Diva Zappa is an American artist and actress who has also recorded a one-off comedy single. She is the youngest child of musician

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

and wife Gail Zappa.

Personal life

Diva Zappa has three older siblings: sister

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

and brothers Dweezil and

Ahmet Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English language, English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root (Ḥ-M-D, ḥ-m-d), f ...

. According to Frank, she was given the name ''Diva'' "because of the loud quality of her voice. She's audible at 300 yards." Zappa won an award at age 12 in a poster contest to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect. Zappa's father Frank died in 1993. Following the death of her mother Gail in October 2015, Zappa 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. 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. The uneven divide of the trust has resulted in several conflicts between Frank Zappa's children, including a feud between Dweezil and Ahmet over Dweezil's use of his father's music in live performances. In a 2016 interview with the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', Zappa said her primary role in the trust is to be present when her father's work is highlighted.

Career

In 1999, Zappa released a comedy single called "When the Ball Drops" about her "hunt for someone to make out with on the

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

Tipper Gore Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore (née Aitcheson; born August 19, 1948) is an American social issues advocate. She was the second lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 through her marriage to the 45th vice president, Al Gore in 1970, from who ...

played drums on the recording and

Kristin Gore Kristin Carlson Gore (born June 5, 1977) is an American author, screenwriter, and director. She is the second daughter of former U.S. vice president Al Gore and advocate Tipper Gore (née Aitcheson). Early life Gore was born in Carthage, Te ...

sang backup vocals. Since 2002, Zappa has run her own website/business called "Hand Made Beauty" where she sells her own self-designed and made clothing. The clothing is primarily

knit Knitting is a method for production of textile fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: ...

ted or

crochet Crochet (; ) is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread (yarn), thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term ''crochet'', which means 'hook'. Hooks can be made ...

ed, and consists of hats, ponchos and skirts. A percentage of all sales are donated to the Creative Visions Foundation. She was initially taught how to knit by actress

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth "Laurie" Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress and comedian. Known for her complex and versatile roles across the stage and screen, she has received various accolades throughout a career spanning more than four d ...

. She does not plan her work, preferring instead to work in a spontaneous manner. 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. The exhibition featured an embroidered photograph of her brother Dweezil playing guitar. A full-length dress Zappa knitted was worn to the 2009 Grammy Awards by Chloé Trujillo, the wife of

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

bassist

Robert Trujillo Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician who has been the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash band ...

. She also made a cape for

Diablo Cody Brook Maurio (previously Busey-Hunt; ''née'' Busey; born June 14, 1978), known professionally by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, ''Candy Girl: A Year ...

. On October 29, 2013, she appeared in the UK premiere of her late father's orchestral work ''

200 Motels ''200 Motels'' is a 1971 surrealist musical film written and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer, and featuring music by Zappa. An international co-production of United States and the United Kingdom, the film stars the Mothers of Invention, ...

'' at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

, London, playing the role of Groupie 2 (Lucy).

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zappa, Diva 1979 births American film actresses American textile artists American businesspeople in retailing Living people 21st-century American businesspeople American television actresses American fashion designers American businesspeople in fashion American artists of West Asian descent American people of Italian descent American people of Greek descent American people of Danish descent American people of French descent American people of Portuguese descent American women textile artists Businesspeople from Los Angeles 21st-century American businesswomen American women fashion designers

Diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...