DJ Spinderella (born Deidra Muriel Roper, August 3, 1971) is a DJ for Salt-N-Pepa, a popular hip-hop group in the 1980s and 1990s.
Her stage name is derived from the classic fairy tale of Cinderella suggesting that, like Cinderella, she saw her wishes become reality.
Roper met Sandra 'Pepa' Denton and Cheryl 'Salt' James when she was fifteen. The group's original DJ, LaToya Hanson left the group after internal conflicts, and so Roper was recruited to take her place by the group's producer Herbie "LuvBug" Azor . She has likened herself to Jam Master Jay from the famed rap group Run DMC and considers herself to be an integral part of the group's overall success. However, during her time with the group, she admitted to often feeling like a third wheel. Salt has stated that Spinderella thought she was part of the group, but Salt and Pepa felt she was hired.
Spinderella is a radio personality on KKBT 100.3 in Los Angeles, California, cohosting "The BackSpin", a nationally syndicated weekly radio show featuring old school hip-hop. She has also appeared on several episodes of the VH1 reality series The Salt N Pepa Show.
She appeared briefly on VH1's first annual Hip Hop Honors in November 2004 but the group did not perform. All three members did perform on the second Hip Hop Honors on September 22, 2005. This was their first performance since 1999.
She opened her own beauty salon in 1997, the same year that Salt-N-Pepa released their final album. During this period she would sometimes state that she was working on a solo album titled Spinderella's Ball, though it never materialized. She has a daughter, Christy, with former NBA basketball player Kenny Anderson.
Spinderella has also appeared in several films, such as Stay Tuned (1992) and Kazaam (1996).
