Biography
There’s more to Bianca Simmone than just a pretty face. At just 23, the west London-born model, recording artist, designer and presenter boasts a CV that would rival someone twice her age. What is more impressive is that this multi-faceted star has carved out a successful career in these competitive fields using her own business acumen.
Born to an English father and Jamaican mother in 1985, a young Bianca had ambitions of stardom from the moment she could walk. At 6, the promising performer was landing starring roles in school plays and coveted solo stints in the choir. Bianca’s stage promise soon prompted her mother to enrol the young talent into weekend performing arts programme. It was at Kidz Club where Bianca was able to hone her skills in acting and singing whilst discovering new skills dancing and modelling.
Bianca’s big break came when at the age of 11, she was asked to sing to an audience of 90,000 at Wembley Stadium. It wasn’t long before Bianca’s natural beauty would catch the attention of modelling scouts present at her singing engagements. Her first taste of such an experience came when scouts from the long-standing Afro Hair and Beauty Show approached her and instantly signed her up to model at the popular annual event. Due to the increasing demand within this sector, Bianca was forced to make the difficult decision of leaving education to pursue a burgeoning career and a once in a lifetime opportunity in the modelling industry.
She went on to grace covers of the most prestigious magazines in her sector and leading titles outside of those she had grown accustomed to. Bianca also went on to secure modelling work with prominent brands and scored leading roles in music videos with some of the UK’s most prominent acts, including BRIT award-winning garage collective, So Solid Crew and MOBO award-winning artist, Jay Sean, to name a few. However, it wasn’t long before Bianca was yearning to fulfil musical ambitions of her own. Consequently, she enlisted the help of some of the UK’s top producers to begin work on her debut music project.
Bianca also enrolled in west London dance troop, 20/20 in a bid to brush up on her dancing skills. 20/20 toured all over London in top West End clubs and provided backing dancing for acts such as pop princess, Kylie Minogue and UK R‘n’B sensation, Kele Le Roc. Bianca used this experience to learn the fundamentals in performance and left when she felt ready to take on the music industry on her own.
On a visit to the New York in 2007, Bianca met up with Hot 97 radio personality, DJ Kay Slay, a prominent and well-respected figure in the music industry. He introduced Bianca to fellow musicians, producers and designers and with their help she was able to piece together her dream.
After weeks of toying with various aliases during her time overseas, Bianca finally decided on her stage name. Bianca Simmone was a name given to her by her father who passed away when she was 4. Her father was an avid fan of actress Bianca Jagger and 1930s singer, Nina Simone so he decided to fuse the legendary names when his daughter was born. Bianca, who admits that she was never particularly close to her father, says that the moment she decided to use the names that he had chosen, she instantly felt a bond.
Bianca Simmone spent a month in the States and made a huge impression on those she came into contact with, garnering huge interest from the most in-demand producers America had to offer.
On arrival back in the UK, Bianca received a call from rapper Birdman, founder of the infamous Cash Money Records, who requested that the beautiful model, now in her early 20s, fly back to the States to act as his leading lady in his music video, Always Strapped. The video, which also featured multi-award winning rapper, Lil Wayne, also a member of the Cash Money collective, was a huge success and is rotated on BET’s popular music show, 106 & Park daily.
After a spell of appearances in top music videos, Bianca got straight back in the studio to finish work on her debut album. She has just finished working on a track with critically acclaimed producer H-Money aka Harmony, who has produced hit songs for artists such as Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige and Akon and is gearing up to work with other top names.
Bianca continues to model for leading brands and artists, but her love for clothes and fashion paired with the difficulty she encountered when trying to find jeans to fit her natural curves has spurred the young entrepreneur to start designing her own luxury brand.
Her talent knows no bounds.
The future is bright, the future is Bianca Simmone.
