You know Kimora Lee Simmons. The 6-foot-tall "Life in the Fab Lane" icon, the woman who basically invented the luxury streetwear aesthetic with Baby Phat, and the person who has lived about ten lives in the public eye. But when people talk about her, they usually talk about Russell Simmons or her daughters. They rarely talk about the guy who actually started it all—her dad.
Kimora Lee Simmons father, Vernon Whitlock Jr., is a name you might have heard in passing, but the guy's life reads like a movie script that’s almost too wild to be real. We’re talking about a man who was a pioneer in law enforcement, a federal marshal, a barber, and… well, a guy who spent some time behind bars.
It’s a lot to unpack. Honestly, his story is the blueprint for a lot of Kimora’s resilience.
The Marshals and the Flashy Cars
Let’s go back to St. Louis. Vernon Whitlock Jr. wasn’t just some guy in the neighborhood; he was a trailblazer. He was actually the first Black deputy Federal Marshal in St. Louis. Think about that for a second. In the 1960s, that was a massive deal. He graduated at the top of his police academy class and was recruited by the feds in 1962.
He even claimed to have marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery. He was a man of status. But Vernon had a taste for the finer things, which—surprise, surprise—clearly rubbed off on Kimora.
💡 You might also like: Kellyanne Conway Age: Why Her 59th Year Matters More Than Ever
People in St. Louis remember him as a "superfly" figure. He drove flashy cars and carried himself with a certain bravado that didn't always mesh with a government salary. Eventually, he quit the marshals to become an investigator for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) because the pay was better. Later, he became a bail bondsman.
That’s where things started to get complicated.
The Fall and the Federal Case
In the mid-1980s, the "Fab Lane" wasn't exactly fab for Vernon. He got caught up in a federal drug investigation. Specifically, he was charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and ended up being sentenced to prison.
Kimora was just a kid when this went down. While her mother, Joanne (Kyoko) Perkins, was the one who really held things together and pushed Kimora into the modeling world to keep her out of trouble, the absence of her father during those formative years was huge.
📖 Related: Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
Vernon ended up serving a few years. It’s one of those things that usually gets glossed over in her glossy reality TV shows, but it’s a core part of her history. Imagine being a young girl in St. Louis, your dad is this legendary, powerful federal marshal, and then suddenly he’s on the other side of the bars. That kind of whiplash changes a person.
What Most People Get Wrong About Their Relationship
There’s this assumption that because Kimora’s dad was incarcerated during her childhood, they were permanently estranged. That’s actually not the case.
Once he got out, Vernon settled back into a much quieter life. He eventually became a barber in St. Louis. He stayed in his hometown while Kimora was out conquering Paris runways and New York boardrooms.
You’ve probably seen the occasional photo of them together. Kimora has been pretty vocal about the fact that, despite his mistakes, she has a lot of love for him. She’s called him "brilliant" and "charismatic." It seems like she inherited his personality—the part of him that could walk into any room and own it—while her mom provided the discipline.
👉 See also: Jeremy Renner Accident Recovery: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
Why Vernon Whitlock Jr. Matters to the Kimora Brand
You can’t understand Kimora Lee Simmons without understanding the dual nature of her upbringing.
- The Law Enforcement Discipline: Even though he strayed, the early years of her father’s career were about authority and being "the first." Kimora has always carried herself like a pioneer.
- The "Superfly" Aesthetic: Vernon’s love for flashy cars and being the "coolest guy in the room" is the literal DNA of Baby Phat. It’s that St. Louis swag translated into a global fashion empire.
- The Survival Instinct: Seeing her father lose his status and go to prison taught her that everything can vanish in a second. It made her a shark in business.
Where is Vernon Whitlock Jr. now?
As of 2026, Vernon is much older and keeps a very low profile. Unlike Kimora’s ex-husband Russell, who seems to be in the headlines every other week for drama or legal issues, Vernon has stayed out of the mix.
He’s mostly known now as the grandfather to Ming, Aoki, Kenzo, and Wolfe. It’s a strange full-circle moment. The man who was once a deputy marshal and then a federal inmate is now the patriarch of a multi-million dollar family dynasty.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Researchers
If you're digging into the history of the Perkins/Simmons family, here is how to view the Vernon Whitlock Jr. era:
- Look for the St. Louis connection: Much of Kimora’s "around the way girl" persona comes from the specific culture of St. Louis where Vernon was a prominent figure.
- Differentiate between the men: Don't confuse Vernon with Isiah Whitlock Jr. (the actor from The Wire). They share a name, and Isiah sadly passed away recently, but they aren't the same person.
- Study the Mother’s Influence: While Vernon provided the "flavor," Kimora’s mother Kyoko provided the stability. If you want the full picture, you have to look at how Kyoko managed the family after Vernon’s legal troubles.
Vernon Whitlock Jr. is a reminder that people are complicated. You can be a hero and a villain in the same lifetime. For Kimora, he was just "Dad"—the man who showed her that life can be big, loud, and sometimes very, very messy.
To truly understand Kimora’s trajectory, one should look at the archival records of the first Black marshals in Missouri; it provides a sobering context for the world she was born into. It wasn't just about fashion; it was about a family trying to make it in a system that wasn't designed for them.