Eminem fans probably recognize the name Kimberly Anne Scott. She was married to the Slim Shady rapper and is the mother of his 25-year-old daughter, Hailie. While the 46-year-old has kept a relatively low profile over the years, she made headlines a few times as a result of some serious life struggles. Here’s a peek into the life of the woman who was once Eminem’s wife—not once, but twice!
Who Is Kimberly Anne Scott?
Kimberly Anne Scott was born in Warren, Michigan, on January 9, 1976. Reportedly, she met Eminem (whose real name is Marshall Mathers) when she was just 13 years old and the young rapper was just 15 years old. The couple dated throughout high school and had a daughter, Hailie Mathers, in 1995. In 1999—the same year Eminem shot to superstardom with the release of his first major-label album, The Slim Shady LP—the pair made it official and tied the knot.
But Kim and Eminem’s marriage was fraught with drama. Just two years after they wed, in 2001, the duo filed for divorce. They reconciled a few years later, and in 2005, Eminem adopted Kim’s daughter Whitney, who was born in 2002 as a result of another relationship. He also adopted Kim’s niece, Alaina, whose mother was unable to care for her due to drug addiction.
In 2006, the on-again, off-again couple decided to give marriage another shot and wed for the second time. Unfortunately, making it legal again did nothing to quell the pair’s problems. If anything, it was the nail in the coffin—Eminem and Kim split up for good just three months later.
Kim Has Battled A History of Drug And Alcohol Addiction
Despite being married to a hip-hop superstar, Kim was not dealt an easy hand in life. She and her twin sister, Dawn, had a troubled upbringing and reportedly lived in a youth shelter to escape their abusive stepfather. In fact, in her 2008 memoir My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem, the rapper’s mother says she allowed Kim to live with them because she had nowhere to go.
“Marshall arrived home from school with a tall, sulky blonde girl,” she said. “He introduced her as Kim Scott and said she needed a place to stay. I was happy to help out…[Kim said she] had no idea who their real father was, and claimed to have been sexually abused by her stepfather.”
Kim struggled with substance abuse throughout her young adulthood and was arrested for felony cocaine possession in 2003. The charge resulted in a 30-day jail stint after she violated her probation.
In 2015, Kim found herself in trouble once again when she was charged with driving under the influence. A year later, Eminem’s ex publicly admitted that the incident was, in fact, a suicide attempt. “I did this on purpose, and I’m so sorry,” she confessed on a call to a popular Detroit radio show. “I sat at the end of road I knew no one else but myself would get hurt. Yes I drank. I took pills and I hit the gas and aimed for the pole.”
Kim said she was struggling with depression, which had been heightened by the tragic drug overdose of her twin sister. “After the death of my sister I had to go look at her dead in that trailer and just everything that was being said about her. It just hurts and now this.”
Eminem Raps About Kim In Many Of His Songs
Throughout the years, Eminem has mentioned Kim frequently in his lyrics. And more often than not, the words are not kind—especially in his earlier work. In the 2002 year release “Hailie’s Song,” for example, he raps about having “a wife that’s determined to make my life livin’ hell.”
He also takes frequent shots at Kim’s alleged infidelities (“So ticcy toc, listen as the sound ticks on the clock. Listen to the sound of Kim as she licks on the [expletive]”), as well as her struggles with drug addiction (“My thoughts are sporadic, I act like I’m an addict. I rap like I’m addicted to smack like I’m Kim Mathers.”)
But as the years went by and Eminem matured (and got sober), his comments about his ex-wife became kinder. In the song, “I’m Going Through Changes,” off his 2010 album Recovery, he says: “Hailie this one is for you, Whitney and Alaina too. I still love your mother, that’ll never change, think about her every day. We just could never get it together hey, wish there was a better way. For me to say it, but I swear on everything. I’d do anything for her on any day.”
Kim And Eminem Are On Good Terms Today
Thankfully, Kim and Eminem have made a concerted effort to responsibly co-parent their children. “We are very close friends,” Kim said during her 2016 radio call. “We are just trying to raise our kids together and make it as normal for them as possible.”
This is good to hear, especially when you consider the many ways in which these two have publicly hurt each other over the years. Clearly upset over Eminem’s cruel lyrics about her, Kim filed a defamation lawsuit against him in 2000, seeking compensation for “the intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
And during a 2007 interview radio interview, Kim said of her ex: “I vomit in my mouth whenever I’m around him.”
Yikes! We’re glad they can be cordial today for the sake of their kids!