Kimora Lee Simmons is opening up about the expanded role she plays in the lives of several children beyond her own — including the twin daughters of her late friend Kim Porter.
While appearing on Today With Jenna & Friends on Wednesday, December 3, Simmons shared that her already large household has grown even more in recent years.
The fashion entrepreneur and reality TV star, who is a mother of five, described herself as a “surrogate mom” to multiple children connected to her inner circle.
“I have my kids, and then I have kids on the side,” Simmons said with a laugh. “I have a stepdaughter — well, an additional daughter. I have another son, bonus son, who’s on the show, Jayden, another one who’s just been with us for many, many years.”
She went on to explain that this includes the children of Porter, who died in 2018. “One of my friends who passed away, Kim Porter, I have all of her kids,” Simmons said. “Even though some of them are adults, but some of them are 18 — twins.”
Porter was the mother of twins D’Lila and Jessie, now 18, as well as sons Quincy, 33, and Christian, 26, whom she shared with Sean “Diddy” Combs.
When asked whether Porter’s twins regularly come to her for support, Simmons responded plainly: “Yeah, they’re with me. I just got off the phone with them! I’m a lot of people’s mom.”
Simmons is the mother of daughters Ming Lee, 25, and Aoki Lee, 21, whom she shares with ex-husband Russell Simmons. She also shares 16-year-old son Kenzo with Djimon Hounsou and 10-year-old son Wolfe with former husband Tim Leissner. In 2020, she adopted her son, Gary, when he was 10 years old.
Her evolving family dynamic has also played out on screen with the premiere of Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane, her first reality series in more than a decade. The show documents Simmons balancing her businesses while managing a whole household of kids at different stages of life.
Earlier this year, Simmons marked Kenzo’s 16th birthday with a series of Instagram posts celebrating his growth. One photo showed the teen standing nearly a head taller than his mom. “Happy birthday to my 6’7” baby @kenzoklh,” she wrote. “I’m so proud of you for the young man that you’re becoming.”