Kimora Lee Simmons Net Worth 2024: How Much is the Fashion Icon Worth?

Kimora Lee Simmons net worth is estimated to be around $80 million as of 2024. Kimora Lee Simmons is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, and TV personality on May 4, 1975. As a teenager, she began modeling for Chanel. She has also walked the runway for top brands like Fendi and Valentino and graced the covers of Vogue and Elle.

In 1999, she created the global brand Baby Phat. By 2007 Kimora expanded into reality TV with her family starring in “Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane.”

What is Kimora Lee Simmons Net Worth in 2024?

Kimora Lee Simmons is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, and TV personality with a net worth of $80 million as of 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth. She first became famous for being married to hip-hop businessman Russell Simmons. They started dating in the early 1990s when she was still in high school, and he was 35 years old. They got married in 1998, separated in 2006, and divorced in 2009.

Kimora began her career as a model, working for famous fashion brands like Chanel. At just 14, she was chosen by designer Karl Lagerfeld to model for Chanel, which made her famous worldwide.

Her biggest achievement in business is her role in Baby Phat, a fashion brand she led as Creative Director and CEO. Baby Phat grew into a popular luxury brand known for its stylish and glamorous designs. Under Kimora’s leadership, the brand expanded into new areas like denim, shoes, accessories, and perfume.

Kimora also started her high-end fashion line and had a reality TV show called “Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane,” which looked at her personal and work life.

Kimora Lee Simmons’s Early Life and Education

Kimora Lee Perkins also known as Kimora Lee Simmons was born in St. Louis and grew up in Florissant a suburb of the city. As a child she faced bullying due to her height and mixed ethnic background—African-American from her father and Japanese-Korean from her mother. Feeling “different” and lacking confidence Kimora’s mother enrolled her in modeling classes at age eleven to help boost her self-esteem.

At thirteen, Kimora was discovered at a model search event in Kansas City by Marie-Christine Kollock from the Paris-based modeling agency Glamour. This led to Kimora moving to Paris and starting her successful modeling career.

Kimora Lee Simmons graduated from Lutheran North High School in St. Louis. Later she returned to school and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Entrepreneurial Affairs from the University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business in 2018.

Kimora Lee Simmons’s Career

Modeling

Kimora Lee Simmons landed a special modeling contract with Chanel at just thirteen and began working with the legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld. At that time models like Simmons who had a multiethnic look were rare in high-end fashion. Lagerfeld’s decision to feature her on the Paris runway was groundbreaking. Simmons credits Lagerfeld for teaching her to embrace her potential and aim higher than she ever imagined.

By 1989, Simmons had made a notable impact closing the Chanel haute couture show as “The Bride.” She then graced the runways for top fashion houses like Fendi Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent and appeared in major magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.

Fashion design

In 1999, Kimora Lee Simmons launched Baby Phat a global lifestyle brand from her then-husband Russell Simmons’s Phat Farm. Baby Phat aimed to bring authentic cultural style to the mainstream fashion world and quickly became a major player crossing cultural and racial boundaries to achieve mass appeal.

Baby Phat’s debut fashion show at New York Fashion Week in 1999 held at Radio City Music Hall and broadcast to Times Square featured a star-studded audience including Aaliyah and Paris Hilton. Simmons often ended the show with her daughters Ming Lee and Aoki Lee joining her on the runway. Reflecting on her career Simmons noted the significant support from celebrity friends and the impact of Baby Phat’s urban style on the fashion world.

Kimora Lee Simmons eventually became president and creative director of Phat Fashions overseeing brands like Baby Phat and Phat Farm. She pioneered a new category of urban lifestyle apparel designed for women by women. Under her leadership, Baby Phat grew into a billion-dollar brand expanding into jewelry handbags and fragrances.

In 2010, Simmons left Phat Fashions and joined JustFab as President and Creative Director until 2015. She then launched KLS by Kimora Lee Simmons in 2015 offering upscale yet affordable women’s clothing at major retailers like Bloomingdale’s.

Reacquisition of Baby Phat

On March 8, 2019, International Women’s Day, Simmons announced the return of Baby Phat through the She Innovates initiative by UN Women. The new Baby Phat would maintain its commitment to female empowerment being woman-owned and led.

Baby Phat was relaunched in the summer of 2019 with a new collection targeting millennials. Simmons emphasized that the brand’s revival would resonate with a younger audience seeking purposeful design and meaningful messages.

Simmons has also invested in various innovative businesses including Codage skincare, Pureform Global CBD products, and Celsius energy drinks. In 2019, she co-launched Pellequr a unique Beverly Hills spa. Her diverse investments have helped her accumulate over $200 million net worth.

