Kimberly "Kim" Kardashian West (born Kimberly Noel Kardashian; October 21, 1980) is an American television and social media personality, socialite, and model. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Kardashian first gained media attention through her friendship with Paris Hilton, but she received wider notice after a 2003 sex tape with her former boyfriend Ray J was leaked in 2007. Later that year, she and her family began to appear in the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Its success has led to the creation of spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take New York and Kourtney and Kim Take Miami. In 2010, Kardashian was reported to be the highest-paid reality television personality, with estimated earnings of $6 million.
Life and career
1980â€"2007
Kimberly Noel Kardashian was born on October 21, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, to parents Robert and Kris (née Houghton). She has an older sister Kourtney, a younger sister Khloé, and a younger brother Rob. Their mother is of Dutch, English, Irish and Scottish ancestry, while their father was a third-generation Armenian American. After their parents divorced in 1991, her mother married again that year, to Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn Jenner), the 1976 Summer Olympics decathlon winner. Through their marriage, Kardashian gained step-brothers Burton "Burt", Brandon, and Brody; step-sister Casey; and half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
As a teenager, she attended Marymount High School, a Roman Catholic all-girls school in Los Angeles. In 1994, her father represented football player O. J. Simpson during his murder trial. Simpson is Kim Kardashian's godfather. Kim's father died in 2003 of cancer.
In 2000, a 19-year-old Kardashian eloped with music producer Damon Thomas. Thomas filed for divorce in 2003. Kardashian later credited their separation to physical and emotional abuse on his part. During this time, Kardashian was also close friends with socialite Paris Hilton, through whom she first garnered media attention. Prior to the completion of her divorce, Kardashian began dating singer Ray J. In February 2007, a sex tape made by Kardashian and Ray J in 2003 was leaked. Kardashian filed a lawsuit against Vivid Entertainment, who distributed the film as Kim K Superstar. She later dropped the suit and settled for $5 million.
2007â€"2009
In October 2007 Kardashian, in addition to her mother Kris, her step-father Bruce, her siblings Kourtney, Khloé, Rob, and half-sisters Kendall and Kylie, began to appear in the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The series proved successful for E!, and has led to the creations of spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take New York and Kourtney and Kim Take Miami. That December, Kardashian posed for a nude pictorial for Playboy.
In 2008, she made her feature film debut in the disaster film spoof Disaster Movie, in which she appeared as a character named Lisa. That year, she was one of thirteen participants on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars, where she was partnered with Mark Ballas. Kardashian was the third contestant to be eliminated.
In January 2009, Kardashian made a cameo appearance during an episode of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, in the episode "Benefits". That March, she launched an endorsement with ShoeDazzle shopping, of which she is the co-founder and chief fashion stylist. She then endorsed multiple other projects including a vanilla cupcake mix flavor called 'Va-Va-Va-Nilla' for the Los Angeles bakery, Famous Cupcakes. In April, she released a workout DVD series, Fit in Your Jeans by Friday, with trainers Jennifer Galardi and Patrick Goudeau. Kardashian played Elle in four episodes of the television series Beyond the Break. Kardashian become a guest host of WrestleMania XXIV and guest judge on America's Next Top Model in August of that year. In September, Fusion Beauty and Seven Bar Foundation launched "Kiss Away Poverty", with Kardashian as the face of the campaign. For every LipFusion lipgloss sold, $1 went to the Foundation to fund women entrepreneurs in the US. The following month, she released her first fragrance self-titled "Kim Kardashian". In December 2009, Kardashian made a guest star appearance on CBS's CSI: NY with Vanessa Minnillo.
2010
2010 saw Kardashian venture into several new endorsement deals, including endorsing various food products for Carl's Jr. Beginning in early 2010, Kardashian and her sisters designed and developed clothing lines for Bebe stores and 'Virgins, Saints, and Angels'. In January 2010, she starred as Summa Eve in the film Deep in the Valley.
In April, Kardashian sparked controversy over the way she held a kitten for a photograph, holding it by the scruff of its neck. With sisters Kourtney and Khloé, Kardashian is involved in the retail and fashion industries. They have launched several clothing collections and fragrances. Animal rights organization PETA criticized Kardashian for repeatedly wearing fur coats, and named her as one of the five worst people or organizations of 2010 when it came to animal welfare. June saw Kardashian guest star with Khloé and Kourtney as themselves on the season three premiere episode of the series 90210.
