Cat Glover, Prince‘s longtime dancer and choreographer, has died. She was 60.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, news of Glover’s death was shared via her official Facebook page in a brief message:
“It’s with great sadness that we formally announce the passing of Catherine Vernice Glover- AKA ‘Cat.’ Please allow her children, family and friends privacy at this difficult time.”
Glover, also a singer, started working with Prince in the late 1980s, collaborating with the legendary artist on several albums, including Sign o’ the Times and Lovesexy and several music videos for the projects. She’s best known for rapping on Prince’s hit “Alphabet St.”
Glover started dancing at 5 and earned her big break after appearing on the talent show Star Search as a dancer. She performed on the show as part of the duo Pat and Cat, which included Patrick Allen. Glover stole hearts and won seven of the eight times the duo appeared on the show. Unfortunately, despite their perfect scores, they lost the finals and their chance at the $100,000 prize.
But Glover’s star was still rising, and David Bowie soon took notice. He called her and asked to work with her, but she had her mind set on working with another major pop star who was interested in her extraordinary abilities: Prince. She’d always wanted to work with the “Kiss” singer and joined his band in 1986.
She quit the band in 1989 with hopes of pursuing a solo career. She released an EP, Catwoman, that year. That was her sole music project.
Glover spent the rest of her career focused on dance and choreography. She reunited with Prince in 1994 for The Black Album, which saw Glover rapping on “Cindy C.”
A cause of death has not been released.