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Moon Unit Zappa (born September 28, 1967) is the oldest daughter of late American rock star Frank Zappa and Gail Sloatman; she calls herself 'Moon Zappa'. Apart from the novelty of her unusual name, she first came to public attention at the age of 15, in 1982, as a vocalist on her father's hit single "Valley Girl". The song featured Moon Unit delivering a nonsensical monologue in 'val-speak', a collection of slang terms popular in the San Fernando Valley region of the North American state of California.
"Valley Girl" was Frank Zappa's only top 40 hit in the United States, and popularised phrases such as "Grody to the max", "Gag me with a spoon", and also the word bitchin' as a term of high praise. The song appeared on Zappa's contemporary album Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch, a title which had itself been thought up by Moon Unit, as an explanation for the cryptic line drawing on the album's cover.
Moon Unit was born in New York City. She has three younger siblings, Dweezil, Ahmet, and Diva. In adult life, she has worked as a stand up comic, magazine writer, actress (notably in the sit-com 'Normal Life'), and author of the novel America, the Beautiful, which was published by Touchstone on September 11, 2001, ISBN 0743213831. The novel featured a title character called 'American Throne' and was semi-autobiographical; it was however overshadowed by current events.
Zappa is married to Paul Doucette, who is drummer for the band Matchbox 20. She gave birth to her first child, Mathilda Plum Doucette, on December 21, 2004, a date which would have been her late father's sixty-fourth birthday. Mathilda would also have been Frank Zappa's first grandchild.
Moon Unit is sister-in-law of American pop musician Lisa Loeb, who is married to Moon Unit's half-brother Dweezil Zappa.
Cultural References
In Austin Powers, a base on the moon is called 'Moon Unit Zappa'.
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