Kimora Lee Simmons’ Kids Are All Grown Up, Here’s Where They Are Now
Very few early 2000's fashion labels have survived the test of time while simultaneously crafting the culture. There's Rocawear, which, I mean, who didn't wear Rocawear? There's FUBU, who came through with the ultimate 'For Us, By Us' empowerment vibes. There's Sean John, which I still see people wearing to this day. And for the ladies, there was Baby Phat.
Woman-owned, woman-curated, and woman-championed.
Listen, say what you want, but Baby Phat was a staple in a male-dominated game and competed at a level that not many could. Baby Phat was simply revolutionary. Revolutionary in the sense where, prior to its arrival, women's streetwear were mostly created as a subsidy of male brands, often ran by...men. Kimora Lee Simmons was simply on another level with how she moved, and for over 20 years, sis has paved a lane of making women of color feel seen and heard; or women in search of a blueprint.
These days, Kimora has opted for a tamer, quieter family life since ending operations in 2011, allowing her famous daughters, Ming and Aoki Lee, to pick up the baton and rep the name. But what are each of Kimora Lee Simmons' kids up to now?
Recently, her and her famous daughters relaunched the Baby Phat brand in a 2019 partnership with Forever 21 (which sold out in 24 hours), complete with enough nostalgic bedazzled shirts and fur-hooded coats to go around. Their newest venture, Baby Phat Beauty (an extension of the brand's relaunch) served as a reintroduction into the fragrance and beauty empire she very much so previously established with products such as Golden Goddess, Seductive Goddess, Fabulosity, and KLS Cosmetics. Oh, and a portion of all proceeds from sales went directly to Stacey Abrams,Fair Fight Initiative, to help end voter suppression--a move very on-brand for Kimora Lee Simmons, and very on-brand for Kimora Lee Simmons' kids.
Additionally, here's a fun update on what these mini moguls have been up to:
Ming Lee Simmons
Ming Lee Simmons/Instagram
Ming Lee Simmons, 20, the oldest of Kimora Lee Simmons' kids, has definitely picked up her mother's pair of Christian Louboutin stilettos. Aside from the hilarious trolling that her sister Aoki throws her way, you can often find her flexing her nearly identical maternal looks for the 'gram to her 1.1 million followers. She often posts her collabs with varying brands, demanding justice for social issues, posts throwbacks of her mom and/or dad, Russell Simmons, and flaunting her top-notch smize game. And despite her age, Ming's resume runs deep as she's ventured into modeling, with brands such as Lexus, and of course, Baby Phat.
The more docile of the bunch, Ming, has decided to carry the torch of fashion designer and trend-setter, something that her mom had her hand in since she could barely walk the runway. In her last interview with Teen Vogue, Ming says:
"When we were children, the world that my mom brought us into, it wasn't a choice. We did a lot of things that not a lot of other kids were doing. I would be like, 'I can't go to this school thing because I have to go with my mom to a photo shoot.'"
(Kimora was notorious for including her daughters in her productions, whether ending a fashion show, or releasing new campaigns).
Ming is currently attending NYU, majoring in fashion and business and also considering law school to further develop her business brilliance. And alongside her sister, she sits at the head of the Baby Phat conference room table as a lead designer, jotting her ideas, adding her personal flair, and having no problem proving how incredibly prepared she is to take the family name to the next level.
"Every step and every new piece brings me back to the conclusion that this is what I want to be doing," she says.
Aoki Lee Simmons
Aoki Lee Simmons/Instagram
Aoki Lee Simmons, 18, is less into the designing aspect of Baby Phat, and more into the business operatives. She manages the budget and financials, in addition to providing her design input and balancing her economic major at Harvard University—where she was accepted at age 16—and attends with the likes of other young black and brown starlets such as Malia Obama and Yara Shahidi. She often playfully gathers Ming by the neck for the entire world to see in comedic banter of little sister teases, and like her mother and sister, Aoki also models for the brand, showing off her paternal beauty for the 'gram to her 640K followers.
Her bio reads "Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking", (a nod to Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris), where similarly, she has proven that she literally give zero f*cks about getting you together, as she recently sparked attention after she called out a classmate who called her, and other classmates, the N-word, which as you can imagine, didn't go over so well for him.
At Harvard, Aoki ran for undergraduate council, which makes sense being that she often makes completely sensible demands in politics, and holds future Presidential aspirations. #Simmons2040 Additionally, she served as a panelist of 2019's Revolt Summit, perfectly divulging her generation's perspective on hot topics. From book recommendations, to references historical characters and following quantam physics and tech news hashtags, Aoki is pretty clear that she is one of a kind.
And much like our readers, she is big on identifying, and practicing, affirmative self-care habits. She tells Vogue:
"A huge part of self-care for me is reading. I just organized my personal library. I've been collecting books my whole life, so I've had a comfort thing over novels already. I've been doing some ballet. I love to journal as well."
Needless to say, the sisters aren't just living on the ranks of their very famous family. They have positioned themselves to be business women and fearless future leaders of an entire empire as well.
Wolfe, Kenzo, & Gary
As for the fellas of Kimora Lee Simmons' kids, they are growing and flourishing alongside their sisters. Still too young to determine any future endeavors, they're growing every day and experiencing life through their family's loving lens.
Kenzo Lee Honsou, 11 (with Djimon Hounsou), Gary Leissner, 10 (with Tim Leissner), and Wolfe Lee Leissner, 5 (with Tim Leissner), all of which are on the path of being groomed to join the empire as well. In speaking about them all, Kimora says:
"The most fulfilling thing in my life is to be a parent and a mother…That's what I was made to do, I'm very good at it; that's what I do. It's my thing."
Aoki shared a beautiful family photo of each of Kimora Lee Simmons' kids earlier this year, with more photos on them often shared on each of their Instagram accounts.
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We're enjoying seeing this family grow into their own, especially being that some of us have literally watched Ming and Aoki grow up before our very eyes. So for now, the ladies are holding down their mom's vision as they continue to expand the family brand.
And we cannot wait to see what brilliance they have up their newly revived, colorfully bedazzled sleeves.
Feature image by Ovidiu Hrubaru / Shutterstock.com
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Charmin Michelle is a southern native and creative spirit who works as a content marketer and events manager in Chicago. She enjoys traveling, #SummertimeChi, and the journey of mastering womanhood. Connect with her on Instagram @charminmichelle.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images