KIMORA LEE SIMMONS

“People should know whatever it is you love to do. I am a living testament to the fact that you can do it.  You can do whatever it is you put your mind to and you can do it in stilettos.”

– KIMORA LEE SIMMONS

Kimora Lee Simmons (born Kimora Lee Perkins on May 4, 1975) is an American model, author, and the president and creative director for Phat Fashions. Formerly creative director of Baby Phat, Simmons became CEO of Phat Fashions after her ex-husband Russell Simmons stepped down.

Simmons was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She is of Asian and African American descent. Her mother is Joanne Perkins (who was adopted by an American serviceman during the Korean War and renamed Joanne Perkins), who now goes by the Japanese name “Kyoko”, which she asserts was her “full blooded Japanese” mother’s name. Her father is African American Vernon Whitlock Jr., who previously worked as a federal marshal, a social security administrator, and then a barber in St. Louis.

Growing up in the north St. Louis suburb of Florissant, Missouri, Simmons was very self-conscious about being a “geek.” Other children called her “chinky giraffe” because of her height and Asian ancestry. By the time she was 10 years old, she was 5-feet 8-inches tall, and became the target of schoolyard taunts and teasing. With no Asian population in her community, she had difficulty fitting in with the mostly black student body who shunned her because of her Asian ancestry. Hoping to boost her confidence, Simmons’ mother enrolled her daughter in a modeling class when she was eleven years old.

Two years later, at the age of thirteen, she was discovered by Marie-Christine Kollock (a representative for seminal Paris Agency Glamour) at a Model Search in St. Louis (organized by Kay Mitchell) and sent to Paris. Simmons was awarded an exclusive modeling contract with Chanel and just after her thirteenth birthday, to work under the tutelage of famed Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld.

She quickly gained attention in the fashion world when Lagerfeld closed his haute couture show with Simmons, who strutted down the runway decked out as a child bride. “Everything people thought was weird about me before,” Simmons told People Weekly, “was now good”. By age 14, her stature had grown to a height of six feet, and she became a self-professed muse for Lagerfeld. She and three other Lagerfeld models (Bernadette Jurkowski, Shoshanna Fitzgerald and Olga Sobolewska) were dubbed “the four Karlettes”.

On December 20, 1998, she married Russell Simmons and lived in the town of Saddle River, New Jersey. They had two daughters – Ming Lee (born January 2000) and Aoki Lee (born August 2002). Both Ming Lee and Aoki Lee model for Baby Phat Kids Collection.

In 2004 Russell Simmons sold Phat Farm to Kellwood Company for $140 million. When Russell stepped down as CEO of Phat Fashions LLC in September 2007, Kimora — who was already Creative Director of Baby Phat — was promoted by Kellwood to President and Creative Director of Phat Fashions. It is Simmons’ goal to fashion Baby Phat, launched in 1999, into an “aspirational lifestyle brand.” She also stated she wants to get more Baby Phat into discount stores such as TJ Maxx and Goodwill.

A book written by Simmons, Fabulosity: What It Is and How to Get It, was published by HarperEntertainment in February 2006. The book is set to function as a ‘lifestyle manual’ on everything from spirituality and finances to fashion and beauty. As shown on her TV show, she makes all of her executives read her book.

In February 2007, Kimora Lee Simmons Barbie doll was launched, created under the direction of Simmons. She has also launched four perfumes for women: Goddess, Golden Goddess, Seductive Goddess and recently, Baby Phat Fabulosity.

She has appeared in Ginuwine’s video for “In Those Jeans” with model Devon Aoki and Usher’s video for “Nice & Slow”. She has also appeared in the motion picture Beauty Shop along with Queen Latifah. Kimora Lee is also a playable character in the fighting game Def Jam: Fight for NY. She has also appeared in Waist Deep. She was one of the judges in America’s Next Top Model for season one. Simmons has also been a co-host of Sony Television‘s syndicated talk show Life & Style.

By March 2007, Simmons was dating two time Oscar-nominated actor and model Djimon Hounsou and in late March officially filed for divorce from her husband. On August 5, 2007 her reality TV show premiered on Style Network. Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane chronicles her daily life and routine, along with her relationship with her two daughters Ming Lee and Aoki Lee Simmons. It now re-airs on E! Entertainment Television. Season two aired on April 20, 2008 on the Style network. On October 3, 2008, s biographical documentary TV series (E! True Hollywood Story) documented her experiences as an entrepreneur, author, model, and mother. In January 2009, US Magazine reported that Kimora and Hounsou are expecting a child together in 2009. Kimora and Russell got officially divorced on January 28, 2009.

She established the Kimora Lee Simmons Scholarship Fund at her high school alma mater in St. Louis to provide college tuition support for academically successful girls with financial needs and is an active member of youth advocacy organizations including Amfar, The G&P Foundation, Keep a Child Alive, Hetrick-Martin Institute and Rush Philanthropic where she is on the Board of Directors. The mayor of St. Louis presented Simmons the key to the city and named March 18, 2008 “Kimora Day” in St. Louis.

SOURCE: Wikipedia,Tampabay.com

KIMORA LEE SIMMONS IN MOTION