Sad Details About Kimora Lee Simmons

Kimora Lee Simmons didn't have a picture-perfect childhood. While she rose to fame in her early teens and has gone on to build an empire, her early years were a different story. Simmons' birth parents are of Japanese and Korean descent, but she was adopted by an American family during the Korean War. She grew up with a far simpler life than the extravagance she later became known for. The model was raised by a single mother in St. Louis after her father was sent to jail for dealing drugs. 

Simmons' story is one of rags to riches. When she was just 12 years old, her mother signed her up for modeling classes. Little did she know at the time, just a few years later, she would sign a contract to work for Chanel. Simmons went on to have a successful modeling career, donning the covers of several high-profile magazines and walking the catwalks year after year at New York Fashion Week. In the early 2000s, Simmons launched became the CEO of PHAT Fashions LLC, and went on to launch her own fashion brand. She's continued to work as a designer throughout her career, as well as taking on roles in television and film. While she's gone on to build an empire, Simmons' path to Hollywood had its fair share of ups and downs. Not everything is as fabulous as it appeared on her former reality show "Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane." We're breaking down all the dad details about Kimora Lee Simmons.

With all the fame and fortune Kimora Lee Simmons has achieved, it's hard to imagine the model had a difficult childhood. "Outgoing as I am today, I was a loner growing up," she told Working Mother (via People.) "I was a mixed-race girl with a Korean-Japanese mother and an African-American father, and none of the other kids at my school were like me," The "Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane" star admitted. She went on to add that her six-foot-tall stature did little to help her blend in. 

Her mother became a driving force in her life, helping her navigate her difficult pre-teen years. "She always reminded me that we're all different and that's to be respected. 'Put on your game face,' she'd say. 'Yes, it hurts, but don't succumb to it. It will pass,'" Simmons admitted. She is determined to instill the same values her mother gave her in her own two daughters, Ming and Aoki, as well as her son, Kenzo. "As my mom did for me, I'm helping my own girls learn about tolerance — to respect differences in culture, religion and even the way we look," Simmons told People. 

Aoki took a page out of her mother's successful modeling career, as the Harvard graduate is signed with Nomad Management. In addition to walking the runway for Pyer Moss and Carlton Jone, Aoki designed a shoe line for JustFab in 2021. Ming, who graduated from New York University with a fashion degree, told Entertainment Tonight that she hopes to collaborate with her mother on her line Baby Phat.

Kimora Lee and Russell Simmons first crossed paths in 1992 when she was modeling in that year's New York Fashion Week. The Def Jam Recordings co-founder waited until Kimora Lee turned 18 to begin dating her, and they eventually wed in 1998. The couple went on to welcome two daughters together, Ming in 2002, and Aoki just two years later. After nearly a decade together, the couple split in 2006 and finalized their divorce in 2009.

While their relationship seemed amicable for years, in more recent times the two have been taking shots at each other. In June 2023 Russell posted a since-removed Instagram Story (per Yahoo! Movies), writing, "Stop telling fathers they should have fought harder to see their children & start asking mothers why he had to fight at all." Kimora Lee clapped back in her own since-removed Story, writing, "I'm so sorry to have to do this. But this man has been threatening my kids' lives. I'm hearing so much more now. We won't be bullied threatened or afraid."

Aoki took to her Instagram Story to back up her mother's claims. The model posted a screen recording where her father is seen screaming at her on FaceTime, writing, "This is not someone who will accept help." The Harvard graduate also posted screenshots of texts from her father in which she claimed he threatened to harass her boyfriend and friends. In the texts, Russell allegedly texted his daughter that Kimora Lee was a "piece of sh*t."

Kimora Lee Simmons found love again after her divorce, as the fashion designer went on to marry former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner in 2014. Though the couple kept a low profile about their secret wedding, it was Simmons' ex-husband, Russell, who dropped the bomb on their nuptials. "All of us love @OfficialKimora but the fact is she is happily married... Tim is [sic] has been family for a while now. #gossipcop...." he tweeted following their wedding. 

As of the time of writing, Kimora Lee and Leissner are estranged. Leissner was involved in a nearly $3 million dollar bribery scheme that had Goldman Sachs employees bribing government officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates to generate business for the bank. While testifying in the trial of his colleague, defendant Roger Ng. Simmons, Leissner made some shocking revelations about his personal life with Kimora Lee. According to Bloomberg, the former banker forged divorce documents while still married to his former wife Judy Chan in order to tie the knot with Kimora Lee. Chan, upon hearing the news, denied Leissner's absurd request for nearly $1 million dollars. "Judy did not want to make any transfers related to my new family life in Los Angeles," he testified.

