preferring instead to work in a spontaneous manner.[10] In 2011, Zappa had her first UK show of "contemporary knitwear art and couture canvases" with an exhibition titled "Bruce" at the Maison Bertaux Gallery in Soho.[11] The exhibition featured an embroidered photograph of her brother Dweezil playing guitar.[11]
A full-length dress Diva knitted was worn to the 2009 Grammy Awards by Chloé Trujillo, the wife of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo.[10] She also made a cape for Diablo Cody.[10]
On October 29, 2013, she appeared in the UK premiere of her late father's orchestral work 200 Motels at the Royal Festival Hall, London, playing the role of Groupie 2 (Lucy).[12]
She can be seen in season two of the NBC show Good Girls as a midwife.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Fun Size | Audience Member | |
2022 | Next Exit | Karma |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Anarchy TV | Courtney | |
1999 | Felicity | Student #2 | |
2007 | Brothers & Sisters | Classmate #2 | |
The Mighty Boosh | Astrid | ||
2009 | Make It or Break It | Girl #2 | |
2016 | Roadies | Harvest | |
2017 | Better Things | TBA | |
2019 | Good Girls | Harvest |
References
- ^ Mary Campbell (January 31, 1980). "Zappa still lives in the world of the weird". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
- ^ Gary Libman (April 29, 1992). "The Hardest Words". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b Randall Roberts (24 June 2016). "It's brother and sister against brother and sister in bitter fight over control of Frank Zappa's legacy". www.latimes.com. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
- ^ "Inside the Zappa Family Feud". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
- ^ Roberts, Randall. "Zappa family drama: A look at where Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva are today". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
- ^ a b Staff (December 28, 1999). "Tipper Gore Plays Drums for Diva Zappa". Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
- ^ "Diva Zappa: Two Gores and a Record". Wilmington Morning Star. 1999-12-29. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
- ^ a b "Hand Made Beauty".
- ^ Sarah Taylor (August 10, 2006). "Purl Girl". Women's Wear Daily.
- ^ a b c d Vickie Howell (Spring–Summer 2009). "Knitting Diva". Knit 1. Magazine.
- ^ a b "Diva Zappa's knits are the daughters of invention". The Independent. 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
- ^ "southbankcentre.co.uk". Archived from the original on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
External links
- Diva Zappa at IMDb
- Hand Made Beauty
- v
- t
- e
- Frank Zappa
- Roy Estrada
- Jimmy Carl Black
- Ray Collins
- Don Preston
- Van Dyke Parks
- Henry Vestine
- Jim Guercio
- Steve Mann
- Elliot Ingber
- Jim Sherwood
- Jim Fielder
- Bunk Gardner
- Billy Mundi
- Ian Underwood
- Art Tripp
- Lowell George
- Buzz Gardner
- Aynsley Dunbar
- Mark Volman
- Howard Kaylan
- Jeff Simmons
- George Duke
- Jim Pons
- Bob Harris
- Jean-Luc Ponty
- Tom Fowler
- Ruth Underwood
- Ed Mann
- Bruce Fowler
- Napoleon Murphy Brock
- Chester Thompson
- Terry Bozzio
- Denny Walley
- Ricky Lancelotti
- Norma Jean Bell
- Novi Novog
(1966–1993)
official releases
- Lumpy Gravy (Primordial)
- The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
- Beat the Boots!
- Beat the Boots! II
Compilations |
---|
Birthday Bundle series |
---|
- "Trouble Comin' Every Day"
- "Who Are the Brain Police?"
- "WPLJ"
- "My Guitar"
- "Peaches en Regalia"
- "I'm the Slime"
- "Cosmik Debris"
- "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow"
- "Du Bist Mein Sofa"
- "Find Her Finer"
- "Disco Boy"
- "Dancin' Fool"
- "Bobby Brown"
- "Joe's Garage"
- "I Don't Wanna Get Drafted"
- "You Are What You Is"
- "Valley Girl"
- "Cocaine Decisions"
- "Stairway to Heaven"
compositions
- "Absolutely Free"
- "Advance Romance"
- "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary"
- "America Drinks & Goes Home"
- "Are You Hung Up?"
- "Billy the Mountain"
- "The Black Page"
- "Brown Shoes Don't Make It"
- "Camarillo Brillo"
- "Cheepnis"
- "Duodenum"
- "Father O'Blivion"
- "Help, I'm a Rock"
- "G-Spot Tornado"
- "I Have Been in You"
- "Inca Roads"
- "Jewish Princess"
- "Let's Make the Water Turn Black"
- "A Little Green Rosetta"
- "Memories of El Monte"
- "Montana"
- "Muffin Man"
- "Nanook Rubs It"
- "Plastic People"
- "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet"
- "Rollo"
- "Sleep Dirt"
- "St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast"
- "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance"
- "A Token of My Extreme"
- "The Torture Never Stops"
- "Uncle Remus"
- "Watermelon in Easter Hay"
- "Who Needs the Peace Corps?"
- "Willie the Pimp"
- "Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station"
- 200 Motels
- Baby Snakes
- The Dub Room Special
- Does Humor Belong in Music?
- Video from Hell
- Uncle Meat
- The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels
- The Amazing Mr. Bickford
- Gail Zappa
- Moon Zappa
- Dweezil Zappa
- Ahmet Zappa
- Diva Zappa
- In popular culture
- Zappa Plays Zappa
- Pachygnatha zappa
- Phialella zappai
- Zappa confluentus
- 3834 Zappafrank
- Frankly a Cappella
- King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa
- Zappa's Universe
Category