Kimora Lee is dropping “Simmons” from her last name as she prepares to tell her story on her own terms.
The model, entrepreneur and mother of five will open up about her life in the upcoming documentary Kimora Lee: On Her Own, premiering Sept. 20.
Lifetime announced the film on Wednesday, noting it will include “candid interviews” with Lee’s children, family, friends and collaborators
The documentary follows he journey from one of Karl Lagerfeld’s youngest Chanel models to the businesswoman behind Baby Phat. It also explores her public marriages and divorces from music mogul Russell Simmons and former Goldman Sachs investment banker Tim Leissner — both men faced legal troubles and tabloid headlines.
“It’s been a painful ride,” she says in the trailer for the film and is shown breaking down in tears.
Lee is listed without the Simmons last name in the Lifetime announcement and say she is ready to reclaim her story.
“So many years of being somebody’s muse, somebody’s wife, somebody’s ex. Someone else always holding the pen,” she said. “Not anymore. Here are the highs, the lows and the receipts. No filter. Just Kimora Lee.”
Lee married Russell Simmons in 1998, and the former couple divorced in 2009. They share two daughters, Ming and Aoki. The hip-hop mogul has been accused of sexual abuse by multiple women, as detailed in the HBO docuseries On the Record. Simmons denied the allegations, saying: “I have never engaged in nonconsensual sex.”
She married Leissner in 2014. The former Goldman Sachs partner pleaded guilty in 2018 to bribery and money-laundering charges connected to corruption scandal, according to the New York Post. He was sentenced to federal prison in May 2025. Lee and Leissner, who share son Wolfe, divorced in 2022.
The documentary also highlights Lee’s influence on fashion and culture through Baby Phat, a brand that helped bring hip-hop style to the mainstream.
The announcement about the project comes after Lee returned to reality TV on E!’s Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane in 2025. The reality series followed her life as a single mother managing five children and a multimillion-dollar business empire nearly 15 years after her original reality show ended.
The new documentary is executive produced by Tara Long, Nadine Rajabi, Mark Ford, Ben Megargel and Willis Davidson of Blink49 Studios. Lee and Brandon Robins also executive produce, while Brie Miranda Bryant executive produces for Lifetime.
Kimora Lee: On Her Own premieres Sunday, Sept. 20, at 8/7c on Lifetime.
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