Vanity of Vanities Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ecclesiastes

"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity" is found in Ecclesiastes 1:2. Some modern translations replace vanity with the word "meaningless". The older meaning of vanity referred to the transience of life, especially material possessions.

In Milton's "Paradise Lost" there was a fair in a town called Vanity, which distracted people with all sorts of material possessions.

Answer: Rembrandt

The Vanitas movement was popular in the Netherlands and Flanders in the 16th and 17th centuries. Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) was not only a contemporary, but painted several works in the Vanitas style. Rembrandt is the most noted of the Dutch Masters, and is famed for his portraits, especially large scale works such as "The Night Watch" (1642). Paintings in the Vanitas school focused on death and decay, so wilting plants, dead flowers and skulls were very common motifs.

The Vanitas movement focused mainly on still life painting, although it is also represented in funerary sculpture.

Answer: Nemesis

Narcissus was the most beautiful man alive, and creatures (both male and female) fell in love with him. Echo, a wood nymph, fell in love with Narcissus, but he rejected her. Brokenhearted, she eventually faded into nothingness, her voice the only thing remaining (hence the word "echo"). Nemesis, the Greek goddess of revenge, cursed Narcissus to look at his reflection so obsessively that he forgot everything else and eventually died.

Some versions of the myth have Narcissus committing suicide because he could not communicate with the image in the water. Nike was the goddess of victory. Galatea was also in Ovid's work as a sea nymph. And Metis was one of the Titans, and the first wife of Zeus.

Answer: Demi Moore

Demi Moore was the pioneer when it came to posing on the cover of magazines while naked and pregnant. "More Demi Moore" was shot by Annie Liebovitz, who has shot many magazine covers over her career, and appeared in the August 1991 issue. According to Moore, the picture was originally for her private use, but she actually talked Liebovitz into putting it on the cover. She was pregnant with Scout LaRue Willis, born July 20, 1991.

Monica Belluci posed on the cover of the Italian version of Vanity Fair in a pose similar to Moore back in 2004. Celebrities who have followed Moore's lead include Cindy Crawford ("W" in June 1999), Britney Spears ("Harper's Bazaar" in August 2006) and Jessica Simpson ("Elle" in April 2012).

Answer: Prince

Vanity, born Denise Williams, was discovered by Prince. They dated for a while, and he wrote several songs for her. She was the lead singer of Vanity 6, whose one big hit was "Nasty Girl" in 1982. Vanity also acted in a variety of films and television shows, mostly in the action genre, like "Miami Vice." Williams almost died of a drug overdose in 1994, and the experience led her to embrace religion. Williams rejected her celebrity lifestyle and became a minister.

Answer: Tom Wolfe

Tom Wolfe was one of the founders of the New Journalism movement, starting in the late 1960s. He did not turn to fiction until fairly late in his career. "Bonfire of the Vanities" was released in November 1987. Wolfe is well-known for wearing a white suit.

The book focused on the excesses of New York in the 1980s. In it centered on a Wall Street trader, his mistress, and a cynical journalist. The trader was put on trial for a hit and run accident that the mistress was actually responsible for. Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith and Bruce Willis starred in the 1990 film version.

The original Bonfire of the Vanities was a cultural cleansing, in which possessions were burned in Florence in 1497. It was led by Catholic priest Girolamo Savonarola.

Answer: The Devil's Advocate

"The Devil's Advocate" (1997) featured Pacino as attorney John Milton, although some people called him Satan. He attempted to convince Keanu Reeves to father the ultimate demon child and begin a reign of evil. Pacino first said the line during a classic Pacinoesque rant at Reeves, and he repeated the line at the end of the film.

Answer: Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh was Lockhart. If you doubted how wonderful he was, you just had to ask him and he'd tell you. Lockhart signed on to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, but proved less than capable. By the end of the book (and film) he was in a padded cell.

Branagh was largely responsible for the revival of Shakespeare in Hollywood in the 1990s, following in the footsteps of Laurence Olivier in "Henry V" (1989) and "Hamlet" (1996). He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in November 2012 for his contributions to British cinema.

David Tennant (the Tenth Doctor) was in the "Harry Potter" universe as the evil Barty Crouch, Junior. Ralph Fiennes was Potter's nemesis, Lord Voldemort, in several films. Hugh Grant was originally supposed to play Lockhart, but had to cancel due to scheduling conflicts.

Answer: Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon played Rebecca. She has been acting since 1991, often in romantic comedies. Witherspoon won the Oscar for playing June Carter Cash, the long-suffering wife of Johnny Cash, in "Walk the Line" (2005).

Rebecca Sharp is the anti-heroine of "Vanity Fair." She is beautiful, brilliant and talented, but an amoral, manipulative liar. She uses her wiles to exploit a rich aristocrat. Witherspoon won excellent reviews for her work as Becky, although the film itself received mixed reviews. Some critics liked it, while others felt Mira Nair missed the satirical nature of the novel.

Mira Nair's 2004 film was the first modern feature-length version of the novel; the others were made in the silent era. The BBC has produced "Vanity Fair" as mini-series three times.

Answer: Carly Simon

"You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you". One of the great lines in all of Rock and Roll. Carly Simon wrote the song in 1971 and it was released in November 1972. Simon has dropped hints about the identity of the person she is singing about. There is speculation it was either Warren Beatty or Mick Jagger, although guitarist Daniel Armstrong is another possibility.

Carly Simon was born in 1945. Her first number one was "You're So Vain", and it remains her signature song. Since 1973, she was won numerous awards, including multiple Grammies, an Oscar and a Golden Globe.