Scandals, media battles, alliterated sisterhood, infamous parents, SELFIES. These are just some of the glorious tid-bits that make up the gargantuan personality of entrepreneur and reality TV star Kim Kardashian West. Read on to capture some of the highlights, as well as the little-known facts, about the second-eldest member of the notorious Kardashian dynasty.
Kim Kardashian Facts
1. Know Your Roots
Kardashian is proud of her Armenian and Scottish descent—though she doesn’t hold citizenship for either country.
2. Virtuous Beginnings
Despite a lifestyle that would make any preacher blush, Kardashian attended Marymount High School, an all-girls Catholic school where students were only eligible to graduate upon the completion of 100 hours of community service.
3. Scandal–It’s In the Blood
Years before the rise of the Kardashian media dynasty, Kim’s father Robert Kardashian was stirring up controversy as O.J. Simpson’s friend and legal representation in the football player's infamous murder trial.
4. Second Star From the Right, and Straight on ‘Til Morning!
During an interview with People magazine, Kardashian divulged that she once dated Tito Joe Jackson, the nephew of Michael Jackson, as a teen. One of the perks? Being able to celebrate her 14th birthday at Michael Jackson’s renowned personal amusement park, Neverland Ranch. As she described it: "When you drove up, there were baby elephants and chimpanzees in overalls...It was everything you can possibly imagine."
5. Move Over, Marie Kondo
Before Keeping Up With the Kardashians provided the brunt of her vast income, Kardashian made her money as a closet organizer. This tidying-up business began as a favor to her godmother Bernadette, whose closet was such an unmitigated disaster of clutter that the two spent a whole night cleaning and reorganizing it.
Bernadette passed on the word about Kardashian’s knack, resulting in Kardashian employing her organizational talents to Serena Williams, Cindy Crawford, and Nicole Richie, to name a few.
6. Right Away, Ms. Hilton
The closet-organizing gig found Kardashian working as Paris Hilton’s stylist, wardrobe organizer, and personal shopper on The Simple Life, a job that Kardashian maintains launched her career.
7. Let Me Be Your Superstar
In March of 2007, Vivid Entertainment released the infamous adult film of Kardashian and her then-boyfriend, singer-actor Ray J. The film was called Kim Kardashian, Superstar, and the uncut version runs for 94 minutes (so, like, good job you two).
8. Outgoing Introvert
Despite leading a very, very public life, Kardashian identifies as something of an introvert. "There's nothing I love more than getting to stay home all day and not get ready for anything," she said, "which is about half the week."
9. All About the Gainz
Kardashian’s impeccably maintained body is a labor of love. She works out for 90 minutes a day, six days a week, under the supervision of her trainer Melissa Alcantara. The regime is mostly comprised of weight training with minimal amounts of cardio.
10. Sure You Want to Eat That?
Where exercise leads, diet follows. In Kardashian’s case, this involves sticking mostly to the tenets of the Atkins Diet, which promotes eating heavy quantities of proteins, healthy fats, and vegetables.
11. Let Her Eat Cake
Yes, Kardashian likes her Atkins, but she has not completely forgone sweet, sweet carbs. In fact, Kardashian has said, “There’s a myth that eating carbs is bad, but this isn’t true.” So eat bread.
12. The Butler Did It!
Between Keeping up With the Kardashians, multiple business endeavors, public appearances, and a rigorous exercise regime, Kardashian doesn’t have much time to watch TV. But when she does, she favors true crime stories and murder mysteries. The long-running show Dateline NBC is a particular favorite of the celebrity.
13. Another One Bites the Dust
In 2011, Kardashian married basketball player Kris Humphries (and, in true Kardashian style, televised the event.) It was doomed to a heartbreaking end. Ill-informed jokes claimed that the pair were married for 72 days when, in fact, legal disagreements during the divorce caused their marriage to last for over two years.
The courts formally granted the divorce only two months before the birth of Kardashian’s firstborn, North.
14. Music to Her Ears
Kardashian is currently married to singer-songwriter Kanye West. They have four children with names that almost sound like people. Their relationship went public in 2012, but the pair first met in 2003 on the set of a Brandy music video.
