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Ingrid Julia Chavez, born 1965 in Atlanta, Georgia, is a Mexican-American poet, vocalist, songwriter and photographer.
After moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1986, she auditioned for a number of bands, made the rounds of the Minneapolis music scene, and paid her bills working in a coffee shop. It was around this time she met Prince.
Prince, impressed by one of Chavez' demo tapes, took her under his wing in 1987. She was known as The Spirit Child on his 1988 album Lovesexy, and she starred as his romantic interest, Aura, in his 1990 film Graffiti Bridge.
In 1989, she collaborated with Richard Werbowenko on a handful of electronic music compositions that were released only on a demo cassette.
Chavez's debut solo album, titled May 19, 1992 (actually released in 1991; the title is the first anniversary of the date the cover art was photographed), was initially intended to set her spoken-word poetry to music supplied by Prince. It was recorded in bits and pieces from late 1987 to mid-1991. When Warner Bros. pushed for the album to have sung vocals in place of the spoken word, Prince abandoned the project. Five of the album's tracks ended up as spoken word with atmospheric music by Prince under his Paisley Park alias, and the remainder were relatively poppy tracks with sung vocals, co-produced by Ingrid with Prince's studio hands Michael Koppelman and Levi Seacer, Jr.. The singles "Hippy Blood", "Heaven Must Be Near", and "Elephant Box" were released as singles (along with club remixes).
Chavez also wrote the bulk of Madonna's sultry 1990 hit "Justify My Love" with musician Lenny Kravitz, and received a large out-of-court settlement for not being credited on that single's initial release.
In 1992, not long after recording vocals with David Sylvian for the songs "Heartbeat (Tainai Kaiki II)--Returning to the Womb" and "Cloud #9" on Ryuichi Sakamoto's 1991 album Heartbeat, Chavez married Sylvian, and over the years contributed her trademark breathy vocals to a number of her baritone-voiced husband's releases.
During the mid-1990s, Chavez worked with Sylvian and Werbowenko on a second solo album titled Little Girls With 99 Lives. Chavez and Sylvian sent out demos to record labels and close friends, yet could not strike up interest in a deal. The album would have included tracks entitled "Lighthouse", "Snowfall", "Whose Trip Is This?", "Starred And Dreaming", "Kall/Les Fleurs Du Mal", and "Remembering Julia"â??the latter four of which can be found as b-sides on the 2-CD UK single of David Sylvian's "I Surrender".
Chavez has a son, Tinondre, born circa 1984, who reportedly lived in Atlanta for a time. She also has two younger daughters, Ameera and Isobel, with Sylvian.
After living in Atlanta, Albuquerque, and Minneapolis, she was last known to reside with Sylvian in New Hampshire, along with all three of her children. However, the couple announced their intention to divorce in 2005.
Ingrid Chavez should not be confused with Miami nightclub owner Ingrid Casares, a longtime friend of Madonna.
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