Black Celebrity Men

After reading Djimon (pronounced Jy-mon...I am so mad I've been pronouncing his name as Digi-mon this whole time!) and Kimora's intimate interview in Ebony magazine's February 2010 issue, they are becoming one of my favorite black celebrity couples. The couple, who still haven't secured a formal marriage license in America but instead had a commitment ceremony in Djimon's native home of Benin, West Africa, discussed the night they met at Prince's Academy Awards after party in 2007, their children (Kimora's daughters Ming and Aoki call him Baba, an endearing name that means Dad) and Kimora's ex-husband Russell Simmons. Djimon says he couldn't believe how down-to-earth Kimora was and that she completely erased his initial impression of her, replacing a stereotype with a picture of a woman who cared most about her daughters, her family and her business. "She's more in touch with herself and with life than most women I've been with. I look up to her." How sweet is he? And Kimora admits that since being with Djimon, she has matured greatly. It doesn't hurt that Ming and Aoki adore him as much as their mom. Read excerpts from the interview below.

DJIMON ON THE NIGHT THEY MET: "She turned around and said, 'Hi, my name is Kimora Lee,' and I said 'Right, you don't need to introduce yourself. I am quite aware of who you are.'...We were having a deep conversation about our families, about kids, about this and that...And then the eyes meet....and I realized, there's so much more to her. I never thought she would be as grounded as she seemed that night...As I was giving her my number, I said, 'Well, I hope you would enjoy the number for something other than your fashion shows or get-togethers or parties...First thing in the morning, I sent her a text. I wanted to catch her because she was to leave and go back to New York. I wanted to get, as we say, a good conversation in before she took off. I sent a text and said, 'Hey, if you are up for dinner...' And that's how we started it. I said to her, 'You're one very successful woman. You have it great. You have two kids. You are married to one of the most iconic men in the world (Kimora and Russell were separated before she and Djimon met). What else could you need? Or want?' I was much more skeptical of where she was coming from than I was about what I had to offer. I realized that she was looking for a great foundation as far as relationships are concerned and that really hit me.

No woman has ever made me feel the way she makes me feel. She makes me dream big."


KIMORA ON DJIMON: "He's just different. I can't explain it. If you meet Djimon, to know his personality and his sentiment. (she sighs) I don't know. He's just different spiritually. I just never would have thought a life could be possible like this. Me and Djimon can be in a room full of people or we can be in a room alone and we maintain a connection. I feel like he's my long-lost friend. Something about him is really nourishing for my soul and makes me very happy. I don't feel like I'm keeping up with any Joneses. I don't feel like my hair or my clothes have to be a certain way. I don't feel like I need anything. I feel like I'm more than a complete person, Djimon really completes me. I feel like my life has fallen into the right place in a great way. I've been very slow and deliberate, and I feel like it has paid off for me in ways that I could not have imagined."

KIMORA ON HER & RUSSELL'S BREAK-UP: "Russell and I had a great relationship....but I think coping with or adjusting to my life, which was becoming very big and very busy was tough for him. When you get older, when you get wiser, when you get busier, when you start to create a career for yourself, a life for yourself, I think that certain issues or topics or indiscretions or whatever you want to call them are not going to be OK as when you were a teenager in love. Nothing's the same when you hit that mid-20s, late-20s stage. And when you're in your 30s, you kind of know what you want for yourself. I felt like I owed it to myself and to my children to obtain the best life possible. People may have thought the break-up was because my personality is so much bigger than life. I'm loud. I'm over the top, whatever. I'm a family girl with children, and that's really the goal and the life I want for myself. I have everything a girl could ever want. I have everything that you could buy. I have every diamond in ever color. That's not important to me now. I have it all and I could do fine without it. And that's what's important to know.

I cannot say that Russell wants something different, but I want different in a partner. I expect different in a partner. I expect an equal playing field when it comes to matters of family and raising children."

MORE BEAUTIFUL PICTURES OF DJIMON & HIS FAMILY + EXCERPTS WHEN YOU CLICK THE LINK BELOW!