That same month, Kardashian was involved in a lawsuit against one of her endorsements. Sanford Siegal, the creator of the Cookie Diet, sued Kardashian, claiming she defamed him on Twitter. According to Siegal, Kardashian tweeted in October 2009 that he was "falsely promoting" that she was on the cookie diet. Siegal filed a claim in a Florida state court charging that her statements were false and defamatory. He also alleged that Kardashian was on QuickTrim's payroll when she posted the tweet. Kardashian's tweet appears to stem from an article on CookieDiet.com, that named Kardashian as one of many celebrities who saw positive results on the diet. Kardashian sent a cease-and-desist order to Siegal, demanding the link be removed. Additionally, Kardashian and her sisters released a sunless tanner "Kardashian Glamour Tan", that month.
On July 1, 2010, the New York City branch of Madame Tussauds revealed a wax figure of Kardashian. In November, Kardashian served as producer for The Spin Crowd, a reality television show about Command PR, a New York City public relations firm, run by Jonathan Cheban and Simon Huck. The show followed them as they settle into their new offices in Los Angeles. That month, she also appeared on the tenth season of The Apprentice. Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé wrote an autobiography titled Kardashian Konfidential, which was released in stores on November 23, and appeared on New York Timesâ€â€Š'​s Best Seller List. In December 2010, Kardashian filmed a music video for a song titled "Jam (Turn It Up)". The video was directed by Hype Williams; Kanye West makes a cameo in the video. Kardashian premiered the song during a New Year's Eve party at TAO Las Vegas on December 31, 2010. The song was produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. When asked if an album was in the works, Kardashian replied, "There's no album in the works or anythingâ€"just one song we did for Kourtney and Kim Take New York, and a video Hype Williams directed, half of the proceeds we're giving away to a cancer foundation, because The-Dream's and one of my parents passed away from cancer. It's just all having funâ€"with a good cause". Jim Farber, writing for the Daily News, called the song a "dead-brained piece of generic dance music, without a single distinguishing feature," and suggested that the single made Kardashian the "worst singer in the reality TV universe." That month, the International Business Times reported that Kardashian's 2010 earnings were the highest among Hollywood-based reality stars, estimating them at $6 million.
2011
Kardashian, who has supported recognition of the Armenian Genocide on numerous occasions, encouraged President Obama and the US government to consider its acknowledgement. On April 21, 2011, days before the 96th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Kardashian wrote about the issue on her blog and sent a tweet to her fans, urging its recognition. That April, she also released her third fragrance "Gold". In May, she became engaged to NBA player Kris Humphries, then of the New Jersey Nets, whom she had been dating since October 2010. They were married in a wedding ceremony on August 20 in Montecito, California. Earlier that month, she had released her "wedding fragrance" called "Kim Kardashian Love" which coincided with her own wedding. A two-part TV special showing the preparations and the wedding itself aired on E! in early October 2011, amidst what The Washington Post called a "media blitz" related to the wedding. Also in October, Kardashian and her sisters opened their Kardashian Khaos store in Las Vegas.
After 72 days of marriage, she filed for divorce from Humphries on October 31, citing irreconcilable differences. After filing, Kardashian asked the court to order Humphries to pay his own legal expenses. On December 1, Humphries filed his response to Kardashian's petition, requesting an annulment on the grounds of fraud, or if the court would not grant an annulment, a decree of legal separation rather than Kardashian's requested divorce. Several news outlets surmised that Kardashian's marriage to Humphries was merely a publicity stunt, to promote the Kardashian family's brand and their subsequent television ventures. A man professing to be her former publicist, Jonathan Jaxson, also claimed that her short-lived wedding was indeed staged and a ploy to generate money. Kardashian filed suit against Jaxson, saying his claims were untrue, and subsequently settled the case which included an apology from Jaxson. A widely circulated petition asking to remove all Kardashian-related programming from the air followed the split. In 2011, Kardashian filed a $20 million lawsuit against Old Navy and its parent company, Gap Inc. for right of publicity. Old Navy used actress/model Melissa Molinaro in their Old Navy commercial featuring the actress singing and dancing. Kim Kardashian claimed that Old Navy used Molinaro as a look alike to Kim in order to promote their brand. Kim Kardashian was also seeking order to have the actress/model Molinaro banned from Old Navy commercials. The lawsuit never went to trial but a settlement was reached by use of a mediator in 2012; the exact settlement is unknown.