15. You Named Her What?
Kim and Kanye now have four children together: North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm. They didn’t originally plan to name their first child North, but they got inspiration from a very strange place. When both Anna Wintour and Pharrell Williams, who had been hearing rumors, told them that "North West" was a great name, the couple relented. In short, we can blame Vogue’s editor-in-chief for the string of eccentric names.
16. Et Tu, Brute?
After North’s birth, Kim and Kanye reportedly sent pictures of six different infants to many of their closest friends to see who would sell them to the media. Paranoid? Maybe. But the results were chilling. Some of them allegedly wasted no time in trying to sell the photos to major media outlets, thereby outing themselves as traitors. No more guest spots on KUWTK for you.
17. Chill Out, Mom, Everyone Has Nudes
Kim’s infamous nude photos from the shoot for Paper magazine were a spontaneous decision. In fact, they were so very not pre-planned that her mother, Kris Jenner, remained in the dark until the issue went to print—and she was furious. When Kris called her daughter, screaming, Kim’s response was, “Relax; it’s my shoot, my body, my life.”
18. Time Equals Beauty
Kardashian’s hair and make up takes, on average, an hour and a half every day. For special events (e.g.: the Met Gala), it can take up to four hours.
19. Rest in Peace, But Can I Have Your Stuff?
Elizabeth Taylor was an idol of Kim Kardashian’s, so much so that after Taylor’s passing, Kardashian spent £65,000 on Taylor’s jewelry. She also nearly bought Taylor’s former house, but ultimately chalked it up as an unrealistic choice. “It only had a one-car garage.”
20. Vroom Vroom, Beep Beep
Elizabeth Taylor’s one-car garage really wouldn’t have worked for Kardashian, given that she’s something of an automobile aficionado. She also recommends a Rolls Royce for anyone with children because they’re low enough to easily put in a car seat and subsequent infant. Thank you for that very relatable tip, Kim.
21. Jam (Shut It Down)
Kardashian has confessed that releasing her 2011 single “Jam (Turn It Up)” is her one big regret.
22. Treat Yourself
Kardashian militantly sticks to her diet and exercise regime, which includes completely abstaining from drugs and alcohol. However, she allows herself five shots of vodka taken specifically in Vegas every three years.
23. It’s All Real…Well, Mostly
Kardashian is no stranger to cosmetic surgery rumors. However, she’s had comparatively little work done considering the numerous procedures people have alleged. Kardashian has admitted to Botox, laser treatments for her stretch marks, and fillers, but denies most of the other rumors surrounding her body and famous assets.
24. Exhibit A: The Yearbook
As proof of her lack of cosmetic surgery, Kardashian cites her high school yearbook photo, saying her lips look bigger then than now.
25. You Know What IS Fake…
There are wax statues of Kardashian as well as Kanye at Madame Tussauds’ wax museums, both in New York and, more recently, London (complete with a phone for selfies).
26. Just Be Yourself
Kardashian has appeared in several films and TV shows as herself, including Ocean’s 8, 2 Broke Girls, and How I Met Your Mother.
27. Dancing With the Kardashians
Back in her B-Lister days, Kardashian competed on Dancing With the Stars as Mark Ballas’s partner. Alas, she only made it to episode six, her main criticisms being a lack of confidence and (oddly enough) trouble shaking her booty.
28. Don't Quit Your Day Job
Hilariously, this wasn't the only time someone criticized Kim's stilted, nervous dancing. In one famously embarrassing interaction, she went on stage with Prince during his Welcome 2 Tour, with disastrous results. After Prince called her up and then watched as she barely moved, he told her to "get off my stage."
29. Richer Than Thou, and Holier Too
Kardashian is a practicing Christian, and has described herself as “really religious.” She even traveled to Jerusalem to have North baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Old City’s Armenian Quarter.
30. Mo Money, Mo…Well, Money
Since 2014, Kardashian’s net worth has multiplied, rising from $45 million to an estimated $350 million. In case you're keeping score, that's more than double her husband Kanye’s net worth.
