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| Ray J and Kim |
Who is Kimberly Noel Kardashian? The entertainment and acting world knows her as television personality, fashion designer, model, and actress. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she first garnered media attention through her then-friend Paris Hilton. In 2007, Kardashian came to prominence after a sex tape with her then-boyfriend Ray J was leaked. Later that year, she and her family were 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 named the highest-paid reality television personality, with estimated earnings of $6 million.commissioned to star in the
Kim Kardasian, she is an American
In August 2011, Kardashian married basketball player Kris Humphries in a widely-publicized ceremony. However, following 72 days of marriage, she garnered significant criticism after filing for divorce that October, labeling their nuptials a publicity stunt. In June 2013, their divorce was finalized with an undisclosed settlement. Kardashian began a relationship with rapper Kanye West in 2012, and gave birth to their daughter North West the following year.
With sisters Kourtney and Khloé, Kardashian is involved in the retail and fashion industries. They have launched several clothing collections and fragrances, and additionally released the book Kardashian Konfidential in 2010.
Life and career
1980–2007: Early life and sex tape
Kimberly Noel Kardashian was born October 21, 1980 in Los Angeles, California on October 21, 1980, to Robert and Kris (née Houghton).[2] She has an older sister Kourtney, a younger sister Khloé, and a younger brother Rob.[3] Their mother is of Dutch, English, and Scottish ancestry,[4] while their father was a third-generation Armenian American.[5] After their parents divorced in 1991,[6] Houghton remarried to the 1976 Summer Olympics decathlon winner Bruce Jenner in 1991.[7] Through their marriage, Kardashian gained step-brothers Burton "Burt", Brandon, and Brody; step-sister Casey; and half-sisters Kendall and Kylie.[8][9]parents
As a teenager, she attended Marymount High School, a Roman Catholic all-girls school in Los Angeles.[10] In 1994, her father garnered public attention as the primary defense lawyer for football player O.J. Simpson during his murder trial. In 2003, Robert Kardashian was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and died that September.[11]
In 2000, a 19-year-old Kardashian eloped to music producer Damon Thomas.
Thomas filed for divorce in 2003, though Kardashian later credited
their separation to physical and emotional abuse on his part.[12] During this time, Kardashian was also close friends with socialite Paris Hilton, through whom she first garnered media attention.[13] Prior to the finalization of her divorce, Kardashian began dating singer Ray J, the younger brother of Brandy Norwood.[14] In February 2007, a sex tape made by Kardashian and Ray J in 2003 was leaked.[15][16] Kardashian filed a lawsuit against Vivid Entertainment, who distributed the film as Kim K Superstar, and dropped the suit and settled for $5 million.[17][18]2007–09: Career beginnings
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| Keeping Up with the Kardashians. |
In 2008, Kardashian made her feature film debut in the disaster film spoof Disaster Movie, in which she appeared as a character named Lisa.[22][23] That year, she was announced as 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.[24]
In January 2009, Kardashian guest starred as herself during an episode of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother in the episode "Benefits".[25] That March, she launched an endorsement with ShoeDazzle shopping,[26] of which she is the co-founder and chief fashion stylist.[27] She then endorsed multiple other projects including a vanilla cupcake mix flavor called 'Va-Va-Va-Nilla' for the Los Angeles bakery, Famous Cupcakes.[27] In April, she released a workout DVD series, Fit in Your Jeans by Friday, with trainers Jennifer Galardi and Patrick Goudeau.[28][29] In June, it was announced that Kardashian was to star as Elle in the television series Beyond the Break.[30] August saw Kardashian become a guest host of WrestleMania XXIV and guest judge on America's Next Top Model.[31] 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.[32] The following month, she released her first fragrance titled "Kim Kardashian".[33][34] On December 16, 2009, Kardashian made a guest star appearance on CBS's CSI: NY with Vanessa Minnillo.[35][36]
2010–11: International success
2010 saw Kardashian venture into several new endorsement deals, including endorsing various food products for Carl's Jr.[27][37] Beginning in early 2010, Kardashian and her sisters designed and developed clothing lines for Bebe stores and 'Virgins, Saints, and Angels'.[38][39][40] In January 2010, she starred as Summa Eve in the film Deep in the Valley[35] In April, Kardashian sparked controversy over the way she held a kitten for a photograph, holding it by the scruff of its neck.[41] 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.[42] June saw Kardashian guest star with Khloé and Kourtney as herself on the season three premiere episode of the series 90210.[43] That same month, Kardashian was involved in a lawsuit against one of her endorsments. 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.[44] Additionally, Kardashian and her sisters released a sunless tanner "Kardashian Glamour Tan", that month.[45]On July 1, 2010, the New York City branch of Madame Tussauds revealed a wax figure of Kardashian.[46]
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. Kardashian is friends
with both, specifically Cheban, who frequently appears on her reality
