Who Was Kim Porter? All About Diddy's Ex and Mother of 4 of His Children

Sean “Diddy” Combs shared four children with his former partner Kim Porter before her death in 2018.

The rapper and Porter first began dating in the 1990s as he was coming up in the hip-hop industry. Before she met Combs, Porter was already a mother to Quincy Brown, who she welcomed in 1991 with producer Al B. Sure!. When Quincy was 3, Porter began dating Combs, who eventually raised him as his own.

Porter and Combs welcomed their first child together, Christian Combs, in 1998 but broke up just a year later, battling for custody in court. The couple later reconciled in 2003, welcoming twin daughters, D'Lila Star Combs and Jessie James Combs, in 2006. However, they split for good in 2007.

On Nov. 15, 2018, Porter was found dead in her home at 47 years old. An autopsy report later revealed she died of lobar pneumonia.

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you baby. I miss you so much," Combs wrote in a since-deleted post on Instagram a few days after her death. "We were more than best friends, we were more than soulmates. WE WERE SOME OTHER S—!! And I miss you so much. Super Black Love."

In September 2024, Combs was arrested and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. This was after the Department of Homeland Security raided his home in March and he admitted to physically assaulting R&B singer Cassie in May.

Amid Combs' legal troubles, Chris Todd, who has no connection to the family, self-published a memoir for Porter on Amazon titled KIM'S LOST WORDS. Porter's children have since denied the book's legitimacy.

"Claims that our mom wrote a book are simply untrue," they said in a statement on Instagram. "She did not. And anyone claiming to have a manuscript is misrepresenting themselves."

From her turbulent relationship with Combs to her modeling and acting career, here’s everything to know about Kim Porter, Combs’ ex.

She was a model and actress

Porter was born in Columbia, Ga., on Dec. 15, 1970. After graduating from high school in 1988, Porter moved to Atlanta to pursue a modeling career, having gotten her start in the industry as a teenager.

Her career soon expanded from modeling to acting as she starred in 2001’s The Brothers and 2006’s The System Within.

Porter began dating Combs in the 1990s

When Combs met Porter, she had just walked into Uptown Records, where he was doing A&R, with her ex-boyfriend, producer and singer Al B. Sure!.

"The first time I saw her, she was at the studio with her ex-boyfriend,” Combs told Essence in December 2006. "I wasn’t trying to holler at her or anything, but I was admiring her — her lips, her eyes, her mouth, her shape, her energy — and thinking, ‘I wish I had a girl like that.’ "

Porter began working as a receptionist at Uptown and, by 1994, the two began dating, with Combs helping raise her son, Quincy. Soon, they became inseparable, they told Essence.

"We went out together, we ate together, we played together,” Porter said. "He would want me at the office; I would want him at my shoots. Our bond was so tight."

Porter and Combs broke up after welcoming their first son together

In 1998, the couple welcomed their first child together, Christian, but they split the same year after Combs began an affair with Jennifer Lopez. 

While Porter’s family and friends rushed to her side to support her, she told Essence that she didn’t have time to crumble emotionally as she was caring for a newborn — but she did kick Combs out of their shared home.

Though he did move to a hotel, Porter said Combs was insistent on coming by and seeing her and their son often, which she found hard to handle. Eventually, they moved their conflict to a Manhattan family court, but she still struggled to work out custody with him.

"He would say he needed to see his son, but I was at a place where just the sight of him would turn my stomach," Porter said. "My feeling was, you made this decision, now stay over there. I can’t repeat everything I said at the time, because it’s really not that ladylike. But I was very expressive about it."

After they broke up, Porter entered into a new relationship with music executive Shakir Stewart in 2000, which allegedly angered Combs. Per a May 2024 report by Rolling Stone, Diddy allegedly broke a chair on Stewart's head while the two men and Porter were in Italy for L.A. Reid's wedding.

“He left him bleeding on a hotel floor in Italy,” Stewart’s mother, Portia, reportedly told Rolling Stone. “He had to have stitches and then [Combs] threatened him … ‘I’m going to kill you’ … That’s when I said you need to get out of this business. This man is crazy.”

She raised four children with Combs

Despite their turbulent relationship in the 1990s and early aughts, Porter and Combs got back together in 2003 and welcomed their twins, D'Lila and Jessie, on Dec. 21, 2006. Porter had a close relationship with each of her children, with Quincy telling PEOPLE in April 2023 that he planned to continue honoring her legacy after her death.

"I'm my mom's son, so therefore there's so much life for me to expand on off of her life. And that journey hasn't even started yet, which is the best part about it," he said. "What my mom's legacy is representative of is beyond words. That's gonna really come to life soon."

Quincy also has a close relationship with his younger sisters, telling PEOPLE he naturally took on a managerial role in their life as they embarked on their own creative paths.

"We don't need no contracts, no paper, but I'm my sisters' manager," he said. "I'm like, the uncle- dad-manager-protector, I'm claiming it. I want to be able to really guide them. I want them to really know the layers of everything you can do."

Quincy went on to become an actor and singer, even collaborating with his brother Christian, who makes music under the moniker King Combs. Meanwhile, D’Lila and Jessie graduated high school in 2024.

Porter had a public breakup with Combs

After welcoming their twin girls, Porter left Combs for the final time in July 2007. She found out while she was pregnant with the twins that Combs was also expecting a daughter with his friend Sarah Chapman, a baby girl named Chance who was born in July 2006.

"In ending this relationship, I made a decision that was in the best interest of myself, Sean and our family," Porter said in a statement at the time of the split. "We will remain friends and committed parents to our children."

She opened up more about her decision in an interview with Essence, sharing that she found out Combs impregnated his friend from a girlfriend, rather than him. While she was hurt at his betrayal, she said she was more hurt that he didn’t own up to it and tell her himself.

"It's not an original script. He's not the first man who's cheated,” Porter said. “He's not the first man who's had a baby outside of his relationship...But at this point in my life — I have girls now — it's a different program."

She added that Combs eventually did tell her about his infidelity — but only after the twins were born.

"He told me that he may have gotten himself into a situation and he may have fathered another child outside the relationship and I said, 'Really? Well, I already knew. I'm glad you decided to be a man,' " Porter said. "I was like, 'Dude, this is so wack I can't even respect you right now.' And for me, once the respect is gone, I'm not even listening to you."

She died in 2018 of lobar pneumonia

Though the exes had a public breakup, Porter and Combs remained friendly throughout the years, turning up to events to support their children together. However, in November 2018, Porter died suddenly from lobar pneumonia.

She was found dead in her home after Los Angeles County officers responded to a death investigation at her Toluca Lake, Calif. Home.

Porter was buried in her hometown of Columbus, Ga. where a public funeral was held at Cascade Hills Church. Acclaimed pastor T.D. Jakes officiated the service, which was attended by over 100 people.