Excerpt: "Kimora Lee Simmons (born Kimora Lee on May 3, 1975 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former fashion model and the lead fashion designer for Baby Phat. Simmons was born to a Japanese mother who was born in Japan, Joanne "Kyoko" Perkins, and African American father, Vernon Whitlock, Jr. She began her modeling career at age 13 with her mother's encouragement and hope of instilling self-confidence in her daughter. By age 14, she had grown to a height of six feet and become a self-professed muse for The House of Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld. As a child she was very self-conscious about being biracial. Working as a model, however, it made her stand out, and she now refers to herself as being a black or multiethnic woman. She married hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons on 20 December 1998. The couple shares an elaborate estate in Saddle River, New Jersey, with their two daughters, Ming Lee Simmons (21 January 2000) and Aoki Lee Simmons (16 August 2002), who both model for Baby Phat Kids Collection."
Excerpt: "Long ago, Kimora Lee realized that if she couldn’t be the most popular girl in school, it might be fun to be the girl everybody talks about. “Be happy if people are talking about you,” her father used to say. Only now she’s not so sure. The self-styled World’s Biggest Collector of Louis Vuitton is trying not to brag these days, but it’s hard: There’s just so much to show off. “I am a fly bitch!” the 29-year-old says, sounding slightly exasperated."