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 park administrator for the See more

Simmons co-founded Def Jam in 1984 with Rick Rubin, who sold his share of the company for $120 million to Universal Music Group in 1996. In 1985, Simmons co-produced and appeared in the film Krush Groove. Simmons' company, Rush Communications … 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 … 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 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 … See more