shows.[47] That month, she also appeared on the tenth season of The Apprentice.[48][49] Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé wrote an autobiography titled Kardashian Konfidential, which was released in stores on November 23, and appeared on New York Times's Best Seller List.[50][51]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.[52] Kardashian premiered the song during a New Year's Eve party at TAO Las Vegas on December 31, 2010.[53] 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 anything—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 fun—with a good cause".[54] 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."[55] That month, it was announced by the International Business Times that Kardashian's 2010 earnings were the highest among Hollywood-based reality stars, being estimated at $6 million.[56][57]
2011: Marriage to Kris Humphries
Kardashian, who has supported recognition of the Armenian Genocide on numerous occasions, encouraged American President Barack Obama and the United States 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.[58] That April, she also released her third fragrance "Gold".[33] In May, she became engaged to NBA player Kris Humphries, then of the New Jersey Nets, whom she had been dating since October 2010.[59] They were married during an extravagant wedding ceremony on August 20 in Montecito, California.[60] Earlier that month, she had released her "wedding fragrance" called "Kim Kardashian Love" which coincided with her own wedding.[33][61] 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.[62] Also in October, Kardashian and her sisters opened their Kardashian Khaos store in Las Vegas.[63] After 72 days of marriage, Kardashian filed for divorce from Humphries on October 31, citing irreconcilable differences.[64] After filing for the divorce, Kardashian asked the court to order Humphries to pay his own legal expenses.[65] 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.[66]
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.[67]
Her former publicist also claimed that her short-lived wedding was
indeed staged and a ploy to generate money. Kardashian filed suit
against him, saying his claims were untrue.[68] A widely circulated petition asking to remove all Kardashian-related programming from the air followed the split.[69]2012–present: Pregnancy and motherhood
In March 2012, Kardashian debuted her fourth fragrance titled "True Reflection", which she worked with the company Dress for Success to promote.[70] That month, Kardashian and her sisters were named in a $5 million class action lawsuit against QuickTrim, the weight loss supplement they endorse.[71] 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 salesconsumer protection laws.[72] In April, E! renewed Keeping Up with the Kardashians for two additional seasons, in a deal reported to be worth $50 million.[73][74] Kardashian also began dating American rapper and longtime friend[75] Kanye West that month,[76]
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.[77] In November, Kardashian and her sisters internationally launched the 'Kardashian Collection' in England,[78][79] as well as launching a line of cosmetics, 'Khroma Beauty'.[80] On December 31, 2012, Kardashian and West announced that she was pregnant with the couple's first child,[81][82] a girl.[83][84]and marketing chain) of false and deceptive marketing of the diet aid. The plaintiffs, hailing from several states, brought claims under their respective states’
In February 2013, a judge ruled that Kardashian's divorce case with Humphries would go to trial, and set a trial date for May.[85] However, on April 19, 536 days after Kardashian's initial divorce filing, she and Humphries reached an undisclosed divorce settlement, avoiding a trial.[86][87] The divorce was legally finalized on June 3.[88] Kardashian gave birth to her daughter with West, named North West, on June 15 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, five weeks prior to her due date.[84][89][90] Kardashian and West became engaged on October 21, Kardashian's 33rd birthday,[91][92] when West rented out AT&T Park in San Francisco and projected a proposal message on the stadium screen in front of Kardashian's assembled friends and family members.[93]
Filmography
Acting credits
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Disaster Movie | Lisa Taylor[94] | |
| 2009 | CSI: NY | Debbie Fallon[95] | TV series (1 episode: "Second Chances") |
| 2009 | Beyond the Break | Elle[96] | TV series (4 episodes) |
| 2009 | Deep in the Valley | Summa Eve[97] | |
| 2012 | Drop Dead Diva | Nikki LePree[98] | TV series (4 episodes) |
| 2013 | Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor | Ava[99] | |
| 2013 | American Dad! | Alien character (voice) | season 10[100][101] |
As herself
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2003–2006 | The Simple Life | TV series (3 episodes) |
| 2007–present | Keeping Up with the Kardashians | TV series |
| 2008 | Dancing with the Stars | TV series (6 episodes)[102] |
| 2009–present | Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami | TV series[103] |
| 2009 | America's Next Top Model | TV series (1 episode: "Interview 101")[104] |
| 2009 | How I Met Your Mother | TV series (1 episode: "Benefits")[105] |
| 2010 | 90210 | TV series (1 episode: "Senior Year, Baby")[106] |
| 2011 | Khloé & Lamar | TV series (3 episodes)[107] |
| 2011–2012 | Kourtney and Kim Take New York | TV series (18 episodes)[108] |
| 2011 | America's Next Top Model | TV series (1 episode: "LaToya Jackson")[109][110] |
| 2012 | Last Man Standing | TV series (1 episode: "Tree of Strife")[111] |
| 2012 | 30 Rock | TV series (1 episode: "Live From Studio 6H") West Coast Version[112] |
| 2012 | Punk'd | TV series (1 episode)[113] |
Discography
Singles
| Chart (2011) | Title | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles[114] | "Jam (Turn It Up)" | 17 |
Awards and nominations
