Kimberly Antwinette Porter (December 15, 1970 – November 15, 2018) was an American model and actress.

Career

Porter was from

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

. She began modeling as a teenager and was also a

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Origin ...

. In 1988, she graduated from Columbus High School and moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, to further her modeling career. She appeared in films and TV series such as: '' The Brothers'' (2001), ''

Wicked Wicked Games ''Wicked Wicked Games'' is a telenovela that debuted on December 6, 2006 on the American television network MyNetworkTV. Twentieth Television produced 62 episodes to air weekdays. The limited-run serial was directed by Terry Cunningham, Dennis ...

'' (2006–2007), '' The System Within'' (2006), '' Single Ladies'' (2011), and '' Mama, I Want to Sing!'' (2012). Porter appeared in a number of music videos, and she worked as a receptionist at

Uptown Records Uptown Records is an American record label, based in New York City, founded in 1986 by old school rapper ‘Dr Jekyll’ - Andre Harrell. From the late 1980s into the early 1990s, it was a leader in R&B and hip-hop. Beginnings and success In ...

, after being hired by founder

Andre Harrell Andre O’Neal Harrell (September 26, 1960 – May 7, 2020) was an American record executive, media proprietor, and former rapper. He formed the short-lived East Coast hip hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde with Alonzo Brown in 1980; they sig ...

. Porter was one of the founders of Three Brown Girls, a lifestyle planning company in Atlanta, alongside college friends Nicole Cooke-Johnson and Eboni Elektra. Porter and the company helped start singer

Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson ( ; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and actress. She has received ten Grammy Award nominations, and is the recipient of a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Children's and Family Emmy Award. ...

's career in the music industry, after inviting her to an

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, often taking place at night (an open mic night), in which audience members may perform on ...

night and introducing her to industry contacts. Monáe said that she was "forever indebted" to Porter for believing in her.

Personal life

Porter had a son, Quincy Brown (born 1991), with singer Al B. Sure! to whom she was married (according to a 2020 interview with Al. B Sure! on

Fox Soul Fox Soul is a digital television network and live streaming service operated by Fox Corporation that launched on January 13, 2020. Named after soul music, the network focuses on two demographics; the African American experience and Christian med ...

network) from 1989 until either late 1990 or 1991. From 1994 until 2007, Porter had an on-and-off relationship with rapper and record executive

Sean Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...

. They had a son, Christian, and twin daughters, Jessie and D'lila.

Death

Porter died on November 15, 2018, in Toluca Lake, California after several days of "flu-like symptoms". Her cause of death was listed as "deferred" on her

death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, a ...

, and after an

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

was completed on November 16, 2018, the

Los Angeles County Coroner's Office The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner is the medical examiner's office of the government of the County of Los Angeles, California. It is located at the Boyle Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles. The office was created in its p ...

confirmed on January 25, 2019, that her death was a result of

lobar pneumonia Lobar pneumonia is a form of pneumonia characterized by inflammatory exudate within the intra-alveolar space resulting in consolidation that affects a large and continuous area of the lobe of a lung. It is one of three anatomic classifications ...

. Her funeral at Cascade Hills Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia, was attended by hundreds of mourners, including Sean Combs. Her remains were interred at Evergreen Memorial Park in Columbus, Georgia. In 2023, Combs included a tribute song to Porter on his album '' The Love Album: Off the Grid'', entitled "Kim Porter", featuring

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

and

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Kim 1970 births 2018 deaths Actresses from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American actresses African-American female models American film actresses American television actresses Deaths from pneumonia in California Female models from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Columbus, Georgia Sean Combs