2012 to present
In March 2012, Kardashian debuted her fourth fragrance, titled "True Reflection", which she worked with the company Dress for Success to promote. That month, Kardashian and her sisters were named in a $5 million class action lawsuit against QuickTrim, the weight loss supplement they endorse. The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses the Kardashians (along with QuickTrim's manufacturer, Windmill Health Products; the retailer GNC; and others in the sales and marketing chain) of false and deceptive marketing of the diet aid. The plaintiffs, hailing from several states, brought claims under their respective states' consumer protection laws. In April, E! renewed Keeping Up with the Kardashians for two additional seasons, in a deal reported to be worth $50 million.
Kardashian also began dating American rapper and longtime friend Kanye West in April, though she remained legally married to Humphries. In October 2012, Kardashian released her fifth fragrance, "Glam", which "draws on the glamour of her Hollywood lifestyle", and was made available through Debenhams. In November, Kardashian and her sisters internationally launched the 'Kardashian Collection' in England, as well as launching a line of cosmetics, 'Khroma Beauty'. On December 31, 2012, Kardashian and West announced that she was pregnant with the couple's first child, a daughter.
In February 2013, a judge ruled that Kardashian's divorce case with Humphries would go to trial, and set a trial date for May. However, on April 19, 2013, 536 days after Kardashian's initial divorce filing, she and Humphries reached an undisclosed divorce settlement, avoiding a trial. The divorce was legally finalized on June 3, 2013.
Kardashian gave birth to daughter North on June 15, 2013, five weeks prior to her due date. Kardashian and West became engaged on October 21, Kardashian's 33rd birthday, and married on May 24, 2014 at Fort di Belvedere in Florence, Italy. Kardashian and West appeared together on the American Vogue cover for the magazine's April 2014 issue. The cover has been lauded by some, while others have taken a more critical look of the reality star being on the cover, with her and West dubbed the "#worldsmosttalkedaboutcouple."
Kardashian voiced the role of an alien in an episode of the adult animated series American Dad!, which aired as part of the show's 11th season (2014â€"2015) in the episode titled "Blagsnarst, A Love Story" on September 21, 2014. In the episode, her character crash-lands in the town of Langley Falls. The alien then develops an attraction to her fellow alien Roger.
Kardashian appeared on the cover, and in a pictorial in Paperâ€â€Š'​s winter issue in 2014 photographed by Jean-Paul Goude. On the cover, her nude buttocks are featured above the caption: "Break the Internet", which generated considerable comment in both social and traditional media. The photos show Kardashian with her hair tied up in a bun, wearing only a pearl necklace, a pair of earrings and black satin gloves, and, on the cover, with her bare back facing the camera, holding a sequined gown below her bare, oiled-up buttocks, while smiling broadly at the camera. A Time magazine writer commented that, unlike previous celebrities' nudes that represented the women's rebellion against repressed society and "trying to tear down" barriers, Kardashian's exhibition was "just provocation and bluster, repeated images that seem to offer us some sort of truth or insight but are really just self serving. We want there to be something more, some reason or context, some great explanation that tells us what it is like to live in this very day and age, but there is not. Kim Kardashian's ass is nothing but an empty promise." However, the stunt "set a new benchmark" in social media response, and Paperâ€â€Š'​s website received 15.9 million views in one day, compared with 25,000 views on an average day.
In April 2015, Kardashian and West traveled to the Armenian Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem to have their daughter, North, baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church. The ceremony took place at the Cathedral of St. James. Khloe Kardashian was appointed the godmother of North. In May 2015, Kardashian released a portfolio book called 'Selfish', a 325-page collection of self-taken photos of herself. Later in May, Kardashian announced that she is pregnant with her second child with West. On June 21, 2015, Kardashian confirmed via Instagram that she and West are expecting a boy, due in December 2015.
As of May 2014, Kardashian is estimated to be worth $45 million.
Filmography
As actress
As herself
Music videos
Awards and nominations
Video game
In June 2014, Kardashian released a mobile game for iPhone and Android called Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. The objective of the game is to become a Hollywood star or starlet. The game supports a free to play model, meaning the game is free to download, but charges for in game-items. The game was a hit, earning $1.6 million in its first five days of release. In July, the game's developer Glu Mobile announced that the game was the fifth highest earning game in Apple's App Store.
See also
- History of the Armenian Americans in Los Angeles
- Famous for being famous
Notes
References
External links
- Official website
- Kim Kardashian at the Internet Movie Database
- Kim Kardashian at Playboy Online
