Before becoming one of the most recognizable faces of rap in the 90s, Robert Matthew Van Winkle spent his childhood between Dallas, South Florida and Texas. He was born on October 31, 1967 - a clarification that is important, since some biographical references also mention 1968. On October 31, 2026, Vanilla Ice turns 59, the Associated Press confirms in its list of birthdays for the week.
As a child, Van Winkle was fascinated by motocross, and in his teens he began breakdancing. It was through dancing that he entered the Dallas club scene, where he attracted the attention of manager Tommy Kwon. It was there that Vanilla Ice's stage image was formed - an artist with blond hair, bright clothes and a style aimed at the general public.
„Ice Ice Baby“ launched him to the top
His first album, Hooked, was released in 1989 by the independent label Ichiban Records. It included the song „Ice Ice Baby“, which initially remained in the shadow of „Play That Funky Music“. After radio stations began playing „Ice Ice Baby“, interest in the artist grew sharply.
The new version of the album, To the Extreme, was released in 1990 and turned Vanilla Ice into an international star. "Ice Ice Baby" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first hip-hop song to top the chart. The song uses a bass line from Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure," and its success helped rap reach audiences who had previously rarely listened to the genre.
To the Extreme spent 16 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 and sold more than 7 million copies. In 1991, Vanilla Ice received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap/Song. for best solo rap performance, but the award went to MC Hammer for “U Can't Touch This“.
The short path from music to television
At the peak of his popularity, Vanilla Ice appeared in the film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Muse“, where he performed “Ninja Rap“. That same year, he played the lead role in Cool as Ice, but the film performed poorly in theaters and failed to repeat the success of his musical debut.
After the decline of interest in pop music in the early 1990s, Van Winkle continued to record and perform, but gradually turned to television and real estate. From 2010 to 2019, he hosted the show The Vanilla Ice Project, in which he renovates and transforms homes.
In an interview with CBS News, he described the ups and downs of his life with the words: “When everything is bad and it hits you all at once, the sun rises again.“ Decades after his biggest hit, Vanilla Ice's name remains associated with the song that first took a hip-hop single to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
Sources: biography.com, cbsnews.com, apnews.com