- Russell Simmons helped co-found the hip-hop label, Def Jam Recordings, in 1984
- Kimora Lee Simmons was a successful model before marrying Russell, who is 18 years her senior. They split in 2006
- Russell and Kimora made headlines in 2023 after Kimora and her daughters she shares with Russell accused him of abuse
Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons turned headlines in June 2023 after his ex-wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, and their daughters, 23-year-old Ming Lee and 20-year-old Aoki Simmons, spoke out about the allegedly abusive behavior from Russell that has caused them to become estranged from him over the last several months, and even years. The drama started when Ming wished her model and fashion designer mom, 48, a happy Father’s Day instead of Russell. Russell, 65, didn’t seem to like that and appeared to respond by sharing a photo of a road sign that read, “Stop telling fathers they should have fought harder to see their children & start asking mothers why he had to fight at all.”
After that, Kimora hopped on Instagram Live to beg the music executive to leave her and their daughters “alone” and accused him of having an “estranged” relationship with them. She also accused him of sending himself flowers and pretending they’re from her, Ming, and Aoki in order to fabricate a happy family dynamic. “I mind my own business, but please don’t attack my children, they’ve been through so much,” she continued with tears rolling down her face. “Don’t attack my family — which is supposed to be your family too.
Kimora Lee Simmons discusses her ex Russell’s recent erratic behavior on IG live and how it’s affect the family. Love you Kimora 🥺💔 pic.twitter.com/mSryXA4boD
— SHEA FROM THE BAY (@SheaFromTheBay) June 19, 2023
Kimora wasn’t the only one in the family to speak up; Aoki took to Instagram Live to explain some of the alleged abuse she has been through thanks to her father. “This man is awful to me. He has done awful things to me and I’m so tired of it,” she stated. She also accused him of once cutting her off financially while at camp in Greece. Instead of helping her, she alleged that he said, “I sure you don’t die on the streets [of Greece].” She also tearfully recalled being close as a family at one point. Now, she claimed Russell lashes out if she and her sister don’t agree with him.
Aoki also shared screenshots of Russell saying demeaning things about Kimora as well as a muted video of him screaming at her over FaceTime. “My father is not well, for years, he needs help and won’t accept that he refuses to acknowledge he is not himself. He has threatened and bullied my sister, my grandma, he has harassed my grandma in the middle of the night in poor health, send a man to my sisters apartment at 2am to scare her,” she wrote in the caption of the since-deleted post. “He lashes out at ANYONE who does not say ‘oh Russell everything is fine.’ Well it’s not fine.”
Since then, Russell seemingly apologized and offered Aoki and Ming advice via the caption under an Instagram video of both of his daughters. “God is testing you a little bit, it’s ok, be strong. . . they are called growing pains . . . as you know, we grow through adversity and struggle . . . you read my books and heard me preach your whole childhood . . . reach back to old lessons and remember to remember ‘smile and breathe’,” he wrote. “you are the watchers of this world . . . so let go . . . be at ease . . . God is driving and he is working on you.” He also said he was “DEEPLY sorry for being frustrated and yelling.”
Following the family drama, take a look at Russell’s ex-wife Kimora and their marriage below.
Kimora Founded A Massively Popular Early 2000s Brand
Kimora seemed to be everywhere in the early 2000s. After building a reputable modeling career as a teenager, she launched her own fashion brand, Baby Phat, in 1999 with Russell. She was also the star of her own reality series, Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane (2007 – 2010) and Kimora: House of Fab (2013). And of course, she welcomed her two daughters in 2000 and 2002. She and Russel divorced in 2009 after trying the knot in 1998. Kimora welcome a son named Kenzo with her boyfriend at the time, actor Djimon Hounsou, in 2009 as well.
Kimora’s story doesn’t end there; In the 2010s, she married once more and welcome two more kids. In 2014, Russell revealed that she had married her partner, investment banker Tim Leissner. In April 2015, they welcome a son named Wolfe. In 2020, Kimora seemingly completed her family by adopting a 10-year-old son named Gary. Kimora had wanted to adopt for a long time, and even hinted that it was in her future during a 2007 chat with Ok! (via PEOPLE). “I love children, and I’ve looked into adopting. I definitely see lots of children in my future,” she stated. Russell never remarried.
Before adopting her fifth child, though, Kimora welcomed something else into the family: Baby Phat. In 2019, the model and businesswoman bought back Baby Phat and relaunched it with a collection of bedazzled tracksuits and more. She turned it into a family business, modeling the clothing with her then-teenage daughters.“It’s so fulfilling to see one generation squealing with nostalgia at the news of our relaunch, and another discovering the brand for the first time,” Kimora told Page Six Style in June of that year. “I’m heartened that the original aesthetic found its wait into the zeitgeist. That’s affirmation for me and a whole community of women who were underserved by fashion the first time around.”
The Start Of Kimora And Russell’s Relationship
A 17-year-old Kimora met a 35-year-old-Russell when she was still in high school and modeling at New York Fashion Week, per PEOPLE. In 2020, Russell clarified the beginning stages of their relationship after wishing Kimora a happy a happy 45th birthday. “She turned 18 right after i met her February fashion week,” he said in a since-deleted Instagram comment, per The Jasmine Brand.
“We got to know each other by May we were dating. She was legal at 17 But she turned 18 that may,” he continued. He also said that Kimora’s mother and manager, Bethann Hardison, approved of and even “supported” their romance.
The pair had a civil ceremony to make their union official in Dec. 1998 in New York, and then celebrated with a more formal ceremony in Saint Barthélemy. It was officiated by Kimora’s younger brother, Joseph Simmons, who was a member of Run-D.M.C.
Kimora And Russell Had A Great Relationship Following Their Split
A year after they split (but before their divorce), Kimora gushed about her and Russell’s ability to co-parent so well. “We’re great partners, and we have a beautiful family,” she told Ok!. “We’ve been through so much together. It’s almost been 15 years. I can’t say it’s always been great, but I focus on my kids and my life and my businesses.”
Things turned sour in 2021, when Russell took his former wife and her husband to court for allegedly transferring $4 million of his shares of the energy drink company Celsius to their personal accounts to help pay for Tim’s bail money for his 2018 money laundering case, to which he pleaded guilty, per PEOPLE. The bail fee was $44 million. The mother of five countersued, and in Nov. 2022, Russell was ordered to pay Kimora just over $100,000, as reported by Radar Online.