Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick (born July 20, 1969),[1] known professionally as Vitamin C,[2] is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress. She began her career as an Ivory soap baby and child actress, appearing in John Waters' film Hairspray (1988), and continued to appear in minor roles in films before starting the alternative rock band Eve's Plum in 1991.
She appeared in the horror film Dracula 2000 (2000), and made cameo appearances in Get Over It (2001) and Scary Movie 2 (2001). She also appeared as a panelist on the spoof talent series The WB's Superstar USA in 2004. She was ranked No. 76 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2001.[3]
In March 2012, Fitzpatrick was appointed as Vice President of Music at Nickelodeon.[4] Since early 2019, Fitzpatrick has served as a music executive for Netflix.[5]
Early life
Fitzpatrick was born in Old Bridge, New Jersey,[6] on July 20, 1969. She is the youngest of three children born to Vita, a legal secretary, and Gerard Fitzpatrick, a communications executive.[7][8] She is of Irish descent.[9] She graduated from Cedar Ridge High School in 1987 (now called Old Bridge High School),[10][11] where she was a classmate of Junot Díaz.[12] During her high school years she was a dancer who danced professionally in several TV ads, and also starred in her high school musical.[13] She later attended New York University, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.[12][13]
Career
Hairspray and Eve's Plum (1987–1998)
Fitzpatrick performing with Eve's Plum in 1997
In 1988, Fitzpatrick made her screen debut under her real name in the John Waters feature film Hairspray as Amber Von Tussle, the bratty on-screen daughter of co-stars Debbie Harry and Sonny Bono.[14]
She made her first musical outing as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Eve's Plum, named after The Brady Bunch actress Eve Plumb, formed in 1991.[15] She formed the band in 1991 with Michael Kotch, whom she met while studying at New York University.[16] A year later the group signed a record deal with Epic Records in 1992, releasing two albums and seven singles between 1993 and 1995.[17]
Vitamin C (1998–2000)
In 1998, Fitzpatrick launched a pop music solo project as "Vitamin C" and signed an album deal with Elektra Records.[7] Released in 1999, her debut solo album Vitamin C peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 29[18] and was certified Platinum by the RIAA.[19] The album's first single, "Smile", peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100[20] and was certified Gold by the RIAA.[21] The second single from the album, "Me, Myself & I", failed to chart. However, the third single "Graduation (Friends Forever)" was more successful, peaking at number 12 on the Top 40 Mainstream Chart and number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100.[22] In Australia, the song peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Charts[23] and was certified Platinum.[24] In the summer of 2000, the song saw a resurgence in popularity in the Republic of Ireland, peaking at number 4 in the country.[25]
In late 2000, Vitamin C released "The Itch", the first single from her second album More. The song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 45.[30] "The Itch" was a much bigger success in Australia where it charted at number 6 on the ARIA Charts[31] and was certified Platinum.[32]More was released on January 31, 2001 and debuted at number 122 on the Billboard 200.[33] "As Long As You're Loving Me" was released as the second single from the album, but failed to chart in the US and led to Vitamin C being dropped from Elektra Records.
In the February 2001 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, Vitamin C was voted as one of the "Fun and Fearless Females" of the year.[34][35] That same year Vitamin C was ranked No. 76 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2001.[3]
In 2006, she assembled a Radio Disney-aimed group of four teenagers named The Truth Squad. Vitamin C wrote and produced a number of song's for the group's debut album, which included a cover of "Graduation (Friends Forever)". The album was released on April 3, 2007, and made a brief appearance on the Top Kid Audio Chart, where it peaked at No. 23.[41] During this time, Vitamin C was reportedly working on two new albums, a children's world-music album and a pop album, neither of which were released.[36][42]
^"Jersey Girl Scores Major Gig For Nickelodeon", WSJO; accessed November 7, 2017. "Colleen grew up just over the Monmouth County border in Old Bridge (the same town that produced Brian O'Halloran – Dante of Clerks and Clerks II fame), graduated from Cedar Ridge High School in 1987, and about a year after her graduation found herself on the big screen playing Amber Von Tussle in the 1988 hit movie Hairspray."
^Benning, Erin. "`Graduation' blues – Vitamin C shares memories of senior year", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 8, 2000.
^Bonin, Liane. "'C' Change". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2009. Her scary yellow and orange dye job has inspired a Mattel Vitamin C doll, a garish shade of Tommy Hilfiger lipstick, and even a question on ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN1-904994-10-5.
Room, Adrian (2010). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (5 ed.). McFarland. ISBN978-0-786-44373-4.
Whitburn, Joel (2009). Joel Whitburn's Music Stars: Brief Bios of Every Recording Artist who Ever Charted. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN978-0-898-20176-5.
