Ming Lee Simmons on Beauty, Boundaries, and Becoming Herself
Ming Lee Simmons has never been content to exist as a reflection of anyone else’s legacy.
Born in 2000 to model and Baby Phat founder Kimora Lee Simmons, Ming grew up in the heart of American fashion and entertainment — attending runway shows, learning the mechanics of branding firsthand, and eventually modeling for major labels herself. But even as she embraced the world that she was raised in, she also understood early on that her own identity would have to be carved out with intention.
That evolution takes center stage with Boulangerie Beauty, Ming’s first independent fragrance and body care venture. A deeply personal project, Boulangerie marries her lifelong love of scent with her understanding of how beauty rituals shape confidence. The brand’s concept leans into sensory indulgence — its very name evokes a French bakery — and its debut collection features gourmand-leaning offerings such as Soufflé Vanille, Macaron Pistache, Creme Caramel, and Coco Vanille. Released as a three-step system of perfume mists, body creams, and body oils, the line reflects Ming’s desire to craft products that transform everyday routines into meaningful self-care rituals.
But beyond its indulgent formulas, Boulangerie also represents something larger for Ming: a declaration of independence and authorship. After graduating from New York University in 2023, she began pursuing projects where she could act not only as a face but as a creator. Her work on the Baby Phat relaunch hinted at some of those ambitions, but Boulangerie is the first brand fully ideated and shaped under her own direction. It marks a pivotal step in redefining herself — not as the daughter of industry trailblazers, but as an entrepreneur with her own aesthetic vision and business point of view.
As she navigates adulthood and the dialogue around privilege that shadows many second-generation creatives, Ming Lee Simmons is entering a new era on her own terms.
KP: I’m so happy to have you, because this feels a bit like a full circle moment. I sat next to your mom a few times at New York Fashion Week, and the first time I did might have been in 2010 — I taught her how to use her digital camera! [Laughs] She was so sweet and so kind, so it’s very cool to speak with you.
I think that your mom is such a strong woman, from facing criticism regarding her body and ethnicity early on in her career, to building Baby Phat, to advocating for and hiring women of all creeds at her businesses, to — I imagine — being a firebrand mother.
So, given the fact that she struck me as a very genuine person, I can’t resist asking you what it’s been like to have her as a mom. What has she taught you?
MLS: My mom is a very unique person. In addition to being my mother, she is also my best friend; having her in my life has taught me so many things. She taught me how important it is to believe in myself even when it feels like other people don’t. She taught me how to not be afraid to have my own opinions and to not follow a group. She’s shown me what it can look like to be a fearless leader who’s not afraid of criticism.
It’s funny you mentioned that you showed her how to use a digital camera because she’s not afraid to ask for help, and she also taught me that that's not something to be ashamed of.
KP: Which is also a striking sign of intelligence!
You’ve made it a point to begin branching out on your own away from your parents, which is definitely an admirable journey to take. You’ve said that you’re “not trying to be just a model.” So before we delve into what you’re currently working on, why do you feel it’s so important for you to dig deeper than that? Of course, I have many of my own ideas as to why — especially as someone who got her start in the fashion industry initially — but I want to give you the space to speak on that yourself.
MLS: I love being a model. It’s allowed me to travel to so many different places and meet so many different types of people since I graduated college. But I’ve always known that I wanted to do something in my life where I’m not just remembered for my beauty. Kind of circling back to your question about my mom, she always taught me that looks can fade and you might not always fit someone else’s standard of beauty, but no one can take away your intellect or something that you’ve grown yourself. I find it so rewarding to build something on my own from the ground up — that is a different byproduct of hard work.
KP: I want to speak very candidly about the concept of nepotism, because I think that we could have such an interesting conversation about that, coming from opposite ends of the spectrum. Especially in the current climate that we’re in today socially, there is often a lot of pushback regarding nepo babies, and certainly no shortage of conversation around the topic.
Admittedly, I’m someone who has held a lot of the same beliefs that the populace holds regarding children that receive preferential treatment due to their families, but I had a very interesting conversation recently with my girlfriend about nepotism and how perhaps it’s inevitable, so I’ve been changing my views on it a little bit lately — or at least trying to understand the other side.
I grew up with no connections whatsoever — my father was a pharmacist and my mother was a schoolteacher — but I found early success in the fashion industry by the age of 14, which has now carried me into a 17-year-long career. I’ve been able to make connections with people who I never knew one day would even know my name, and I call most of my personal heroes now personal friends. My success came from nothing short of blood, sweat, and tears, and I quite literally had to claw my way through every single thing that ever found me — though I wouldn’t change that for anything.