Kimora Lee Simmons’s Personal Life

Kimora Lee Simmons married Russell Simmons in December 1998. They had two daughters before their divorce in 2009.

In May 2009, Kimora had her first son with actor and model Djimon Hounsou. By February 2014 she married investment banker Tim Leissner. In April 2015, they welcomed a son together. In 2020, Kimora adopted another son making her the mother of five children.

In February 2022, it was reported that Kimora and Tim Leissner were living separately though it wasn’t clear if they had officially separated.

Kimora Lee Simmons’s Philanthropy

Kimora Lee Simmons has a strong record of giving back. She has been involved with the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation for many years.

In 2008, she supported PETA’s “Be an Angel to Dogs” campaign advocating for better care for pets. Simmons appeared in the campaign wearing angel wings designed by Martin Izquierdo known for his work with Victoria’s Secret. She also protested with PETA and donated $20000 to their Angel for Animals Project which provides custom dog houses for needy dogs.

On March 14, 2008, she was honored by the mayor of St. Louis with the key to the city and the declaration of March 14 as Kimora Day.

In 2014, Simmons donated $1 million to establish the Kimora Lee Simmons Scholarship Fund at FIT. This fund helps students from underserved communities who want to work in fashion. She also supports amfAR The G&P Foundation, Keep a Child Alive, and the Hetrick-Martin Institute.

Simmons and her daughters have worked to help refugees and migrant women and children facing crises. As Lead Global Ambassador for The Unmentionables, she has funded the distribution of reusable hygiene products to refugee women in Europe and assisted with Hurricane Harvey relief in Texas in 2017.

In 2018, Kimora Lee Simmons spoke at The Global Innovation Coalition for Change partnering with UN Women to promote gender equality in innovation and entrepreneurship. She helped launch the Gender Innovation Principles and She Innovates initiatives.

In 2021, Simmons and Baby Phat teamed up with Smile Train for the #AllSmilesAreBeautiful campaign creating a special t-shirt to raise funds for children with cleft palates.

In August 2022, Simmons Baby Phat and Phat Farm joined forces with Family Dollar and Crayola to host a back-to-school giveaway in Los Angeles. They donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in school supplies including backpacks and art materials to families in need and to boys and girls clubs in Atlanta and Southeast Virginia.

Kimora Lee Simmons’s Media 

Television

Kimora Lee Simmons has had a varied career in TV as a host, actress, reality star, and producer. She was a host on the weekly show “One World Music Beat” from 1998 to 2001. She also worked on VH1’s “Uncut New York Fashion Week” and “Party Fabulous.” In 2003, she was a judge on the first season of “America’s Next Top Model” alongside Tyra Banks.

In 2007, “Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane” premiered on the Style Network. This reality show highlighted Simmons’s life as a businesswoman and mother running until 2011. She not only starred in the show but also produced four episodes and was an executive producer for ten episodes between 2009 and 2010.

In 2013, “Kimora: House of Fab” aired focusing solely on her role as Creative Director at JustFab. This show ran for one season with Simmons starring and executive producing all eight episodes.

Simmons won a Tony Award in 2003 for producing Def Poetry Jam on Broadway.

Other media

She also authored “Fabulosity: What It Is & How to Get It” a book on female empowerment published in 2006 that received praise from the Washington Post and Boston Globe.

In 2006, Simmons participated in the Got Milk? campaign joining other celebrities with milk mustaches.

In February 2008, Mattel released a Barbie doll modeled after Simmons featuring a stylish faux chinchilla coat and pink thigh-high boots.

Simmons has acted in films like “Beauty Shop Brown Sugar,” and “Waist Deep” and appeared in music videos for Ginuwine, Usher, and Rich Gang. She has also co-hosted the syndicated talk show Life & Style.

Kimora Lee Simmons Real Estate

In 2006, Kimora Lee Simmons bought a big mansion in Beverly Hills for $8.5 million after her split from Simmons. This mansion is 13,000 square feet. Later, she bought a larger mansion and started renting this property for about $55,000 each month. She sold this home in July 2023 for $16.5 million.

In 2014, Kimora and her husband Tim paid $19 million for an apartment in New York City.

In 2017, they purchased a huge 20,000-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills for $25 million. This home sits on nearly four acres and has 7 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. It’s in a fancy gated area where other stars like “Denzel Washington,” “Mark Wahlberg,” “Eddie Murphy,” and “Sylvester Stallone” live.

The mansion has beautiful gardens, a home theater, a sunken tennis court, and a cool swimming pool with mosaic tiles. It was listed for $33.5 million before dropping to $29.95 million, but then it was taken off the market. Kimora and Tim bought it from Kathy Harouche, who is married to fashion mogul Michel Harouche.

Sadly, they sold this mansion in January 2021 for $16 million, losing $9 million in the process.