September usually means a reset in fashion with young models wearing the looks of the season, Vogue’s Gen Z and millennial editors could not hide the joy of twisting conventions, tapping the 69-year-young entertainment star Kris Jenner this pivotal moment. And here resides the power of Jenner. You might not like reality TV. You might not love the Kardashians. But this modern grandmother, equipped with the skills of the toughest CEO, has an unmatched cross-generational likeability factor that makes her one of the most cherished characters of today’s pop culture.
When I finally get on the phone with Jenner, after she spent one month vacationing on a yacht and cruising the azure waters of the Mediterranean Sea, I ask her where this universal appeal originates from. “It’s so nice to hear this… I feel that I can play the role of a girlfriend, I can be like a mom or a grandmother, or I’m just someone that can offer a hug, a shoulder, advice… or great company to enjoy a drink with,” she laughs. “I have so many different sides to me, even for my family. One day I’m the manager, the next moment I’m a mom… There’s also something very powerful about our show, as it relates to so many generations. When we started, Kylie and Kendall were 10 and 11. Now, we have an entire new cluster of fans that has seen my kids have kids.”
Jenner officially entered our lives in 2007 when Keeping Up With The Kardashians first aired on E!. With the show now streaming on Hulu and Disney+, the family has been under the spotlight for an impressive total of 27 seasons. When it launched, the format took the world by storm, giving an unfiltered look at the adventures and escapades of the Kardashian clan—namely, Jenner’s six children. In a world where celebrities note the lack of privacy in Hollywood, the matriarch and mastermind of the series did the exact opposite and kick-started a new career as a reality TV star at 51. And she didn’t hesitate for one moment. “To be perfectly honest, I never thought the exposure would be harmful. I just thought this was going to be a great journey. ‘Buckle your seatbelts, we are in for a wild ride, but we are going to have the time of our lives,’” she explains. “I was very optimistic, and I’m also a girl who looks at the glass as half full. We were working in our stores in Calabasas, and I thought this would be a great way to give exposure to our business, as it was like an instant focus group. This was an immediate marketing tool and something that could come in handy for other things. I knew this was not a gamble. I also prayed about it. I got on my knees and I said, ‘Please Lord, lead me in the right direction,’ and that’s what I still do every day. I have great spirituality and I’m very confident about my decisions, but I also feel we were led in the right direction.”
When the show first aired, Jenner tells me everything happened “so quickly” and the workload was extremely intense. Contrary to the idea that reality TV doesn’t involve too much effort as it seems like nothing but capturing everyday life, shoots went on for six to seven days a week and reached over 16 hours per day. “We were doing our wardrobe; sometimes even our hair and makeup. We were filming in our own homes,” Jenner reminisces. “We were proud of where we were living, and we wanted it to be beautiful. So we were also the set directors and the florists, making sure everything was the way we wanted it, as if we had company coming over. Imagine if the whole world is looking at what your kitchen looks like,” she throws. “But looking back, I never even dreamt that I could’ve had this amazing career starting at 51. I feel really lucky that it happened the way it did, allowing us to do it as a family.”
As with any good reality TV show, a big dose of drama is an important ingredient to keep audiences hooked. The Kardashian family mastered this like no other, resulting in an almost-uninterrupted 18 years on air and counting. We have witnessed their many wins and moments of joy, but also the ugly divorces, the infamous private tape scandal, the physical fights between the sisters, and, in the case of our cover star, a very public second divorce culminating in the gender transition of the father of her two younger daughters. All of this seems extremely complicated to navigate in private, and even more complex in front of the entire world. “You know, we don’t have any regrets. I don’t live with regrets,” Jenner counters. “We have a global television show in 200 countries and so many languages. Our enormous fanbase is very emotionally invested in the family. At this point, they want to see what we are doing, and they will know everything, especially as we live in the age of the internet. There’s nothing off-limits.” She also reveals that the family holds the editing rights of the show, but that doesn’t mean things should be hidden from the audience, apart from a bad hair day. “We always had these rights, that’s the way I negotiated the deal. I wasn’t going to put my family in a vulnerable situation by signing a piece of paper saying they could do whatever they wanted with our image, and we would only see it on TV. But we quickly realized that the raw moments, the tears, and showing our real lives had real value. We only took something out when we looked bad, or there was a nicer angle.”
