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By: Chantel Edwards To: Mr. Amarikwa Period English 3 
Life

Russell Simmons born October 4, 1957. In Queens, New York, United States. Simmons was raised in Queens, New York. He is the son of Daniel Simmons, Sr., a public school administrator, and Evelyn Simmons, a New York City park administrator. Simmons met Kimora Lee Simmons in November 1992 at a New York’s fashion week. They dated for about 4 years and got married on December 20, 1998 on the French Caribbean island of Saint Barthelemy. They have 2 daughters together, Ming Lee (born 2000) and Aoki Lee (born 2002). Before the couple's divorce, they owned a 4-acre (16,000 m²), 49,000-square-foot (4,600 m²), 10-bedroom marital home. March 2006, Lee and Simmons announced that they would be getting a divorce. Their divorce finalized in January 2009. They would continue to work together on Phat Farm and Baby Phat clothing lines.

Career

Simmons began his music career in a group called The Force, who made their name putting on block parties in Harlem and Queens. The group was joined by Kool DJ Kurt who Simmons went onto manage - persuading him to change his name to Kurtis Blow.

Simmons went on to sign some of hip hop's most influential acts to Def Jam, from Public Enemy to Slick Rick. In 1999 he sold his remaining stake to Universal for a reported $120M but continued his role as chairman and is still an influential figure, having signed current stars like Jay-Z, Ludacris and more. Simmons has had his hands in several non-music related projects over the years, including clothing line Phat Farm, which he sold in 2004 for a rumored $140 million, a TV and movie Production Company, an advertising agency and a new athletics line called Run Athletics.