Meet All Kimora Lee Simmons' Husbands and Children

Publish date: 2024-06-11

Kimora Lee Simmons has been married twice. She is currently married to Tim Leissner with whom she tied the knot in 2014. Before then she was married to Russell Simmons from 1998–2009. She has five children from her marriages and romantic relationship with actor Djimon Hounsou. Her first two daughters, Ming and Aoki, were born with her first husband, Russell Simmons while her relationship with Djimon produced a son named Kenzo, and her marriage to Tim Leissner gave her two sons named Wolfe and Gary Leissner.

Kimora Lee Simmons is an American socialite, actress, and model known mostly for her work with famous fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld. The 48 year-old model has done quite well since her runway debut in the early nineties and now she owns and manages the well-known fashion brand ‘Phat Baby’.

Born on May 4, 1975, Kimora has modeled for America’s high fashion names like Chanel and Gucci, both as a fashion designer and as a fashion model. Now, she is a successful, businesswoman, philanthropist, investor, and television personality. In the course of working as a high-value model, Kimora also had the opportunity to mingle with the biggest and wealthiest people in society – those who wear haute couture without flinching at the prices.

Without any doubt, Kimora is wealthy, successful, and famous, however, one major contributor to her evergreen fame has to be her evergreen (and dramatic) love life. Kimora’s private life, especially her romantic relationships, has been known to stir up the most intense conversations online.

The fashion mogul has been dubbed the “queen of hypergamy” because of her preference for dating or marrying only extremely wealthy men. Be that as it may, the Missouri native has definitely utilized her marriages well, and has a whopping fifty-million-dollar empire to show for it. Curiosity about her love life abounds still and in this read, we are going to get you acquainted with Kimora’s men. Who knows? You might pick up a tip or two about dating Kimora Lee Perkins.

Kimora Lee Simmons Has Been Married Two Times But Had Three Partners

For all the noise that has surrounded Kimora’s love life for the past couple of decades, it is rather surprising to discover that the fashion mogul has only been married twice. Indeed, Kimora is definitely not a fan of having too many husbands and she takes her relationships seriously too. Unfortunately, despite how seriously she took her previous relationships, her efforts went largely unappreciated – until now.

Tim Leissner is Kimora Lee Simmons’ Current Husband

Kimora Lee Simmons is currently married to businessman and investment banker, Timothy Leissner. They started seeing each other right after her break up with actor Djimon Hounsou in 2012. Leissner was born in Germany on October 31, 1971, to wealthy Brazilian and German parents.

Being a generally bright student, it wasn’t surprising that he decided to venture into Business studies just a few months after getting his Bachelor of Arts degree from Siegen University. He obtained his MBA from the University of Hartford and soon there was nothing holding him back from venturing into the business world. With a Ph.D. from the University of Somerset in tow, Tim began his career with the Lehman Brothers as the head of Mergers and Acquisitions in 1997.

For the next six years, he worked as the representative of the Asia-Pacific region. He later began to work at Goldman and Sachs, and before long he was promoted to chief of staff, with Richard Gnodde. By the year 2013, Leissner was controlling all Goldman operations in Hong Kong.

It was around this time that he met his second wife-to-be, Kimora. They initially started dating in January 2013 before choosing to make their commitment to each other official. Some sources have speculated that they got married in December, during a Christmas family vacation at St. Barts. Their marriage was confirmed after they were both photographed by the paparazzi, wearing wedding bands. They have been together since.

Although Tim and Kimora have remained together, their marriage has been somewhat rocky of late. In 2016, the German investor was asked to step down from his position at Goldman after he was implicated in a Malaysian fraud case. He was charged to court in 2017 and even pleaded guilty to the charges, leading to a $44 million fine and a permanent ban from the finance industry.

Kim didn’t go unscathed as her fashion line was alleged to have been financed by the illegal money. She, however, didn’t take the accusations lying down and provided evidence of her non-involvement in the scandal. Their marriage seems to have taken several hits since the incident as Tim was caught on camera in a compromising position with an unknown woman. Further research has also revealed that Kimora hasn’t posted a photo of her husband since Father’s Day in 2019.

