Kim Porter

Porter was from Columbus, Georgia.^[2] She began modeling as a teenager^[3] and was also a debutante. In 1988, she graduated from Columbus High School and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to further her modeling career.^[4] She appeared in films and TV series such as: The Brothers (2001), Wicked Wicked Games (2006–2007),^[5] The System Within (2006),^[6] Single Ladies (2011),^[7] and Mama, I Want to Sing! (2012).^[8] Porter appeared in a number of music videos,^[9] and she worked as a receptionist at Uptown Records, after being hired by founder Andre Harrell.^[10]

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.^[5][11][12] Porter and the company helped start singer Janelle Monáe's career in the music industry, after inviting her to an open mic night and introducing her to industry contacts. Monáe said that she was "forever indebted" to Porter for believing in her.^[13]

Porter has a son, Quincy Brown (born 1991), with singer and songwriter Al B. Sure!. From 1994 until 2007, Porter had an on-and-off relationship with rapper and record executive Sean Combs. They have a son Christian Combs and twin daughters Jessie and D'lila Combs together.^[14][15] In 2023, Combs included a tribute song to Porter on his album The Love Album: Off the Grid, titled "Kim Porter", featuring Babyface and John Legend.^[16]

Porter died on November 15, 2018, in Toluca Lake, California of lobar pneumonia after several days of "flu-like symptoms".^[17][18] Her cause of death was listed as "deferred" on her death certificate, and after an autopsy was completed on November 16, 2018, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office confirmed on January 25, 2019 that her death was a result of lobar pneumonia.^[18] Her funeral at Cascade Hills Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia, was attended by hundreds of mourners, including Combs.^[19] Her remains were interred at Evergreen Memorial Park in Columbus.^[20]

• Kim Porter at IMDb