Model and actress Kim Porter was found dead at her home on November 15, 2018, after suffering
flu-like symptoms.
She entered the spotlight thanks partly to some high-profile relationships, including
a romance with Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, but don't sell her story short.
The good-natured mother of four was a star in her own right, too.
This is her untold truth.
Self-made success
Born in Columbus, Georgia in 1971, Kim Porter's dreams proved too big for small-town life.
After graduating from high school in 1988, she moved to Atlanta to pursue work as a model.
She found work in fashion shows, on the covers of magazines, and worked major campaigns for
brands like Revlon and Tommy Hilfiger.
Porter also got TV work on shows such as Law & Order, Wicked Wicked Games, and VH1's Single
Ladies, which featured Stacey Dash and LisaRaye McCoy.
Hollywood romance
Songwriter and producer Dallas Austin, known for working with singers such as Gwen Stefani
and Duran Duran, mourned Porter's death on social media, memorializing her as a childhood
friend.
He also revealed a surprising bit of movie history that sprung from their relationship.
In a post shared to Instagram of Austin and Porter at prom, Austin wrote,
"I have never known a life without Kim Porter[.]
From kindergarten through all of our lifelong experiences in high school[.]
Having matching BMWs[.]
Or her being the biggest believer in me making it as a producer, and us getting out of Columbus,
to be somebody."
Over their years together, the two formed a romantic relationship.
According to Austin, their romance inspired the love story at the center of the 2002 film
Drumline, which Austin worked on as an executive producer.
As Austin put it, quote,
"Most people don't know that Zoe Saldana played the role of Kim in Drumline [...] Nick Cannon
played my character."
History of love
With her star rising in the early 90s, Porter caught the eye of "Al B. Sure", AKA Albert
Brown, a Grammy-nominated singer and producer who had a hand in the success of artists such
as Jodeci, Faith Evans, and Usher.
Porter and Brown seemingly hit it off instantly, and soon after, two became three.
In 1991, they welcomed a son, Quincy Jones – named after the legendary music producer.
Their love, Brown later said, is what inspired him to write Jodeci's massively successful
1991 hit "Forever My Lady."
Brown posted his own tribute on Instagram after Porter's death, suggesting that she
would, indeed, forever be his lady.
Girl meets bad boy
Porter met Diddy in the early 1990s while he was an A&R executive at Uptown Records.
As Combs told Essence in 2006,
"The first time I saw her, she was at the studio with her ex-boyfriend [Al B. Sure].
I wasn't trying to holler at her or anything, but I was admiring her."
Soon after, Porter was hired on as a receptionist at Uptown Records, and the two became a couple
by 1994.
The couple reportedly became inseparable.
Diddy adopted Porter's son, Quincy Jones, when he was 3 years old.
In 1998, the couple welcomed another baby boy, Christian Combs, into their family.
Everything was seemingly perfect, until 1999.
Three's company
In 1999, Diddy started a relationship with pop sensation Jennifer Lopez, with the two
dating for roughly two years.
In court papers filed for child support in 2001, Porter signaled that she and the Bad
Boy producer were still in an intimate relationship with each other when he started romancing
Lopez.
But she later changed her tune, claiming there was "no overlap," according to the New York
Post.
Years later, Porter revisited this phase of her life in an interview with Essence, explaining
that she'd been putting on an act during Diddy's dalliance with J. Lo.
As Porter put it,
"I had just had a baby.
I couldn't be somewhere in a corner heartbroken."
She also said she'd known that Diddy would be back, saying, quote, "He was still in love
with me."
Apparently, she was right, for a little while, at least.
The couple reconciled after Diddy's split from Lopez, and welcomed twins in 2006, before
ending their 13-year relationship for good the following year.
That final breakup came shortly after Porter learned Diddy was expecting a baby with another
woman.
Her kids came first
Throughout her turbulent relationship with Combs, Porter always made it clear that her
children were her number one priority.
When Diddy was caught up in legal drama connected to a 1999 shooting, she whisked their children
away to Georgia to keep them away from the madness.
Although she'd previously taken Diddy back after his stepping out on her, their 2007
breakup was different.
Porter told Essence, quote, "At this point in my life, I have girls now, it's a different
program."
Making it work
Despite all the drama, Porter and Diddy remained close friends over the years, committed to
maintaining a healthy relationship for the sake of their children.
Months after their dramatic split, Porter told Essence that they remained friends, and
that Diddy still called her every day.
She said of the relationship,
"There's no ill feeling … We're committed to our children even if we couldn't commit
to each other."
Although the romance didn't work out, the exes still openly supported each other.
Just days before her death, Porter posted a photo of their blended family to Instagram,
captioning the shot simply: "LOVE."