“She always taught me that looks can fade and you might not always fit someone else’s standard of beauty, but no one can take away your intellect or something that you’ve grown yourself.”
My girlfriend — who is a successful tattoo artist that’s worked alongside some of the most legendary artists in the world — and I were speaking one day, and I half-jokingly said who I would want our hypothetical children’s godparents to be — mentors and friends of ours who are iconic cultural heroes in their own right — and it hit me for the first time ever… Would our children be considered nepo babies? [Laughs] It kind of shattered my world for a second, and it totally flipped the way that I think of nepotism at large.
I don’t know if I’ll ever have kids, but as a parent, you just want the best for your children. If you’ve found success on your own, who wouldn’t want to see their children succeed as well and help them along the way? It would come as naturally as love, right? And, if that’s true, then why do we demonize the children of successful people who didn’t ask to be born into such a favorable situation?
If we look at you as a strong example, you didn’t choose to be born to your parents, so why shouldn’t you have the same chance of happiness and fulfillment in your career that anyone else has the opportunity to obtain?
I understand that the cards are stacked highly in your favor — and I still think that people should still earn their success — but if you’re a hard worker and a talent who doesn’t take her privilege for granted, then why should you be taken any less seriously than anyone else?
I don’t have a question here, but I think that this is such an important topic to address given the fact that you’re heading into business opportunities in your own right, so I wanted to give you the floor in terms of discussing what your experience has been and how you seek to come out on the other side.
MLS: Honestly, I feel really lucky that my mom is who she is. She’s awesome, and that goes way beyond who she is to the world and everyone else. I’m not naive to the fact that I have been afforded an incredibly blessed life, but I'm also doing my part to make sure that it doesn’t go to waste.
KP: And speaking of, you’ve been working on a perfume, which is something that I’ve been learning a lot about recently due to an upcoming project of mine. It is so fascinating, so scientific, and incredibly engaging. So can you tell us a little bit about the brand? How did the concept come to you, and what can we expect from it?
MLS: I have always been so passionate about fragrance and body care. I feel like I always want to smell like something delicious — I feel like it’s the most memorable thing about somebody. When formulating this brand, I just thought about making fragrances that I would want to use.
KP: To speak about your own sense of identity, as a biracial woman of Black, Japanese, and Korean heritage, how have you navigated your own sense of individuality in spaces that often demand labels? Has your understanding of your cultural identity changed over time, especially within the modeling world?
MLS: I’ve always been proud of who I am, and I’ve been blessed enough to have grown up in a space where I never felt different for my skin color or heritage. Maybe it’s because I’ve always seen my mom be celebrated, or maybe it’s because I grew up in a household of so many different cultures. I feel like I’m often asked questions like this, and I’m never quite sure how I should answer them. The truth is that this is just me, and it always has been, so I haven't experienced it any other way.
KP: You’ve spoken very openly about reclaiming your confidence. What was your personal journey with self-image, and how has it evolved?
MLS: My mom always tells me that literally no one cares. You should just do what makes you happy and stop caring about what other people think, because nobody thinks about you as much as you think they do. That’s something that I try to remember.
“I have so many amazing people in my life who love me for who I am, and for many different reasons. A lot of my insecurities actually happen to be some of the reasons that they love me. I’ve grown to just look at myself with more loving eyes.”
KP: I think that’s the best advice.
You’ve been open about setting boundaries, especially when it comes to online narratives about your family. How do you maintain control of your own story and find a sense of inner peace through all the noise?
MLS: The way that I’ve lived my life recently — especially when it comes to reclaiming my confidence — is that I try to view the things that I don’t like about myself from a different perspective. I have so many amazing people in my life who love me for who I am, and for many different reasons. A lot of my insecurities actually happen to be some of the reasons that they love me. I’ve grown to just look at myself with more loving eyes.
KP: I think that’s something we all should do.
As someone that I’m sure feels very misunderstood, is there a common misconception about you that you’d like to dispel?
MLS: Yes, I recently heard a rumor that I’m not a princess, and I would like to challenge that… Just kidding! I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.
KP: [Laughs] Okay, thanks for setting that record straight.
What’s the best advice that you've ever received, and from whom?
MLS: I would say that the answer to this question is the opposite of this. In order for me to have found peace through all the noise, I have had to let go of trying to control my own image, as well as my family‘s narrative on the internet. People are always going to have their own opinions, and it’s a waste of my energy and time to try and change it.
KP: What do you feel makes a provocative woman?
MLS: A woman that is not afraid to be herself.
