Women I Admire: Simmons Family

I haven't done a "Women I Admire" post in a while. When thinking about this one I thought, Oh, the Simmons sisters! But then I thought, there's Kimora and then there's Justine! So...I decided to do a family post (LOL).

I may have been the only one, but I was a big fan of Run's House. They didn't seem to be your average stuck up "celebu-spawn" with no sense of reality. Angela and Vanessa appeared to be young women with their heads on straight who, despite having loads of money, still had work ethic. So much so, that they launched their own sneaker line "Pastry" in 2007, which has grossed somewhere around 50 million dollars. Not to mention they are both just twenty-something.

Even though they got a little help from Dad and Uncle Russell, they are business powerhouses in their own right and make a conscious effort to be role models for young women. It's always refreshing to see young ambitious women making it happen for themselves without sacrificing their values. Gotta love Ang and Ness!

The two obviously took a page from their fab Aunt Kimora Lee Simmons, who at the ripe age of 13 began modeling for Chanel. After capturing the modeling world by storm, she went on to conquer fashion, launching Baby Phat in the late 90s. She nurtured the brand for nearly 10 years, but recently shed the Baby Phat in 2010.


I love Kimora because she didn't let such a huge blow defeat her. She let us know that Baby Phat is not her only claim to fame and reminded us that she made the brand and the brand did not make her. She's moved on to bigger and better things like her hit reality series "Life in the Fab Lane" as well as her multiple fragrances, jewelry line and new, mature clothing line, KLS. She's a true renaissance woman balancing family life with her husband and three kids, with her booming business in fashion and entertainment, and on top of it all, still manages to make it all look so fabulous! I love the "go-getter" in Kimora.

And then there's Justine, the loving matriarch of the Simmons clan. What I love about Justine is that she reminds me so much of my own mother. She married Joseph Simmons who had 3 children from a previous relationship and loved and supported the children as if they were her own. Justine never struck me as the typical "look-at-me" hip-hop wife. She was grounded and made sure to keep her family grounded in spiritual values. She's more concerned with the well-being of her family than being known in the industry. It's no wonder the children are so successful. They obviously have the best cheerleader in their corner. Go Jus!