Bling Empire: The Truth About Kim Lee's Relationship With Her Father

Netflix's Bling Empire captivated fans by showing the over-the-top Los Angeles lifestyles of an Asian and Asian-American friend group. Star Kane Lim is convinced the series was successful because the cast and crew trusted one another, but there's another another big factor: viewers just can't enough of watching supposed royalty onscreen. 

From Kelly Mi Li's on-again, off-again relationship with Andrew Gray to Kane and Kevin Kreider's adorable friendship, Bling Empire packs plenty of drama. Yet it was DJ and singer Kim Lee's emotional journey to find her biological father that grounded the series. Per Distractify, Kim was in the spotlight prior to Bling Empire. After being named FHM Asia's Sexiest Woman Alive in 2011, Kim appeared in films like The Hangover Part II, Jack and Jill, and Entourage. Kim is also familiar with reality TV, having starred on The Amazing Race Vietnam and Vietnam's Got Talent, according to Oprah Magazine. 

Kim is close with her mother, Kimmy Segal; her screenwriter stepfather Daniel Segal is also a successful novelist. Later in the series, Kim hires a private investigator to help find her biological father whom she hadn't seen in years since her parents divorced. Keep scrolling to find out the truth about her relationship with her dad! 

During Bling Empire Season 1, Kim Lee discovers her father Tony Lee in South Carolina. However, with costars Kane Lim and Kevin Kreider in tow, Kim learns her dad died two years prior to filming Bling Empire from a heart attack. The season finale features Kim breaking the news to her mother. "I feel like a little part of me is missing now," Kim admitted on-camera. "When you lose a parent, it's never going to be the same. It's a different type of pain."

Kim told Vice that the reality TV platform helped her find out what happened to her biological father. "I was holding grudges against my father for not looking for me, to be honest, and I needed some sort of closure," Kim stated. "[But] it was actually incredibly difficult to do that on TV." 

But to Kim, the cameras gave her the extra push to see her journey through. "This is going to sound weird, I know, but I almost feel it was meant to be, that I was supposed to be on the show to find my father," Kim concluded. "The person you saw on TV really is me."