Russell Wendell Simmons was born in the Hollis neighborhood of New York City's Queens borough on October 4, 1957. His father was a public school administrator and his mother was a … See more

Simmons co-founded Def Jam in 1996 with Rick Rubin, who sold his share of the company for $120 million to Universal Music Group in … See more

Simmons is an advocate of Ahimsa and veganism, citing animal rights along with the environmental and health benefits. He said he went vegan … See more

In August 2013, Simmons launched the controversial "Harriet Tubman Sex Tape" parody video on his YouTube channel, All Def Digital, which led to public outrage and many critics demanding an apology. The video featured an actress portraying the abolitionist See more

Marriage
Simmons and model Kimora Lee met in November 1991, when she was 16 years old and still in high school. On December 20, 1998, they … See more

Simmons is a senior advisor of the vegan burger brand Everything Legendary. In 2022, the company closed a $6 million series A round. See more

Background
In November 2017, model Keri Claussen Khalighi accused Simmons of raping her in 1991, when she was 17. Simmons and Brett Ratner, whom Khalighi accused of watching them without intervening when she asked for his … See more