The Kardashian Dynasty: Famous for Being Famous

Kim Kardashian has tens of millions of followers on Twitter and Instagram and is in Time’s top 25 most influential people. But she is not a musician, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist or even a politician. When asked what her talent was by a journalist, Kardashian said: “A bear can juggle and stand on a ball and he’s talented, but he’s not famous.” 

KEEPING UP

Kim Kardashian stars in a TV reality show called Keeping Up With the Kardashians. It was launched in 2007, inspired by the success of The Osbournes, a reality show based on the family life of English rock star Ozzy Osbourne. The Kardashians’ show focuses on the women of the Kardashian-Jenner family: the sisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian, and their half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner. Cameras follow them on their privileged lifestyle. They travel the world. They have parties with celebrity guests. They talk about relationships, business, fashion and their feelings. Critics call the show “silly” and “frivolous,” but more than two million people watch each episode.

FAMILY VALUES

So why is the show so successful? Kim says it is because of family values. “We are relatable,” says Kardashian. But the family, which is of Armenian heritage, is not exactly ordinary. Their father, Robert Kardashian, was the attorney of O. J. Simpson, an American football star accused of murdering his wife. The Kardashians’ mother, Kris Houghton, divorced Robert in 1991. She later married Bruce Jenner, a retired Olympic decathlon champion. In 2015, Bruce completed a gender transition and is now known as Caitlyn. The couple are now divorced.

REAL / FAKE

Some critics accuse Keeping Up With the Kardashians of inventing storylines to create drama. The initial success of the show has been linked to a sex tape that Kim recorded with her then-boyfriend, the singer R-Jay, which was ‘leaked’ online. In 2011, Kim married basketball star Kris Humphries. The marriage received a lot of coverage on the show and lasted just seventy-two days. Many say that it was a publicity stunt. Sometimes facts are stranger than fiction, though! In 2016, Kim was robbed at gunpoint in a hotel room in Paris. Thieves stole nine  million dollars’ worth of jewellery and escaped on bicycles. The police took it very seriously.

A BIG BRAND

The Kardashiansare certainly good at capitalizing on their fame. Kim has made millions with an app called Kimoji that compiles hundreds of emojis based on her life. She has also launched a make-up line, which sold out in three hours, a perfume line, a successful mobile game, a book called Selfish made up entirely of her selfies, and a kids’ clothing line, which is co-owned by her husband, the rapper Kanye West.