Kimora Lee Simmons clears up misconception she isn’t self-made

Kimora Lee Simmons has always been in the fab lane.

From walking for Chanel at age 13 to building her Baby Phat empire in 1999, the media mogul, 50, has always been a go-getter.

And Simmons is ready to give a whole new generation of viewers a glimpse into the life she has built.

But before “Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane” debuts on E! on Dec. 2, Simmons is making it clear that she is self-made.

“I read stuff all the time,” the reality star exclusively told The Post. “One misconception I think is out there is that to get where I’ve gotten, I’ve had to take that from someone or do certain things to get where I’ve gotten as opposed to having been working since I was 10 or that a woman can be an entrepreneur on her own.

“Or that a woman has to get it from her husband or her ex-husband, whether that’s credibility or funds,” Simmons added.

“Or in my life, if you really look, all the evidence is there,” she continued. “I’m the one supporting them. That’s a misconception for sure. I support a lot of people in my family and around my family, and I am a working, living, breathing representation that women are strong and can achieve things on their own and can be powerful of their own merit.”

The fashion icon has a full house in Beverly Hills.

Simmons is mom to daughters Ming, 25, and Aoki, 23, with her ex-husband Russell Simmons, whom she was married to from 1998 to 2009.

The businesswoman also shares son, Kenzo, 16, with ex Djimon Hounsou and adopted son, Gary, 16, in 2020.

Simmons tied the knot with Tim Leissner in 2014 and welcomed son Wolfe, 10, before splitting in 2022.

She is also mom to “bonus son” Jayden, 19.

Simmons also understands that being a successful woman “doesn’t mean that someone didn’t give you good advice or help you up in the business.

“It means you didn’t have to do nefarious acts to be accomplished and successful, and that’s kind of a thing I get sick of hearing about women everywhere,” she admitted. “It’s always got to be, ‘Well, how did you do that?’ Everything is not a, ‘How did you do that?’ You did that with your own work and efforts.”

And while coming up as a young model, Simmons became close friends with another powerful woman in the industry: Naomi Campbell.

“We are [close],” detailed Simmons. “I haven’t talked to her in a while. Naomi is always going to be Naomi, but she definitely, in the past, has supported me and was very kind to me, coming up when I was little and showing me the ropes.”

Along with Campbell, Simmons has kept her Rolodex stocked with several other top-tier A-listers.

“I have a really good phonebook,” she confessed. “I have an original Baby Phat phonebook, that’s the early 2000s, late ’90s. I have the original Def Jam phonebook. My Rolodex is popping.”

In this town, it’s seven degrees of Kimora Lee Simmons.

“Patti LaBelle I love,” the mom of six elaborated. “She’s a big one. I just love her and working with her over the years. I made jewelry for her back in the day. I’m a tremendous fan.”

“Gladys Knight, that’s a good one,” Simmons added. “Did I have Elizabeth Taylor in my phonebook? I love her. Do I have Elton John in my phonebook — these are the real questions!”

Despite her contacts being stacked, the runway star isn’t looking to dial anyone for love these days.

“No one is in my DMs. I don’t know quite how that works,” Simmons mused. “OK, wait — I won’t say no one. I’ve had a few people, but literally, it’s a few people versus all my friends are saying they live in the DMs. I don’t do that. I’m not checking it so much.

“I’ve had a few so-and-so’s, and I was quite shocked,” she added. “But even then, I’ve said ‘Hi,’ thinking, like, ‘What do they want?’ And then they don’t answer back, or they answer kind of strangely. So it’s weird. I don’t really live in the DMs.”

Describing her life as “the ‘Brady Bunch’ but with no husband,” Simmons is thrilled to bring viewers along for the ride once again.

The TV vet’s first reality show, “Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane,” aired for four seasons from 2007 to 2011.

“I think life is just exciting and fun. I want them to get to know the kids a little better because they’re older. I have a couple more kids than I had before. I’m involved in so many businesses,” gushed the boss. “I don’t think people really realize the magnitude. I think that’s interesting. And some of them are quite fun and popular things, like Celsius. I own Celsius. I think some of these things they love, and they’re like, ‘Wait a minute, that’s you?’ So I think it’s interesting to see the evolution.”

Along with being back on reality television, Simmons is keeping the name Baby Phat on everyone’s lips.

“Baby Phat is back,” she exclaimed. “I think that’s fun because it’s kind of like an OG streetwear brand. So to see that and see where it came from a little bit, it’s like doing it again but for all the current kids.”

“Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane” debuts on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 10 p.m. on E!.