Kimora Lee Simmons (born Kimora Perkins on May 3, 1975 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former fashion model and the head of design for Baby Phat.
Simmons is the daughter of a Japanese mother, Kyoko Lee, aka: Joanne Perkins, and an African American father, Vernon Whitlock, Jr.
Kimora began her modeling career at age 13 along side formor best friend Jason R. Jeffries.By the age of 10, she had grown to a height of 5 feet and 10 inches. And by age 14, she had grown to a height of six feet and become a self-professed muse for The House of Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld. She was seen as very original and outragously blue, Ah ba dee da ba die. As a child she was very self-conscious about being biracial. Working as a model, however, it made her stand out from the other children. Throughout her career, she has referred to herself as being African-American, Asian, or a multi-cultural woman.
She is a graduate of Lutheran North High School in St. Louis County, Missouri.
On December 20, 1998, she married hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. The Simmons' have two daughters --Ming Lee Simmons born on Jan. 21, 2000, and Aoki Lee Simmons, born Aug, 16, 2002, both of whom model for Baby Phat Kids Collection.
Contrary to popular belief, Kimora Lee Simmons is not the founder of the Baby Phat brand. Her husband Russell actually founded the company himself as a counterpart to his already fledgling Phat Farm clothing line and put his wife Kimora as creative director for the line.[1]
She was cast as one of the celebrity judges on the reality series America's Next Top Model. A feud with Janice Dickinson forced her to leave the show after one season.
On July 29, 2004, Simmons was arrested outside her estate in Upper Saddle River, NJ and charged with: possession of marijuana under 50 grams, eluding police, careless and imprudent driving, and driving with a broken brake light. This arrest was made after a two-mile chase that began near the Saddle River Police Station.
Her first and only book, Fabulosity, published by Judith Regan of Simon & Shuster's Regan Books, was released on February 21, 2006. Recently, Simmons has designed a new line of jewelry, called the Hello Kitty Collection. Simmons used the Sanrio Logo of Hello Kitty on the face of all of these new accessories.
There is a rumor that they are now separated.
Other Media
Kimora Lee's voice, but not image, was used in the video game Def Jam Fight for NY.
Aside from her video game appearance, she plays roles in the films Waist Deep [2] and Beauty Shop. [3]
External links
- Official website of Kimora Lee Simmons
- Official website of Baby Phat
- Kimora Lee at the Internet Movie Database
- Kimora Lee Simmons at the Notable Names Database
- CNN coverage of arrest
http://www.myspace.com/therealkimoraleesimmons
Categories: 1975 births | American fashion designers | American models | African Americans | Japanese Americans | Kimora Lee Simmons | Living people | People from St. Louis
