Kim Lee is the ‘Bling Empire’ party girl—here’s why we can’t get enough of her
Bling Empire’s Kim Lee became an instant favorite as soon as we were introduced to her on the show back in 2021. In fact, we can’t get enough of the famous DJ and reality TV star now that we’re deeply invested in her fun-filled life after following her and the entire Bling Empire cast on Instagram.
The show follows the lives of a lavish group of Asian-American friends who live incredibly affluent, glamorous lifestyles—think Crazy Rich Asians meets The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Now that it’s back for its second season, we’re excited to pick up where we left off, especially with Kim and Kevin’s blossoming relationship.
As in any reality show, the cast is what makes or breaks it, and it’s safe to say Bling Empire is full of characters we’re immediately hooked on. From matriarch Anna Shay (who is our new life guru) to Kevin Kreider and Christine Chiu, who immediately rubbed fans up the wrong way, this group of friends lives just as luxuriously off camera as they do on. One glance at Kim Lee’s Instagram feed will tell you that for free.
So as we get into Bling Empire season 2, it’s time to answer your burning questions about the show’s resident party girl…
(Image credit: Netflix)
What does Kim Lee do for a living?
As we heard on the show, Kim Lee has a reputation as “the Calvin Harris of Asia,” according to her co-star Kane. But before she ventured into the world of DJing, she was actually a model. She walked on several runways including Los Angeles, Paris, and New York Fashion Week shows, working with designers such as Marc Jacobs and appearing on the international covers of fashion magazines like GQ and Esquire.
According to Elite Daily (opens in new tab), she was also named the “Sexiest Woman in the World” by FHM back in 2011. She has also appeared in a number of Hip Hop music videos including those of Kanye West, Far East Movement and Lupe Fiasco. But it doesn’t stop there—she has also had plenty of on-screen moments appearing in the likes of The Hangover Part II, Entourage, and CSI.
As for reality shows, Bling Empire isn’t her first gig either as Kim Lee previously went on The Amazing Race in Vietnam back in 2013 and hosts Yo! MTV Raps on MTV Asia.
In 2012, she caught the attention of Black Eyed Peas after bonding with them over a night of partying. Soon after, one of her mixes featuring Kanye West went viral and she has been a successful DJ ever since.
She’s always living her best life behind the decks. From DJing in nightclubs in her hometown of Orange County to wild nights in Las Vegas, we’ve been living vicariously through her on Instagram.
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Does Kim Lee have a boyfriend? Who is Kim’s ex-boyfriend?
While Kim Lee appears to be single on Bling Empire, she has previously spoken about her relationship with ex Keith Ape, a South-Korean rapper signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, in her 2018 interview with NextShark. However, she has since referred to him as a friend (opens in new tab).
While the spark with Kevin Kreider doesn’t lead to much in season two, Kim accidentally reveals she may still have lingering feelings for her ex during a lie detector test (maybe that wasn’t a great idea after all…).
What has been Kim Lee been up to since ‘Bling Empire’?
As well as filming season two of the show, Kim has also been very busy with her DJ career, which takes her to clubs all over the world. She’s also done plenty of photoshoots for international publications like Rolling Stone Korea and L’Officiel India since we last saw her on the Netflix show.
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In 2021, she attended the MTV Movie Awards with the rest of the cast, and had someone very close to her in charge of her insane new hair color—none other than castmate Guy Tang! He shared the transformation on his Instagram account and we have to say, he did an incredible job.
(Image credit: Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/2021 MTV Movie and TV Awards/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS)
In season two, we also find out she lands the coveted DJ residency at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, joining artists like Diplo, David Guetta and Marshmello. Go Kim!
What is Kim Lee’s net worth?
In 2021, Kim Lee’s net worth was estimated to be around $10 million according to The Cinemaholic. (opens in new tab) This is believed to be a combination of her modeling work, DJ career and any other streams of income she has. However, considering how much she has been working in the past year, we’re assuming that number has now gone up quite a bit.
Why does Kim Lee look like Kylie Jenner?
Many viewers have been comparing Kim Lee to Kylie Jenner, saying that she resembles The Kardashians star and beauty mogul. However, as Kim pointed out in an interview with NextShark (opens in new tab) in 2018, she had the “influencer aesthetic” long before Kylie.
“[People] would call me a ‘wannabe Kylie.’ I think she’s gorgeous, but people that know me would say I’ve been looking like this before Kylie became ‘Kylie,” she claimed.
Is this Kim Lee or Kylie Jenner? #BlingEmpire pic.twitter.com/y1pQPfTLj2January 15, 2021
Has Kim Lee had plastic surgery?
Kim Lee has been honest about having had a boob job, but revealed on the show that the bottom half is “all real”.
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Who is Kim Lee’s biological father?
When the show first aired, many asked, is Bling Empire real or scripted? And frankly, we get it, as you should always take reality TV shows with a pinch of salt. But one moment that did feel real was Kim Lee’s family scenes.
In a couple of episodes of season one, she opens up to fellow co-stars Kane and Kevin about her family life, explaining that after her presents parted ways when she was eight, her father asked her who she wanted to live with and she picked her mother. She was then raised by her mother Kimmy and her stepdad Daniel Segal, who is a successful novelist and screenwriter, in Orange County, California. But who is Kim Lee’s biological father?
Kim plans to track him down in hopes of reconnecting, enlisting Kane and Kevin to help her look for him on the show, though things take a heartbreaking turn when the two discover that Kim’s biological father, Tony Lee, passed away two years prior to filming the show.
Speaking to Vice (opens in new tab), Kim credited the reality TV platform for helping her find out what happened to her biological father. “I was holding grudges against my father for not looking for me, to be honest, and I needed some sort of closure,” She said. “[But] it was actually incredibly difficult to do that on TV.”
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How old is Kim Lee?
Kim Lee’s birthday is May 22, 1988, which currently makes her 33-years-old, soon to be 34. She is also a Gemini!
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