Leissner also revealed that he posed as Chan online while courting Kimora Lee. He admitted he falsified an email account to communicate with his future wife, even taking it so far that Kimora Lee invited who she thought was Chan on family vacations. Leissner — playing Chan — declined the invites. 

Kimora Lee Simmons may live life in the fab lane, but the mother of three has a hot temper. The fashion designer got into a physical dispute with a woman in 2019 in a parking lot outside of a FedEx store in Los Angeles over a parking spot. According to police reports obtained by TMZ, the two women were fighting over a particular space and the argument ended with them shoving each other. The woman involved in the dispute called the police after Simmons left the scene to file a battery charge. Later the same day, the Baby Phat founder filed her own battery charge against the other woman. As of the time of writing the reality star has not made a public comment about the incident. One thing is for sure — don't mess with the fashion designer's prime parking.

It's not just Kimora Lee Simmons who struggled with her self-confidence growing up. The model's daughter Aoki Lee opened up in a since-removed Instagram Story in 2018 (per The Shade Room) about her own struggles living in the limelight. "...It's easy to get insecure when [sic] your older sister and mom are models and I've dealt with a lot of negativity on Instagram, comments saying I'm not as pretty as my big sister..." she wrote. "We all want to look nice in our photos but I've tried to let all of that go and just post pictures where [sic] I look happy or was actually having a good time." Fans took to the comments in a show of support, with one user writing, "You are beautiful baby girl!!!!! You better slay all that beauty!!!

Insecurities aside, Aoki Lee has plenty of reasons to celebrate. The 20-year-old graduated from Harvard in 2023 and has plans to study law. She is also one of the youngest black women to ever receive her diploma from the esteemed university. Aoki Lee and her sister Ming, a 2023 New York University graduate, told Entertainment Tonight that their first order of business after finishing college is to take a sister trip to Europe. "First thing on our list of things to do after college is to go on a trip together," Ming revealed. "I think that this is a really special time, and maybe we can get mom to fund it because we graduated at the same time." 

Kimora Lee Simmons has had quite a few ups and downs with her fashion brand Baby Phat. The mother of three created the brand in 1999 as the sister brand to her then-husband's former line Phat Farm. Russell Simmons stepped down from his role as Creative Director in 2007, handing the title over to Simmons  

Things took a turn for the worse in 2010 when the reality star sold the company. "It's over. It's absolutely over. It was very abrupt and sudden. I was shocked," she told the Daily News at the time. "It's very, very sad for me. It was totally unexpected." Kimora Lee remained hush-hush about the details of her exit. One source told PageSix that the owner of the brand, Kellwood, made major cuts at the time. "She was blindsided that Kellwood fired everyone," the insider said. Another source claimed: "Kimora was going over budget. She'd pay herself a fee to be in the ads, plus she paid her children [sic] fees to appear in ads."

Regardless of the non-mutual departure, she found her way back to the brand in 2019. While the model didn't offer details about who she bought the company back from or how — she told WWD that "we had to hunt around to find it." She called the re-launch "the rebirth of my baby, telling People that the company will be run by her and her two daughters.

There's no shortage of drama when it comes to Kimora Lee Simmons and her ex-husband Russell Simmons. The two exes have had their fair share of publicity throughout their careers, but in more recent times their rocky relationship has dominated headlines. In 2021 the Def Jam Recording co-founder filed suit against his ex-wife and her husband Tim Leissner over fraud charges. In court documents obtained by People, Russell claimed the fashion designer attempted to transfer nearly four million shares that he owns in the energy drink company Celsius. The hip-hop mogul said that his ex-wife tried to acquire the shares to help pay fines related to a 2018 Goldman Sachs money laundering involving her husband, and former Goldman Sachs banker, Tim Leissner. He pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit money laundering in exchange for no jail time, as per Forbes.

Russell wrote a letter to his ex-wife attempting to re-establish his stake in Celsius. "I am shocked and saddened to see how your side has behaved in response to my repeated attempts to get an agreement from you to rightfully and legally reaffirm my 50% of the Celsius shares which have been locked up with the government after being used for your husband's bail money," he wrote.

Simmons denied Russell's allegations and says the shares were never sold, and are being held temporarily in relation to Leissner's case. She was awarded $100,000 in November 2022 over a contract breach in the dispute.  As of the time of writing, the case is ongoing.