Tim was previously married to Judy Chan, the daughter of a Chinese businessman, but they split in 2011.

Russell Simmons Is Kimora Lee Simmons’ Ex-husband

Kimora’s marriage to media mogul and multi-millionaire, Russell Simmons, was her first and perhaps her career-defining marriage. Russell Wendell Simmons was born on October 4, 1957, and is an American businessman, record label executive, writer, and movie producer. He is currently chairman and CEO of Rush Communications and also the co-founder of the hip-hop label Def Jam Records.

At the young age of 17, Kimora was strutting the runway during the New York Fashion Week when she caught the eye of the then 35-year-old Def Jam executive, Russell Simmons. The Guardian reported that he immediately began to woo the model in a flamboyant, over-the-top display of affection, sending flowers to Kimora’s agency.

Apparently, the gimmick worked as young Kimora was impressed, and soon she began to date the music mogul, despite concerns from her friend and fellow model, Tyra Banks, who had warned her about Russell’s playboy reputation. Shortly after, she moved into his Beverly Hills mansion and that was the beginning of a 6-year courtship that had begun in November 1992.

In December 1998, they went off on a trip together to St. Barts in Diddy’s luxurious yacht. On 20th December 1998, Russell proposed to his supermodel girlfriend, and they got married on New Year’s Eve in a lavish ceremony with supermodels Kim Porter and Tyra Banks in attendance as Lee’s bridesmaids. According to the New York Times magazine, the wedding comprised a civil ceremony that took place at the courthouse and a nondenominational ceremony officiated by Russell’s brother, Rev. Run.

Their marriage was blessed with two beautiful daughters, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee. Having two healthy daughters, a massive record label company, multiple clothing lines, and a doubly increasing net worth weren’t enough to keep the former power couple together and so 10 years later in Jan 2009, they officially called it quits.

In a statement made to People magazine in March 2006, Russell revealed that their marriage had broken down irretrievably and that although they still lived in the same house, they were already separated. It seemed Russell couldn’t change his philandering ways and when Kimora couldn’t take it anymore, she filed for divorce in March 2008 citing that well-known cliche – irreconcilable differences. She moved out of his home with her two daughters while Russell agreed to pay $40,000 per month in child support and was granted visitation rights.

Kimora Lee and Djimon Hounsou Were Partners For Several Years But Were Never Married

In-between her two marriages, Kimora was romantically involved with Djimon Hounsou. Djimon and Kimora dated from February 2007 through November 2012. The hunk was born on April 24, 1964, and is a Beninese–American actor and model. He began his career by appearing in music videos before making his film debut in the movie, ‘Without You’. He also featured alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2006 classic, ‘Blood Diamonds’.

Kimora Lee had already moved on with the actor even before she had officially concluded her divorce from Russell. According to reports from The Daily Mail, the two actors had met in 2007 but didn’t start dating immediately due to Kimora’s marital complications. Djimon found it tough, but he was determined to woo the very hesitant Kimora. His charms seemed to work, however, and according to the supermodel, it was a restaurant date at ‘Chow’ that did the trick.

By January 2009, it was reported that the couple was expecting their first baby together. They actually got married according to Djimon’s Benin tradition, however, the ceremony was not recognized by American law. Their son Kenzo was born in May 2009. They only lasted for three years after that. It was believed to have been a money issue as Russell was allegedly paying for the couple’s expensive lifestyle.

In 2012, after dating for about five-and-a-half years, they decided to go their separate ways. Things didn’t let up for the sour lovers though as they became embroiled in a messy custody battle over Kenzo. Djimon complained to the blogs that he hadn’t been able to see his son for Father’s Day. Other sources have, however, said that Djimon planned to take Kenzo to Africa for a vacation, and refused to sign a contract demanding that he brought the boy back to America after. The case is still ongoing as of the time of this report.

Kimora’s Other Rumored Relationships

Apart from the men she got married to, Kimora Lee Simmons has been rumored to be involved with some other high-profile men. In 2001, there were rumors that Kimora had something, albeit short-lived, with American music producer and celebrity manager, Kendu Isaacs. He is the ex-husband of singer Mary J Blige. However, the possibility of that being true appears to be very unlikely owing to the fact that they were both in serious relationships with other people in 2001.