In parallel with the show and as predicted by Jenner since day one, the Kardashians became a global brand, with the “momager” managing all six children in addition to the nine companies under the family umbrella. This includes billion-dollar corporations such as Kylie Cosmetics, Good American, and Skims. It is widely known that Jenner receives 10% of the profits of all her offspring, and talking about money seems to not be an issue within the clan. “All my daughters are incredibly hardworking businesswomen, so of course they want to discuss deals, money and—percentages,” she justifies. “We have huge and very capable teams, and each company has business managers. I love being able to direct all things. And when it comes to the girls, they know they have a mother who wants to make things happen as much as they do, and has their best interests at heart. That makes me really happy.”
To understand Jenner’s unstoppable entrepreneurial spirit, we have to turn back in time to when she started working at the age of 10. Her first role was being in charge of a wrapping station. “I was a pretty good gift wrapper, if I must say so myself,” she muses. Jenner tells me that her main role models were her family’s matriarchs, who pushed her to understand structure and business from a very early age. “My grandmother and my mother were very hard workers. They had candle stores in La Jolla, where I worked during the summer vacation,” she shares. “One was called the Candelabra, while the other one was called Candles of La Jolla. I worked for both of them my entire young life, from wrapping to being a stock girl in the backroom, and eventually becoming a salesperson behind the counter at the cash register. I learned a lot about organizational skills, communicating with others, self-discipline, and hitting targets.” The experience she gained during these formative years helped shape her into the businesswoman she is today, arming her with the ambition and tenacity that would sharpen her entrepreneurial acumen. “Today I tend to over-schedule myself and get a lot accomplished every day. I’m one of those people that when I go to bed at night, I put my head on the pillow and I think, ‘God, that was a great day.’”
Most recently, Jenner broke the internet with unexpected news—her face, or rather, her new face. In May, the mogul accompanied her daughter Kim to a court hearing for her 2016 Paris robbery case, debuting an incredibly rejuvenated look that left fans in a frenzy. It was a non-stop guessing game of what procedure she underwent, how much it cost, and who her doctor was. “I had a facelift about 15 years ago, so it was time for a refresh,” she confides. “I decided to do this facelift because I want to be the best version of myself, and that makes me happy. Just because you get older, it doesn’t mean you should give up on yourself. If you feel comfortable in your skin and you want to age gracefully—meaning you don’t want to do anything—then don’t do anything. But for me, this is aging gracefully. It’s my version.” The much-talked-about procedure was conducted by Dr. Steven Levine, and in typical Kardashian style, it became a family and public affair. “Of course my daughter Kylie went with me, while Kim was present at all times on FaceTime,” she says. “I decided to reveal some details because I feel it can be very inspirational to people who aren’t feeling so great about themselves. Even when I had my hip replacement, we filmed it. I have the conviction that sharing these things can be helpful.”
This November, Jenner will be turning 70, a number that doesn’t seem to match the person we had in front of us during the shoot in Los Angeles, which took place a week before our call. Standing in front of Norman Jean Roy’s lens and styled by Law Roach, she was a never-ending source of joy and energy, and appeared more confident than ever. “I don’t know what 70 is supposed to feel like, but I feel great and I’m happy to be there,” she reveals. “I just have to try my best to do what I can to feel good and healthy. My blessing is my family. If I can be a part of their lives in the best way possible, then I’m thrilled.” Any retirement plans on the cards? Naturally, it’s way too early for the Kardashian CEO to hand over the reins anytime soon. “My mom worked until she was 82, and I’m planning on following suit,” she laughs. “Maybe 85?”
Coming from Jenner, we would not expect it any other way.
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