Russell Simmons

@Founder of the Hip-hop Music Label Def Jam, Family and Family ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Russell Simmons is an American businessman, producer and entrepreneur College Dropouts Poorly Educated Vegans American New York University Activists Animal Rights Activists Business People T V & Movie Producers Libra Celebrities Hailed as the ‘hip-hop pioneer’ and one of the ‘Top 25 Most Influential People of the Past 25 Years’, Russell Simmons has played a pivotal role in bringing hip-hop music to the forefront. He is the co-founder of the record label, ‘Def Jam’, which successfully acted as a launch pad for ‘Beastie Boys’, Jay Z, Foxy Brown and Ludacris, among many other stars in the music industry. He has been an influential figure in the genre of hip-hop music and passionately brought marginalised voices to mass audiences. Growing up in the streets of New York City, Simmons was a street hustler during his teenage years and while he was still in college he began to promote many hip-hop artists. A film producer, record producer, entrepreneur and successful businessman, Simmons dons many hats and apart from his music empire he also owns a successful clothing line, ‘Phat Farm’. He is also the owner of the clothing lines, ‘Argyleculture’ and ‘American Classics’. He regularly contributes to the ‘Huffington Post’ and is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Slavery Memorial. An environmentalist at heart, he practises veganism and Ahimsa and was presented with the PETA Humanitarian Award in 2001.

Personal Details

Birthday: October 4, 1957 Nationality: American Famous: Founder of the Hip-hop Music Label Def Jam, College Dropouts, Poorly Educated, Vegans, New York University, Activists, Animal Rights Activists, Business People, T V & Movie Producers Spouses: Kimora Lee Simmons Siblings: Daniel Simmons Jr., Joseph Simmons Known as: Russell Wendell Simmons Childrens: Aoki Lee Simmons, Ming Lee Simmons Information Detail Birthday October 4, 1957 Nationality American Famous Founder of the Hip-hop Music Label Def Jam, College Dropouts, Poorly Educated, Vegans, New York University, Activists, Animal Rights Activists, Business People, T V & Movie Producers Spouses Kimora Lee Simmons Siblings Daniel Simmons Jr., Joseph Simmons Known as Russell Wendell Simmons Childrens Aoki Lee Simmons, Ming Lee Simmons Universities New York University New York University Notable Alumnis New York University Birth Place Queens, New York, United States Height 176cm Gender Male Father Daniel Simmons Sr. Mother Evelyn Simmons Net Worth $325 million as of Aug 8,2012 Sun Sign Libra Born in Queens, New York, United States Famous as Founder of the hip-hop music label Def Jam

Queens, New York, United States

Russell Simmons born at Unsplash Birth Place

In 1992, he met his future wife, Kimora Lee at the New York Fashion week, after which the two began dating and were in a relationship for several years. Unsplash Personal Life

He got married to Kimora Lee on the Saint Barthélemy Island, located in France in 1998. They have two daughters but their marriage ended in divorce in 2009. Unsplash Personal Life

He is a vegan and believes in the principle of Ahimsa. He is also an animal rights activist and supports ‘Farm Sanctuary’, an animal rights protection organisation. Unsplash Personal Life

Russell Simmons was born on October 4, 1957, in Queens, New York to Daniel Simmons, Sr. and Evelyn Simmons. His father was a public school administrator and his mother worked as a park administrator. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1975, he attended the City College of New York for a brief period of time, after which he dropped out and went on to promote local musicians like Run-D.M.C and Kurtis Blow. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1983, he joined hands with Rick Rubin and founded the record label; ‘Def Jam’ which soon began releasing hip-hop singles of several artists. Unsplash Career

In 1984, ‘Def Jam’ released American rapper LL Cool J's hip-hop single ‘I Need a Beat’ and American hip-hop band ‘Beastie Boys’ single ‘Rock Hard’. Unsplash Career

He produced the feature film, ‘Krush Groove’ in 1985, which was directed by Michael Schultz. The plot of the film was centred on the early days of the record label ‘Def Jam’. Unsplash Career

By 1986, ‘Def Jam’ was discovering new talents and they began to venture into the mainstream. They topped the music charts with releases like ‘Licensed to Ill’, and ‘Raising Hell’. Unsplash Career

In 1988, he worked with more new talents, which made the ‘Def Jam’ label one of the most successful hip-hop labels of that time. That year, Rick Rubin left the company. Unsplash Career

He is the founder of the clothing line, ‘Phat Farm’, which initially began as a small showroom in New York. The clothing line expanded and turned into a multibillion dollar business. Unsplash Major Works

He was the co-founder of the record label, ‘Def Jam’, which was an immensely successful record label that helped launch the careers of many hip-hop artists in the industry. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	October 4, 1957
Nationality	American
Famous	Founder of the Hip-hop Music Label Def Jam, College Dropouts, Poorly Educated, Vegans, New York University, Activists, Animal Rights Activists, Business People, T V & Movie Producers
Spouses	Kimora Lee Simmons
Siblings	Daniel Simmons Jr., Joseph Simmons
Known as	Russell Wendell Simmons
Childrens	Aoki Lee Simmons, Ming Lee Simmons
Universities	New York University New York University
Notable Alumnis	New York University
Birth Place	Queens, New York, United States
Height	176cm
Gender	Male
Father	Daniel Simmons Sr.
Mother	Evelyn Simmons
Net Worth	$325 million as of Aug 8,2012
Sun Sign	Libra
Born in	Queens, New York, United States
Famous as	Founder of the hip-hop music label Def Jam

Russell Simmons

American

Oct 4, 1957

Biography

Personal Details

Queens, New York, United States