Victoria Anne Simmons is remembered as the child of the celebrity and reality TV couple, Joseph Simmons and his wife Justine Simmons. Victoria died shortly after she was born on September 26, 2006, due to a birth defect. Her father Joseph Simmons is an American rapper, producer, DJ, television personality, and also a practicing minister of the gospel. Furthermore, Vicoria’s father found a new popularity in 2005 with his family’s MTV reality show Run’s House.
Victoria Anne Simmons’ Life Was Short-lived as a Result of a Birth Defect Called Omphalocele
As was previously mentioned, on September 26, 2006, Joseph Simmons’ daughter passed away shortly after birth. Her death was a result of omphalocele, a birth defect that caused her organs to grow outside her body. Even though Victoria’s passing came as a shock, it wasn’t wholly unexpected. Her parents Joseph Simmons and Justine Simmons knew from the middle of the pregnancy that the baby had an omphalocele but kept it a secret from everyone including their kids and MTV who followed Justine’s pregnancy throughout the second season, right up to her emergency C-section. According to Victoria’s mom, their faith told them that God could give them a miracle and this baby could be born with no problems. However, real life intruded on reality TV on the day Victoria was born. The camera didn’t show her death but went up close and personal as the family gets the heartbreaking news of her passing.
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Her Father Has an Interesting Career Profile
Victoria’s father is better known by the stage name Run, Rev. Run, or DJ Run. He began using the stage name “Rev. Run” after he was ordained as a Pentecostal minister by E. Bernard Jordan, his spiritual mentor.
Rev. Run began his career as the lead vocalist in the hip-hop group named “The Force.” He later founded Run-D.M.C. along with Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels and the late DJ Jason “Jam-Master Jay” Mizell. Furthermore, Victoria’s father worked with several bands and music groups like Liberty X and he had his first solo album on October 18, 2005, titled Distortion.
Moving on, Rev Run appeared pioneered the MTV series Run’s House, a reality show revolving around his everyday life with his family, from 2005-2009.
In 2008, Simmons and his wife Justine joined forces with Kool-Aid and a non-profit organization called KaBOOM! to build playgrounds in underserved communities. With Kool-Aid, they are helping to build twenty-four playgrounds over the course of the year and hope to raise awareness for the need for safe play spaces.
On August 5, 2008, Gotham Press published Simmons’ book titled, Take Back Your Family: A Challenge to America’s Parents, co-authored by his wife, Justine Simmons, and Chris Morrow.
Victoria’s Entire Family is Part of Run’s House
Vicoria’s father, as previously noted, saw a surge in fame in 2005 thanks to his family’s MTV reality series Run’s House. The show is an American reality television series that debuted on October 13, 2005. The series chronicles the family life of the former Run–DMC rapper, Rev. Run.
The show also features the late Victoria Simmons’ mother, Justine Simmons. Other members of the show are her half-siblings, Vanessa Simmons, Angela Simmons, and Joseph “JoJo” Ward Simmons. The show also stars her full siblings, Daniel “Diggy” Simmons III, and Russell “Russy” Simmons II. Not forgetting Miley Justine Simmons whom the family adopted immediately after Victoria died.
Meanwhile, all of Victoria’s siblings heard about their sister’s death while the show was being filmed in the hospital room. They all looked heartbroken but Victoria’s parents said the reason they kept the show on air was not to show sadness but to demonstrate how they as ministers would handle tragedy. They also said they had prepared their children for life’s lessons and knew they could handle what was coming. More so, Joseph said he wanted everyone to know tragedy comes to their door just as it does anybody else’s.
