Who Is Aoki Simmons? New Details About Russell Simmons' And Kimora Lee Simmon's Daughter — Who Just Got Into Harvard
She's heading to Harvard.
Instagram Russell Simmons and his ex-wife Kimora Lee are two very proud parents. Their 16-year-old daughter Aoki has been accepted into Harvard! The whole family is super-excited and took to social media to share the good news. Kimora posted a series of Instagram videos in which she gushed about how proud she was of her daughter. Russell congratulated both his daughter and his ex-wife on their accomplishments. Aoki also posted a video of herself to her Instagram. In it she's reading the acceptance letter. It is exceptionally hard to get into Harvard and Aoki did it at 16. Who is Aoki Simmons?
1. She grew up in the spotlight
Aoki Simmons made her runway debut when she was just 18 months old. She joined her older sister Ming Lee during the final runway show of mom Kimora's Baby Phat fashion line in 2004. She was such a baby at the time that she walked down the runway being carried on her mom's hip. Aoki and Ming as well as their brother Kenzo all turned out to support their mom at the Baby Phat and KSL Collecton show in Septemebr 2009 as well.
2. She was on a reality show
Aoki starred on Kimora's reality TV series, Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, which ran on E! from 2007 to 2011. The show focused on Kimora raising Ming (now 19), Aoki, and 9-year-old Kenzo. The show also followed her relationships with her then boyfriend Dijimon Hounsou and her ex, Russell Simmons. Kimora shared everything with the cameras, including many sweet scenes with Aoki.
3. She called out a racist bully at school
Recently Aoki took to Instagram Live to open up about her experience with a bully at her school. A white kid at her school regularly hurled the N-word at her. She tried to ignore it, but the final straw came when she was forced to work closely with the racist bully on a group project. In the video she said: "I'm so over people at my school being racist and no one doing anything about it. I go to school to work. I don't even talk to these people because I'm busy. I'm trying to go to Yale. I'm trying to go to Harvard. I don't have time for you!"
She went on to say: "So, this particular kid, I swear, all day long... He is white and he cannot stop saying the N-word," she said. "It's like his favorite thing to say. He just cannot stop. I don't even use it like that and he just loves to use it and see how far he can push it, and see how many people he can offend, and all his friends don't care... They all think that they are nice good people as friends, but they don't stop him." She also said that while she was sort of mumbling to herself trying to work out a part of the project, he asked her: "Ni***r, are you on crack or something?" Reportedly, her school didn't do anything about the bully.
4. She spent her summer volunteering in Europe
During the summer of 2018, Aoki spent time helping The Unmentionable's refuee resource center in Athens. She also worked on the Pollentia Roman dig in Spain, where she was the youngest archaeologist on the site.
5. She is close with her family
Despite the 2006 divorce of her parents Kimora and Russell, Aoki is close to both her parents and her siblings. She recently went to Bali with her father and co-hosted a fundraiser for earthquake and tsunmai victims. Aoki also shares moments with her brothers Kenzo and three-year-old Wolfe on Insta.
6. She didn't just get into Harvard...
Aoki didn't just get into Harvard. She also received acceptance letters from Dartmouth, Vassar, Barnard and other elite universities. Kimora wants everyone to know that her daughter also got accepted to all those universities on her own merit. Kimora posted a video to her Instagram Story poking fun at the celebrities caught up in the Operation Varsity Blues college admissions cheating scandal. She also said: “I’m still crying and beaming. You don’t understand this has been a ride for me. I’m two out of two kids in college. I have two boys left, I don’t know if I can do it… Quite honestly she really did it on her own merit and we’re so really proud.” Kimora also commented on the Insta Story where Aoki read her acceptance letter from Harvard, saying: “thank god you got in on your own honey cause you can’t row” thank you so much to every single person who helped me along the way. I am excited and honored and so so grateful"
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.