Kimora Lee Simmons’ eldest daughter, Ming Lee Simmons, has sparked concern among fans about her health after following in her footsteps to model.
On Jan. 29, Ming, 25, celebrated her first appearance in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, marking a major milestone in her modeling career. While she received praise from loved ones and peers, some fans couldn’t help but worry about her small and delicate frame.
“She’s an SI rookie,” the 25-year-old daughter of model Kimora Lee Simmons captioned her Sports Illustrated photo. She then thanked her entire glam squad, as well as Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition for the opportunity of a lifetime.
The photos show Ming Lee posing in front of trees whilst wearing a yellow bikini and glaring at the camera.
With her swimsuit being her only attire, it is easy for viewers to get a good look at her thin physique. Ming has always been relatively thin, but for some people, she appears to look even smaller than usual.
Fans reacted to her petite figure is in the comments of her post.
One concerned person on her page said, “Ming wait hold on are you okay??”
More concerned fans commented on Kimora’s page after the proud mother of five reposted the image from the SI shoot.
Another other wrote, “Geez let the poor girl eat!”
Amidst the criticism, several fans came to Ming Lee’s defense.
“She actually spoke about having a serious illness about a year ago or so. Sometimes we need to stop judging and give people grace,” one person commented.
“Maybe she intentionally cut fat for her swimsuit photoshoot. Bodybuilders do it all the time. We don’t know, regardless shelooks amazing,” wrote another.
A third supporter simply stated, “She looks flawless!”
At first glance, Ming appears to have the perfect standard body for a high fashion model of the 1990s. During that time the waifish, or extremely thin, and tall figures were the classic frames for models who wanted to make it big.
To meet this standard, some women would take extreme measures like partaking in dangerous diets. It even became a trend for models to eat cotton balls to fill them up instead of actual food.
But in later years, inclusivity became a focal point for the fashion industry. This created opportunities for women of different ages, weights and heights to grace the cover of magazines and walk on runways. It also allowed more space for representation of the everyday woman.
Ming touched on this shift in the industry during an interview with Into The Gloss last August.
She said, “It’s an exciting time to model. My mom always talks about her modeling days, and how models had to stay a certain size. There’s still some of that pressure in the industry, but I’m excited that brands are looking for people of all different sizes and shapes and colors to represent them.”
Neither Ming Lee nor Kimora has spoken on her weight loss.
