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Kimora is half African-American, one quarter Korean and one quarter Japanese. Father Vernon Whitlock Jr is African-American and mother Joanne Kyoko Perkins is half Korean, half Japanese. Tyra Banks is the godmother of her daughter Ming Lee. 22 more.
- Producer, Actress
- May 4, 1975
Joanne Perkins was born into the chaos of the Korean War and later adopted by an American serviceman who had spotted her mother filling sandbags in Inchon. Joanne maintains that her "full-blooded Japanese" mother went to Korea from Kyoto as a refugee during World War II, though this would make her a historical anomaly.
Jan 25, 2024 · Vernon Whitlock Jr. and his relationship with Joanne Perkins, is nothing short of a love story straight out of a movie. Here’s the scoop: Joanne is half-Japanese and half-American. She moved to the United States owing to the escalating tensions due to the Korean War.
Kimora Lee Simmons (née Perkins; May 4, 1975) is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, television personality and former fashion model. As a teenager, she was signed with Chanel, where she became a model.
- Modeled as A Teenager
- Met Russell Simmons
- Entered The Fashion Design Business
- At A Glance...
- Led An Extravagant Lifestyle
- Sources
Simmons was born on May 3, 1975, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her Japanese-born mother, Joanne Perkins (who is also known as Joanne Kyoko Syng) came to the United States in the aftermath of the Korean War when her mother, who had fled Japan for Korea during World War II, married a U.S. serviceman. Kyoko Syng, who never married Simmons's father, worked a...
When Simmons was 17, and still working on finishing up high school, she met 35-year-old hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons. He had become smitten with the six-foot-tall Simmons after seeing her on the runway during New YorkCity's Fashion Week and had sent the young model a bouquet of flowers so large that it took two men to carry. She was impress...
Following the wedding Simmons set up house in New York City, but her modeling career had tapered off (by some accounts because Simmons was reported to be difficult to work with) and the new bride found herself bored. "Manicures, sleeping all day—it wasn't fulfilling," she told VIBE Magazine. "Being around someone as driven as Russell rubs off on yo...
Born on May 3, 1975, in St. Louis, Missouri; daughter of Joanne (Perkins) Kyoko Syng and Vernon Whitlock, Jr.; married Russell Simmons, 1998; children: Ming Lee. Aoki Lee. Education: Attended University of California, Los Angeles. Career: Model, 1989–; Baby Phat, president and creative director, 1999–; Life&Style, television host, 2004–; actor, 200...
The Simmons, who have two daughters, Ming Lee, born in 2000, and Aoki Lee, born in 2002, live in a 49,000 square-foot home with 20 bathrooms on four acres in Saddle River, New Jersey, serviced by five maids, four assistants, two live-in nannies, a full-time chef, and two drivers. Simmons, who sports a 25-carat diamond ring, owns a fleet of luxury c...
Books
Newsmakers,Gale Group, 2003.
Periodicals
Adweek,March 8, 2004, p. 30. Black Enterprise,May 2004, p. 24. Broadcast & Cable,January 5, 2004. Crain's New York Business,January 27, 2003, p. 29. Jet,March 4, 2003, p. 44; August 16, 2004, p. 58. New York Magazine,June 21, 2004. The Observer(U.K.), October 10, 2004. People Weekly,July 5, 1999, p. 105; July 1, 2002, p. 97+. PR Newswire,September 10, 2004. VIBE Magazine,September 2002. WWD,June 8, 2000, p. 10B.
On-line
"Baby Phat," WE: Women's Entertainment,www.we.tv/article/0,,key=344&tzOffset=0,00.html (March 2, 2005). "Designers: Kimora Lee Simmons of Baby Phat," Factio Magazine,www.factio-magazine.com/Designers/des_KimoraLeeSimmons.htm (March 2, 2005). —Kari Bethel
mother: Joanne Perkins. children: Aoki Lee Simmons, Kenzo Lee Hounsou, Ming Lee Simmons, Wolfe Lee Leissner
Aug 14, 2009 · Feeling beaten down by the teasing, Kimora’s mother Joanne Perkins taught her to keep her head up. “My mother wanted me to turn my tears into something else, something positive,” Kimora ...