31. (Kim’s) Life’s a Game; Wanna Play?
In 2014, Kardashian released a free role-playing game on iOS and Android. The game is called “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood” and it’s all about accumulating fame and fortune, navigating the in-game publicity spheres, and booking acting jobs, night-life appearances, and modeling gigs in order to become an A-List celebrity.
32. Sisters in Life and in Business
True to her career’s roots in style and fashion, Kim has released a number of clothing lines in partnership with her sisters Khloe and Kourtney.
33. Selfies: an Art Form
In 2015, Kardashian compiled her “best” selfies from her various social media accounts into a coffee table art book entitled Selfish. The book caused a fair bit of controversy when it came out—but then again, that was probably the point.
34. Be My Valentine?
The idea for Selfish occurred to Kardashian when she was taking sexy photos as a Valentine’s Day gift to Kanye. Evidently, some gifts should be shared with everyone.
35. Tweeting for Change
Advocating for gun control, Kardashian tweeted a table of statistics highlighting the annual US death tally by gun violence. The tweet quickly went viral, as all things Kardashian tend to.
36. Inventor of the Selfie?
Kardashian claims to have taken her first selfie in 1984, long before the advent of the phone camera.
37. Like Father, Like Daughter
Kardashian announced in Vogue early in 2019 that she was studying to pass the Bar Exam. However, instead of attending law school, she will be pursuing her legal career by “reading the law,” a practice by which someone enters the legal profession via a mentorship, apprenticeship, or similar means of practical tutelage.
38. Finding "The One" (Before The Two and The Three)
Though few people remember it, Kardashian was first married at the age of 19 to record producer Damon Thomas. According to their divorce papers, Thomas was notoriously controlling. As Kardashian divulged to the Daily Mail, “Damon decided what we would do and when we would do it. He was very much the ‘king of the castle.’” But the details are even more disturbing.
Apparently, Thomas made her quit her job and drop out of college. He also forced her to ask him for permission to even leave the house. No wonder it didn't work out.
39. Theft of the Crown Jewels
While attending the 2016 Paris Fashion Week, five individuals dressed as police officers threatened their way into the apartment where Kardashian was staying and robbed her at gunpoint. They tied her wrists and legs, gagged her, and placed her in the bathtub, all before taking $10 million worth of jewelry from the premises.
40. True Crime or Crime Drama?
Following the robbery, dark rumors started spreading. Some thought that the Kardashians staged whole thing as a media stunt. Kardashian filed lawsuits against a number of media outlets, but she dropped them after securing a gag order on a leaked video that shows her using the phone she apparently reported as stolen. Obviously, this prompted further skepticism about the robbery.
41. We’ll Always Have Paris
According to Kanye's song "Cold," he was in love with Kardashian almost from the start, but it wasn't meant to be for a long while. As he raps, referring to her second husband Humphries, "And I’ll admit, I had fell in love with Kim / Around the same time she had fell in love with him." However, he bided his time—and swooped in with a grand gesture.
Following Kardashian’s decision to divorce from Humphries, Kanye invited her to his fashion show in Paris. It was during that visit that they kindled their romance, and Kardashian realized what she'd been missing. Kanye jokes that he organized the whole show just to get a date. (Which, honestly, wouldn’t be the most ostentatiously lavish thing he’s done.)
42. American Horror Story: Stretch Marks
On an episode of KUWTK, Kim noticed a stretch mark on her pregnant sister Kourtney’s baby belly. Ever the diplomat, Kim then lamented, “Kourtney, I’m gonna cry for you. This is, like, my biggest fear of life.”
43. Not Cool, Mom
Vivid Entertainment has stated in a press release that Kardashian's X-rated tape Superstar was sold to them by a mysterious “third party” for $1 million. In his book Kardashian Dynasty, investigative journalist Ian Halperin makes a disturbing claim. He alleges that Kardashian’s mother, Kris Jenner, leaked the tape in collaboration with her daughter. Aren't parents just the worst?
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20