Vanessa Simmons Wiki
Vanessa Jean Simmons, an actress with nearly 30 acting credits, rose to prominence after appearing in the Music Television (MTV) reality show “Run’s House”. Vanessa’s parents and siblings are the focus of the show, which aired 50 episodes from 2005 to 2009. The series had five award nominations, and won the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Award for Outstanding Reality – (Series) in 2008.
Early life, family, and education
Vanessa was born under the zodiac sign of Leo on 5 August 1983, in Laie, Hawaii USA; she holds American nationality, and her ethnicity is African-American. She’s the daughter of the rapper and one of the founders of the hip-hop group Run- D.M.C, Joseph Ward Simmons, better known as DJ Run or Rev Run. Her mother, Valerie Vaughn, kept her life away from the public eye, so there is nothing known about her.
Vanessa’s parents married in 1983, and they have two more children beside her, younger siblings Angela and Joseph ‘JoJo’. Angela and Vanessa are the owners and designers of the shoe brand Pastry, while JoJo runs the record label.
It isn’t clear when their parents divorced, but in 1994, DJ Run married Justine Jones, who is known for her jewelry line Brown Sugar. Justine gave birth to Vanessa’s half-siblings, Daniel, Russell and Victoria Anne who sadly died shortly after being born in September 2006. The family documented baby’s death in the show because as they said, they wanted people to see how they dealt with this family tragedy.
In 2007, DJ Run and Justine adopted a baby girl, and named her Miley Justine Simmons.
Speaking of Vanessa’s education, she attended a local high school, and upon matriculating in 2001, she enrolled at St. John’s College in New York City, US from which she graduated with a BA degree in 2005.
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Acting career
Vanessa made her acting debut portraying Lola in the series “Guiding Light” in 2007. Two years later, she was cast to play Cicely in “Boogie Town”, a musical drama, also starring Marques Houston, Kat Graham, and Brenda Song.
In 2010, Vanessa was seen as Elizabeth in “Speed-Dating”, a romantic comedy-drama about three bachelors who were speeding through their lives, scheming on women; the movie had no nominations, and received a low audience rating.
Vanessa made an appearance in the 2011 TV movie “Worst. Prom. Ever.”, followed by her role as Tricia in “Talking with the Taxman About Poetry” in the same year.
Vanessa portrayed Hanna in Corey Grant’s comedy-drama “Dysfunctional Friends” (2012), starring Stacey Dash and Wesley Jonathan, which followed a story of nine estranged friends who reconnected after one of their close friends dies. The audience rated this movie as very entertaining.
In the following years, Vanessa was seen in “Hollywood Chaos” (2013), “Could This Be Love” (2014), and “Better Off Single” (2016), before her first lead role in the 2017 movie “We Got You”.
She followed with her role in the 2018 drama “Juug Gone Wrong”, and then she was cast to play Caroline in the series “Monogamy”, also starring Darius McCrary and Jill Marie Jones. The series aired until 2021, and followed the story of four married couples who undergo Swap Therapy in order to save their broken marriages.
Next, Vanessa was cast to play Jackie Herman in the series “Games People Play”, a drama about three ambitious women who showed their strength and power in the competitive world of professional sports. The series aired from 2019 until 2021, but Vanessa was seen in only eight episodes during 2019.
Concurrently, she appeared in the movies “South Central Love” and “A Holiday Change”, while her next lead role came in 2020. Vanessa then portrayed Queen in the drama “Happiness”, starring opposite Lorey Hayes and Darrin Dewitt Henson.
In the same year, she had supporting roles in “Still Here” and “Live”. Next, Vanessa was seen as Sonya in the 2021 movies “Never and Again”, “Christmas with My Ex”, and “Hip Hop Family Christmas”, rated as an amazing story.
Vanessa’s fans will be happy to hear that her movie “Night Games” is completed and should be released on 1 December 2022. We have other good news for her fans – Vanessa is busy filming the movie entitled “Deadly Ex-Wife”, and her co-stars are Rico Simonini and Monica Calhoun.
Love life, husband, and daughter
Vanessa has been the subject of various rumors concerning her love life, however, we can say that rumors about her dating Michael Wayans, the son of the famous comedian Damon Wayans, are true.
The two began dating back in 2005, and had an off-and-on relationship – when they were separated in 2007, Vanessa was seen with Brandon Collier, a professional American Football player, and in 2008, she was romantically linked with Dwayne Wade, a professional basketball player, however, Vanessa hasn’t confirmed if they were a couple.
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Eventually, she was again seen with Michael Wayans, and many of her fans believed that the two reconciled. When Vanessa announced that she is pregnant and that the baby’s father is Michael, it was clear that they continued their love story.
On 13 February 2014, Vanessa gave birth to their daughter Ava Marie Jean. Vanessa once mentioned that she would love to marry, however, she didn’t want to be a pregnant bride. She dreams to wear a long flowing wedding dress. As of October 2022, Vanessa and Michael haven’t announced their wedding date, but are raising their daughter together.
Age, height, and net worth
This 39-year-old actress is well-known for her elegant clothing combinations which she often shares on her Instagram, which has been followed by over two million people. She has dark brown eyes and her long, black hair is her trademark. Vanessa stands at a height of 5ft 6ins (1.67m), and weighs around 125lbs (57kgs) with vital statistics of 34-25-35.
Speaking of her wealth, besides her acting career, as mentioned she owns her design line, and she is also the owner of the luxury hair brand Yummy Extensions. According to sources, Vanessa has a net worth estimated at over $9 million.
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