Kimora Lee Simmons and Russell Simmons' Daughter Aoki Defends Modeling While Attending Harvard

Aoki Lee Simmons, daughter of Kimora Lee Simmons and Russell Simmons, defended her choice to pursue modeling while attending Harvard University: “Do whatever you want.”

By Tamantha Gunn Aug 03, 2022 8:45 PMTags
Watch: Kimora Lee Simmons' Daughter Aoki Lee's Harvard Dorm Room Tour

Aoki Lee Simmons wants the girls to know they can have brains and beauty. 

The Harvard student, 19, was recently asked by a fan on TikTok why she still wanted to model even though she was "so articulate and obviously educated" and Aoki—the youngest daughter of model Kimora Lee Simmons and record executive Russell Simmons—had the perfect response.

"Well, one, models aren't uneducated and not articulate,'" she explained in the Aug. 1 post, "but two, I think what you're really getting at is, 'Why am I going into a field that doesn't necessarily require a degree or require a whole lot of book smarts when I have a lot of education?'"

Aoki shared that though she loves modeling, it wasn't her first passion. Due to her height, she used to play volleyball. "I think we should normalize you liking something," she continued. "You don't have to do what you're immediately good at. You can be good at something and not want to do it forever."

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The teen—who made her modeling debut in the Pyer Moss Paris Couture Show last year—said that she wants "us to move towards a future" where women aren't being questioned about doing what they love.

"I would like to change the idea that you can't be smart and pretty, or you can't be smart and enjoy your looks or enjoy a creative, beauty-fashion-based career," Aoki continued. "You can be two kinds of people in one person. That's really who I am."

Aoki concluded her TikTok video by encouraging her followers to follow their passion. "Do whatever you want," she noted. "Get a degree; don't use it. Get a degree; use it later ... Get a degree later. Don't get one—do whatever you want to do! And nothing is a waste of your talent. Whatever path took you there was the right one."