'Purple Rain' co-star Apollonia sues Prince estate over use of her name
By Blake Brittain
Aug 19 (Reuters) - Actress, singer and former Prince confidante Patty Kotero, better known as Apollonia, sued the late rock star's estate in California federal court on Tuesday, seeking a court order that she owns the rights to the "Apollonia" name.
Kotero, who starred with Prince in the hit 1984 film "Purple Rain," told the court that his estate improperly claimed ownership of the "Apollonia" trademark in June despite her use of the name for more than 40 years.
Spokespeople for Prince's Minnesota property Paisley Park and record label Sony Music did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint. Kotero's attorney Dan Cislo of Cislo & Thomas said that she "fully expects to prevail in protecting her name."
After appearing as Prince's love interest in "Purple Rain," Kotero was a regular on the television show "Falcon Crest," released a self-titled album and co-wrote the Bangles' hit "Manic Monday" with the rock legend. She said in the lawsuit that she was friends with Prince until he died in 2016 and currently hosts the podcast "Apollonia Studio 6."
"For all of these years neither Prince himself nor anyone on Prince’s behalf demanded that Apollonia cease using the name Apollonia or contended that the name did not belong to her," the lawsuit said.
According to the complaint, Prince's estate applied for a federal "Apollonia" trademark in June for clothing and entertainment services. The estate has also asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel Kotero's Apollonia trademark, alleging it owned the rights to the name based on contracts she signed in 1983 and 1984.
Kotero asked the California court to determine that she owns the "Apollonia" name, arguing that the estate was time-barred from challenging her trademark rights.
The case is Kotero v. Paisley Park Enterprises LLC, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:25-cv-07769.
For Kotero: Dan Cislo and Katherine Bond of Cislo & Thomas
For Prince's estate: Not yet available
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