They are two of the largest names in the hip hop and fashion industries, but behind closed doors Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee have also become celebrities for their rocky relationship with one another. The two entrepreneurs met when Lee was just 17 years old. She was in her last year of high school and pursuing a modeling career, while the 35 year old Simmons was making his way in the hip hop industry. At six-feet tall, Simmons was immediately captured by Lee when he first saw her on a runway during New York City’s Fashion Week.
The next week, he sent her a basket of flowers so large that two men had to carry it for delivery. Lee appreciated the flowers but was warned away from Simmons by friends, due to his well-publicized reputation as a womanizer and playboy. Simmons had risen to fame after he left his life as a hustler on the streets of New York to create Def Jam Records in 1984, and later the fashion line Phat Farm in 1992. He had acquired much money, and many women along the way.
Lee ignored her friends’ advice and allowed herself to get closer to Simmons. While many outsides believed their vast age difference would present a challenge, it was instead Simmons’ womanizing ways that led to the relationship being on again and off again for years. Then, a trip to Milan would change everything.
Lee left Simmons to go on a trip to Italy. Simmons used the time to take up yoga and reform his lifestyle. After he believed he was a changed man, Simmons convinced Lee’s mother to give him her daughter’s phone number in Milan, and the two reconciled. Once again, Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee were on solid ground. After returning from Italy, Lee moved into Simmons’ home in Beverly Hills and enrolled at UCLA. The relationship was making much progress, so much so that the two decided to wed.
On December 20, 1998, Simmons and Lee were married in a small wedding in Gustavia, on the island of St. Barthelemy. It was the same place where Simmons had first proposed to Lee. The ceremony was a simple one and, despite the rain, many of Hollywood’s A-List celebrities, including Tyra Banks, Martha Stewart, and Jon Bon Jovi, came out to witness it. After the couple exchanged vows, the party moved onto a yacht, where everyone dined on a five-tier wedding cake and danced the next ten nights away.
Unfortunately, the celebrations wouldn’t last forever. In March 2006, Simmons filed for divorce, noting that he had actually split with Lee some time before. The couple now has two daughters, Ming Lee Simmons and Aoki Lee Simons, whom they share custody of. The two were officially divorced in the fall of 2006.
Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee continue to work together on Phat Farm and the Baby Phat line of clothing, which continues to reign as one of the most popular line of urban clothing today.
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