About this artist
Sophie Simmons grew up in the spotlight, but spent years exploring a variety of career options before following in her father’s footsteps and going into music. Simmons was born on July 7, 1992 in Los Angeles, California. Her father is the well-known blood-spitting, fire-breathing bassist with the group Kiss, while her mother was actress and model Shannon Tweed. Sophie became a celebrity when she was still in her early teens thanks to the TV reality series Gene Simmons Family Jewels, which concerned the day to day lives of her parents, her older brother Nick Simmons, and herself; the show ran from August 2006 to July 2012. Sophie wrote her first song when she was four years old, “I Love to Jump Rope,” and by the time she was 14, she was taking songwriting seriously, occasionally traveling to Nashville to work with Music City songwriters. However, when she enrolled at Pomona College, she opted to major in computer science instead, eager to avoid comparisons with her father’s career and lacking confidence in her skills as a vocalist. For several years, Sophie dabbled in modeling and fashion design, as well as studying to be a pastry chef and becoming a benefactor of a center for abused children known as Sophie’s Place. In 2012, Simmons was chosen to be a contestant on the TV talent competition The X Factor, but she was quickly eliminated after the show’s “boot camp.” Simmons spent the next few years working on her vocal technique, and in 2015 she made her recording debut, singing on a cover of the Sixpence None the Richer hit “Kiss Me” by electronic artist Rebel. In 2017, Simmons lent her voice to tracks by Yellow Claw (“Home”), the Galaxy (“Dangerous”), and Different Heaven (“Live at Night”). 2018 saw the release of Simmons’ first solo effort, a song she also wrote titled “Black Mirror” that was inspired by the U.K. television series of the same name. ~ Mark Deming