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Kimora Lee lives in a $14 million house in
suburban New Jersey. It has an indoor pool, a movie theatre, a gym, 11
bedrooms, furniture that Gianni Versace once owned, several Swarovski crystal
chandeliers, at least one six figure Egypian vase. She negotiates deals
for Phat Farm, has her own line of clothes, and bridges to the US' largest
visible minorites. The multinationals like Heineken, Gap, MacDonald's,
Coca-Cola, Cover Girl, Pepsi and L'Oreal and the "Got Milk' Campaign seeks
the opinions of her husband.
| ESSENTIALS: |
| Real Name:
Kimora Lee Simmons |
| Date of Birth:
May 3, 1975 |
| Place of Birth:
St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
| Best Known From:
Model and actress ("Brown Sugar",
"The Big Tease"). Wife of producer Russell Simmons who was
featured as The CEO of Hip Hop on the cover of Business Week, |
In the Business Week article where her husband
was featured on cover:
"Founder Russell Simmons has lively
partners in wife, Kimora Lee, and younger brother, Reverend Run, formerly
of Run-DMC".
Rap
mogul buys Sunset Strip villa for US$5.3m
Hip-hop may have been born
poor in 1970s New York, but it does not live there anymore. Russell Simmons,
widely recognized for taking rap and hip-hop into the mainstream, and his wife,
Kimora Lee, have purchased a Sunset Strip-area home in Los Angeles for close to
US$5.3 million (HK$41.34 million).
Hip-hop may have been born poor in 1970s New York, but it
does not live there anymore. Russell Simmons, widely recognized for taking rap
and hip-hop into the mainstream, and his wife, Kimora Lee, have purchased a
Sunset Strip-area home in Los Angeles for close to US$5.3 million (HK$41.34
million).
The house has a rare amenity for its bustling locale, where parking is at a
premium: a motor court with room for five cars in addition to a two-car garage.
The gated Mediterranean has five bedrooms and four bathrooms in 5,800 square
feet. The villa, built in 1988, has high ceilings and stone floors.
Outside, the home is described as "fully equipped for entertaining"
with an outdoor kitchen, fireplace and a pool.
Simmons liked the estate's privacy and proximity to Sunset Boulevard. The
17,000-plus sqft lot, considered large for the area, and city views from the
master bedroom also were draws. The couple make their East Coast home in New
Jersey. They formerly lived in New York, where he grew up. Simmons put his
Manhattan penthouse on the market at US$11 million in June. The 13-room, 7,000
sqft property has media, meditation and game rooms and was once featured on the
MTV series Cribs. The building was damaged in the September 11 attacks but was
renovated before Simmons listed it. The hip-hop mogul, in his late 40s,
announced in April the formation of Russell Simmons Music Group, a partnership
with Island Def Jam Music Group.
He rose to fame in the '80s when he co-founded the Def Jam label, which he
popularized with the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J. Simmons sold Def Jam in 1999
for US$100 million. He also produced the HBO series Def Comedy Jam and Def
Poetry Jam.
His wife heads Baby Phat, a clothing line for women.
Darren Star, creator of HBO comedy Sex and the City, has sold his Hollywood
Hills home for about US$4 million. Star, 44, also bought a Bel-Air house for an
estimated US$6 million.
The house he sold is on almost an acre and is reached by way of a long,
private drive. The gated, four-bedroom, 3,100 sqft residence also has a pool and
sprawling lawns. The one-story house was designed by architect Hal Levitt in the
'60s.
Beverly Hills, 90210 launched Star's career as a writer-director-producer in
1990. The show ran until 2000 and was credited with energizing the Fox TV
network and the Aaron Spelling TV empire. Sex and the City debuted in 1998.
Warner Bros has given Star the go- ahead to produce a drama set in the
Hamptons. He is co-creator of Kitchen Confidential, a comedy series, which is
set to return to Fox in November.
Corbin Bernsen, who appears in the just-released movie Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang,
a postmodern version of the LA- based hard-boiled-detective story starring
Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer, has completed a redo of house No15 with his
wife, actress-designer Amanda Pays.
The couple have renovated houses since 1995, when they refurbished and then
sold a Beverly Hills home to actor Steve Martin for US$3 million. The pair have
bought most of their homes in the San Fernando Valley.
Their recent renovation, in the Encino section of the San Fernando Valley, is
for sale at close to US$2 million. The couple have owned the property for
slightly more than a year. They paid US$1.4 million. It has four bedrooms and
four bathrooms in 3,000-plus sqft. The gated home on a 36,000 sqft lot was built
in 1941.
Pays orchestrates work on the houses and confers with her husband when he is
not busy playing John Durant, Carly's long-lost father on the ABC daytime series
General Hospital. The actor, 51, also has a recurring role on the UPN show Cuts.
Bernsen gained fame playing Arnie Becker, a smarmy divorce attorney in the NBC
series LA Law (1986-94).
In addition to remodeling homes, Pays has launched a furniture collection
with a company called Directions and is working on an accessories line.
Refurbishing houses is "still something we enjoy
doing and is a creative
outlet for me," the English actress said. LOS ANGELES TIMES
4 Nov 2005
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