Think you know absolutely everything about Prince? Think again.
When the bright purple stage lights went down, the giant crowds went home. But behind the famous purple outfits and the wild guitar solos was a deeply fascinating, quiet man. He had a beautiful, private life filled with amazing hidden talents.
What was the King of Funk actually like off the stage?
FULL BIOGRAPHY of PRINCE | Childhood, music career, last years of life | Documentary
Fans always wondered who was waiting for him at home. Prince lived in a massive, beautiful sanctuary in Minnesota called Paisley Park. He kept his private world heavily guarded. He did not have a traditional, noisy family waiting at the dinner table.
Instead, he built a beautiful “chosen family.”
His home was always filled with his closest bandmates and trusted friends. He also had two beloved, famous pet doves named Majesty and Divinity waiting for him. Inside those walls, he was not just a global superstar. He was a warm, funny, and incredibly relatable guy who loved to host late-night parties.
And he had some highly unexpected hobbies.
We Took a Tour of Prince’s Home Before Coronavirus Shut it Down
Here are the amazing, secret talents that made Prince a true renaissance man:
- The Basketball Star: He was only 5’2″, but he was a giant on the court. The wild rumors are 100% true. He was a highly skilled point guard in high school. He was fiercely competitive, talked a lot of trash, and sometimes even played in his high heels.
- The Ping Pong Champion: He was an aggressive table tennis player. He once challenged Jimmy Fallon to a match and smashed a perfect winning shot, dropped his paddle, and walked right out the door like a boss.
- The Midnight Skater: His biggest hidden obsession was roller skating. He would rent-out entire skating rinks at 3:00 AM. He owned custom skates with wheels that lit up in the dark and he glided across the floor like pure magic.
- The Omelet Master: Was he a master chef? Not exactly. But he admitted on national television that he could cook one perfect dish: omelets. He used lots of butter and loved to feed his late-night guests.
- The Fashion Artist: People thought he painted on canvas, but his true visual art was fashion. He kept giant binders full of his own hand drawn sketches. He dreamed up and designed every single one of his famous, iconic outfits.
- The One-Man Band: His very first album claimed he played 27 different instruments! That was partly a clever marketing trick (they counted every tiny bell and whistle). But the real truth is still totally mind-blowing. He could flawlessly play the guitar, bass, piano, and drums completely by himself.
You can be a global superstar. You can wear wild clothes and completely change music history. But at the very end of the day, true happiness is just making late-night omelets, roller skating with your friends, and enjoying the simple, quiet games in life.