KIMORA LEE SIMMONS
Name: Kimora Lee Simmons
Born: May 4, 1975
Kimora Lee Simmons (born Kimora Lee Perkins on May 4, 1975 in St. Louis,
Missouri) is model, author, the head of design for Baby Phat, KLS and an
occasional actress. Simmons is half African-American, one quarter Korean, and
one quarter Japanese.
Simmons is of Korean and African American descent. Her mother is Korean
American/Japanese American 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. He served three years for drug charges while Simmons
was in grade school.
Growing up in the north St. Louis suburb of Florissant, 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-foot 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, Simmons was
awarded an exclusive modeling contract with Chanel and just after her fourteenth
birthday, she left for Paris 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".
Simmons is a graduate of Lutheran North High School in St. Louis, Missouri.
She has appeared in Ginuwine's video for "In Those Jeans" with model Devon Aoki
and Usher's video for "Nice & Slow". Kimora Lee is also a playable character in
the Playstation 2 video game "Def Jam Fight for NY".
It is Simmons' goal to fashion Baby Phat, launched in 1999, into an "aspirational
lifestyle brand."
She was one of the judges in America's Next Top Model for season one. Simmons
has also been a co-host Sony Television's syndicated talk show Life & Style.
Kimora's book 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.
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.
In February 2007 Kimora Lee Simmons Barbie doll was launched, created under the
direction of Simmons. She has also launched two perfumes for women: Goddess
and Golden Goddess.
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 will air beginning in January 2008.
Name: Kimora Lee Simmons
Born: May 4, 1975
Kimora Lee Simmons (born Kimora Lee Perkins on May 4, 1975 in St. Louis,
Missouri) is model, author, the head of design for Baby Phat, KLS and an
occasional actress. Simmons is half African-American, one quarter Korean, and
one quarter Japanese.
Simmons is of Korean and African American descent. Her mother is Korean
American/Japanese American 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. He served three years for drug charges while Simmons
was in grade school.
Growing up in the north St. Louis suburb of Florissant, 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-foot 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, Simmons was
awarded an exclusive modeling contract with Chanel and just after her fourteenth
birthday, she left for Paris 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".
Simmons is a graduate of Lutheran North High School in St. Louis, Missouri.
She has appeared in Ginuwine's video for "In Those Jeans" with model Devon Aoki
and Usher's video for "Nice & Slow". Kimora Lee is also a playable character in
the Playstation 2 video game "Def Jam Fight for NY".
It is Simmons' goal to fashion Baby Phat, launched in 1999, into an "aspirational
lifestyle brand."
She was one of the judges in America's Next Top Model for season one. Simmons
has also been a co-host Sony Television's syndicated talk show Life & Style.
Kimora's book 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.
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.
In February 2007 Kimora Lee Simmons Barbie doll was launched, created under the
direction of Simmons. She has also launched two perfumes for women: Goddess
and Golden Goddess.
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 will air beginning in January 2008.