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Kimora Lee Simmons Profile |
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Birth Date: May 4, 1975
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Birth Place: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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Birth Name: Kimora Lee Perkins
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Height: 6'0"
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Kimora Lee Simmons Wallpaper |
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Biography |
Kimora Lee was born on May 3, 1975, in St. Louis, Missouri,
the daughter of a Japanese mother and an African-American
father. The young Kimora was unusually tall as a child,
having reached the height of 5'10" by her 11th birthday. Her
early growth spurt, coupled with her exotic looks, allowed
Kimora to begin modeling in her early teens. At age 13, she
was selected by one of the world's top fashion designers and
impresarios, Karl Lagerfeld, to model his Chanel collection.
By the age of 14, Kimora was a thoroughly successful fashion
model, strutting the catwalks in Paris. Because of her
uncommon look, Lagerfeld dubbed her "the face of the 21st
century." In addition to her work for Lagerfeld, the teenage
model also became a favorite of other top designers like
Yves Saint Laurent and Patrick Kelly.
Hip-hop mogul and entrepreneur Russell Simmons first laid
eyes on Kimora while she walked the runway at a Mary
McFadden fashion show in the early '90s. At that time,
Kimora was 17; Simmons, 18 years her senior. They remained
in contact over the next few years, and the relationship
eventually became more serious. Simmons asked for Kimora's
hand in marriage on New Year's Eve 1997, and they began
making preparations to wed on Sean Combs' yacht. These
rushed plans fell through, however, and the couple was
married in December of 1998 in a civil ceremony in New York
City.
Later that month, the newlyweds exchanged vows in a more
romantic ceremony in a stone Angelican house of worship on
the Caribbean island of St. Barthelemy. Kimora's close
friends, models Tyra Banks and Veronica Webb, were
bridesmaids, and Simmons' brother Joseph, also known as
Run-DMC's Reverend Run, performed his first official
marriage ceremony.
The couple's reception was held on a yacht, and their guest
list included the likes of Jon Bon Jovi and Martha Stewart.
The celebrations went on for the next 10 days until the
couple moved on to their honeymoon destination, an exclusive
spa on the isle of St. Maarten.
In 1999, Kimora Lee landed a gig hosting One World Music
Beat, produced by hubby Russell. She made her acting debut
in April of 2001, playing model Shamira in an episode of For
Your Love entitled "The Model Client." In the 2002 hip-hop
focused feature Brown Sugar, Kimora shared screen time with
Taye Diggs, Mos Def and Queen Latifah.
Kimora landed the role of a lifetime when she became head of
Baby Phat clothing, an extension of the Phat Farm empire
that was founded by her husband in 1992. This female
clothing line originated as a guerrilla marketing ploy in
which Simmons distributed baby tees to models such as
Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell. Kimora became
involved in 1999 just as the concept was taking off,
recommending changes to the fit and style of the products.
Simmons passed the growing business off to his wife, and she
was named the company's CEO and creative director in March
of 2002.
With her experience as a model, designer and businesswoman,
Kimora was an obvious choice to join the panel of judges for
the debut season of America's Next Top Model. That same
year, she appeared in the video for Ginuwine's "In Those
Jeans," and shared a Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical
Event, as a co-producer of her husband's Def Poetry Jam.
In July of 2004, Kimora was arrested near her New Jersey
home. The arresting officers claimed that she was stopped
because she was driving erratically and had initially
ignored their flashing lights. She was eventually charged
with careless driving, tailgating, eluding a police officer,
possession of marijuana, operating a vehicle in possession
of a controlled substance, and driving with a burnt
taillight.
Kimora's clothing division branched out into footwear after
teaming up with Vida Shoes in 2004. The Baby Phat Diva
sneaker was launched that summer, the first of a collection
that was to include stilettos, wedges, boots, and baby
shoes. In September of 2004, she became a co-host of Life &
Style on UPN-TV. She made cameo appearances in the 2005
comedy features Beauty Shop, co-starring Queen Latifah and
Alicia Silverstone, and Rebound, starring Martin Lawrence.
Kimora and Russell have two daughters, Ming Lee, born in
2000, and Aoki Lee, in 2002. |
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Other
Information |
Best friend (who also served as maid of honor at Kimora's
wedding) is model/actress Tyra Banks.
Founded the Baby Phat clothing line, featuring sexy urban
fashions for women (Baby Phat is an extension of Phat Farm,
which her husband founded in 1992).
She has two daughters, Ming Lee Simmons (born January 21,
2000) and Aoki Lee Simmons (born in 2002). Both are models
for Baby Phat Clothing.
Daughter-in-law of Daniel Simmons, sister-in-law of Joseph
Simmons.
Kimora is half African-American, one quarter Korean and one
quarter Japanese. Father is African-American and mother is
half Korean, half Japanese.
Is a client to nutritionist-to-the-stars, Oz Garcia.
Cites Red Lobster Restaurants the favorite eatery of her
childhood.
Her mother, Kyoko Perkins, is a former Social Security
Administrator.
Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, other children called her
"Chinky giraffe" because of her height and Asian ethnic
ancestry.
At fifteen, before she had her driver's license, she bought
herself a secondhand BMW drop-top. She got into a car
accident and had to have 40 stitches in her face.
Daughter of Vernon Whitlock Jr., who is black, and his wife,
Joanne Perkins, who is half Korean, half Japanese.
Russell Simmons, whom she later married, sent bouquets of
flowers to her agency to woo her. The bouquets were so large
and heavy that they required two men to move them.
At thirteen, she had an exclusive contract modeling for
Chanel.
She and Karl Lagerfeld's three other fashion models
Bernadette Jurkowski, Shoshanna Fitzgerald and Olga
Sobolewska were dubbed "the four Karlettes".
Once Karl Lagerfeld had transformed her into one of the
world's top fashion models, he resented her attitude and
called her a "$5,000-tote-bag-wearing monster."
She bought much of the artwork and furniture from Gianni
Versace's estate after his murder.
Although she is friends with model Devon Aoki and hired her
for a Baby Phat ad campaign, she denies that her daughter
Aoki is named after the model.
Janice Dickinson wrote of a rivalry between herself and
Kimora when they both were on "America's Next Top Model"
(2003) in her book, "Everything about Me is Fake and I'm
Perfect". Dickinson admits that she criticized Kimora's fake
hair and nails, but says that she would have been much nicer
if Kimora had shown up on time for filming.
She has an annual income of £ 9,400,000.
Tyra Banks is the godmother of her daughter Ming Lee |
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