Many of the famous faces you see around Hollywood and in the business world today are women that once had next to nothing. How did they get where they are now? They married into it and became celebrity wives. However, they are not to be misconstrued as gold diggers, or young women who marry wealthy older men for their money. These famous women met and married men their own age for reasons probably related to love or at least family, and now they have careers and success of their own to show for it.
Kimora Lee Simmons
Kimora Lee Simmons met and married her ex-husband Russell Simmons when she was 17. She’d been modeling for three years at that point and continued to do so for several years after her marriage. Simmons was worth a reported $340 million when Kimora Lee married him. A few kids and a few years later, they divorced. However, Kimora Lee took a huge interest in the couple’s fashion line “Phat Farm” and eventually launched her own line from the brand called “Baby Phat” which she is extremely instrumental in running. She’s gone from teenager on the catwalk to CEO and entrepreneur and she’s now worth an estimated $50 million of her own – none of which would have happened if she hadn’t married Simmons.
Elin Nordegren
She’s the infamous ex-wife of golf superstar Tiger Woods. She’s a Swedish-born woman who was making ends meet as a nanny before she met Tiger in 2001 after moving to America with the family for whom she was nanny. She was working to put herself through school to become a psychiatrist, and even after her 2004 wedding to Tiger, she continued going to school. After a major cheating scandal and ugly divorce, the Swedish nanny turned pro-golfer wife finally graduated with her college degree this year, despite her generous award of $100 million of Tiger’s money in the divorce.
Ivana Trump
Despite being married to one of the richest men in the world, Donald’s ex-wife did not spend her time sitting idle at home getting her nails and hair done. She worked, and she worked hard, which is something she has continued to do since divorcing the Donald and taking half of all his money back in the 90s. Before meeting Donald Trump, Ivana was an Olympic skier, coach and model working hard to make up for growing up with nothing. She and Donald partnered in the real estate business and she’s continued to do well in real estate throughout and long after their marriage ended.
(Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation)