The model has also been rumored to be involved with American rapper and record founder, Bryan Christopher Williams, who is famously known as Birdman. He is the co-founder and public face of Cash Money Records which he founded alongside his older brother Ronald “Slim” Williams in 1992. He also co-founded Cash Money Young Money records which have reputable artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Wayne signed to it.

Among all the dating rumors involving Kimora, this one happened to have lasted the longest. Birdman and Kimora Lee allegedly dated on and off from August 2004 to February 2014. Rumors of their supposed relationship began making the rounds after the record label boss gave Kimora a shoutout on Instagram, calling her the “love of his life”. The post has since been deleted.

Kimora was unhappy with the development as she did not want to be in the middle of any unwanted drama. Subsequently, the speculations were laid to rest after her former husband, Russell Simmons, made a public statement in which he revealed that Kimora was married to Tim Leissner.

The mother of five was also linked to pro boxer Malik in 2012, but she openly denied having anything to do with him. The following year, news of Kimora and Marc Leder, founder of Sun Capital, being an item started circulating. This was after he acquired Kellwood, which was the company that owned Baby Phat and Phat Farm. The stories got even hotter when Kimora Lee Simmons and Marc were spotted hanging out together in St. Bart’s during a vacation.

Eventually, their relationship was said to be nothing beyond ordinary friendship since they have known each other since 2008 as business partners.

Meet Kimora Lee Simmons Children

Kimora has five children from three of her confirmed romantic relationships, including her marriages. Her first two daughters Ming and Aoki were born with her first husband, Russell Simmons. Her relationship with Djimon produced a son named Kenzo, while her marriage to Tim Leissner gave her two sons named Wolfe and Gary Leissner.

Ming Lee Simmons is Kimora Lee Simmons’ First Daughter

Ming Lee Simmons is the oldest of all Kimora Lee Simmons’ kids. She is the daughter of Russell Simmons and was born on January the 21st in 2000. Ming is currently 23 years old. The young woman seems to be following her mother right into the fashion world. With nearly a million and one followers on Instagram, Ming is definitely not one to be quiet and is known for being vocal about social issues as well as her wins.

She is currently attending New York University and majors in fashion and business. She is also looking at law school in hopes of pursuing a business career. Currently, she heads her mother’s Baby Phat fashion line and is a lead fashion designer for the brand.

Aoki Lee Simmons is Kimora Lee Simmons’ Second Daughter

Russell Simmons and Kimora’s second daughter, Aoki Lee Simmons, was born on 16 August 2002. She is only 21 years old but is already running the financial aspect of her mother’s fashion line. She is an economics major at the prestigious Harvard University – a school she attends alongside Malia Obama and Yara Shahidi. She is slated to graduate in 2023.

Sometimes, Aoki also models for the clothing line and posts pictures on Instagram, a platform where she boasts over 640 thousand followers. In school at Harvard, Aoki contested for the undergraduate council and seems to have a serious interest in politics. She has also served as a panelist on the 2019 Revolt Summit, showcasing her brilliance and well-roundedness to the world.

Kenzo Lee Hounsou Is Kimora Lee Simmons’ Son With Actor Djimon Hounsou

Kenzo Lee Honsou is Kimora’s first son and overall third child. His father is the American actor Djimon Hounsou. He was born on 30 May 2009 and is currently 14 years old. Kenzo might be too young to have a well-defined career path, but he is quite an industrious young man. According to his sister Ming, he takes up all sorts of volunteering jobs including working with the homeless, helping the Syrian and Somali Refugees in Greece, and cooking for the local community. He is also a talented basketball player.

Wolfe Lee and Gary Leissner are Kimora Lee Simmons’ Last Children

Kimora’s last two children are Wolfe Lee Leissner and Gary Leissner. Wolfe was born in 2015 and he is the first child of Kimora and her third husband, Tim Leissner, the German investor. Gary, on the other hand, was adopted by the couple in 2020 at the age of 10. As they are still little, they spend most of their time at school and with their parents.

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