The rise and impact of the Kardashian-Jenner family

“Keeping Up with the Kardashians” premiered shortly after Kim Kardashian was at the center of a leaked sex tape scandal.

Sierra Hoeger

Billionaires, supermodels and makeup gurus make up a portion of the well-known Kardashian-Jenner family, consisting of Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian West, Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Robert Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner.

Each sibling brings something different to the table, however they’re not shy to collaborate with one another, profiting off of their namesake.  

In early September, it was announced “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” the reality TV show centered around the family, would discontinue after 13 years and 20 seasons. The final season will air in 2021. 

However, that doesn’t mean the Kardashian-Jenner clan will step out of the spotlight. While the absence of a reality TV show will no longer allow fans to gain access to their everyday lives, the family is still very much present on social media and other avenues. 

While the reality TV show helped to drive promotions and sales for the various companies founded by different members of the family, thanks to social media they are able to generate business that way instead. 

While Kylie Cosmetics, Kylie Jenner’s makeup brand, is heavily advertised on the show through Jenner’s everyday actions and activities surrounding her business such as attending photoshoots, launch parties and making decisions that will influence her brand, Kylie Cosmetics thrives on apps like Instagram, where users have a more engaged experience with the brand. 

With 24.9 million followers, Kylie Cosmetics will continue to be a well-known brand within the makeup industry, ensuring consumers for years to come. 

Kylie Jenner also received her own spinoff show, called “Life of Kylie.” “Life of Kylie” aired for one season throughout 2017. 

Kylie Jenner is the mother of Stormi with her ex-boyfriend, musician Travis Scott. Jenner had kept her pregnancy a secret, announcing the birth of her daughter with an 11-minute long video documenting her pregnancy, birthing and labor process. Since then, Stormi and Kylie have done several TikTok challenges together, further proving to fans she is one of the cutest of the Kardashian-Jenner grandchildren. 

The two youngest siblings, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, grew up in the spotlight, where they will continue to hail for the remainder of their lives. While Kylie is in the makeup world, Kendall is one of the highest paid supermodels in the world. 

Modeling for brands such as Adidas and Calvin Klein and walking in fashion shows for Victoria’s Secret and Chanel, Kendall Jenner is putting her career at the forefront, as she is the only sibling without a spouse or children.

This aspect of her life has made her the most relatable among millennials and Generation Z fans, most of whom don’t have a spouse or children either. She is often seen as “unbothered” at family events, not having children to tend to or spousal drama to stir the pot. 

However, spousal drama seems to be the lure factor of the show, between cheating scandals and will-they, won’t-they contemplations, fans and viewers are interested in the family’s love life, making it a focal point. 

One of the more controversial scandals to happen recently was the cheating scandal between Tristan Thompson and Khloe Kardashian. Thompson cheated on Kardashian with one of Kylie Jenner’s former close friends, Jordyn Woods. After news spread of the scandal, a Jordyn Woods and Kylie Jenner collaboration line of Kylie Cosmetics was heavily discounted while Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson swore to put their daughter, True’s best interests at the forefront of their relationship moving forward. 

The will-they, won’t-they aspect of the show derives from Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian. The pair have three children together and have been on again and off again throughout the past decade, until more recently, when both of them had significant others besides one another. 

While the pair has proven time and time again they’re not compatible for one another, it doesn’t prevent them from being there for their children. Going on vacations, regularly spending time together with their children and still having a close relationship with the family, Disick isn’t going anywhere. Fans enjoy his presence on the show due to his sarcastic comments and wittiness, teasing the idea of rekindling a relationship with Kourtney on social media.

Kourtney Kardashian has made her stance on the show clear, almost backing out this past season in an attempt to prioritize her children and business, Poosh, a lifestyle and wellness brand. 

While the show has helped the family’s claim to fame, it wouldn’t have been a reality without Kim Kardashian West. Kardashian West has come a long way from being Paris Hilton’s assistant to the sex scandal that made her a household name. Now Kim is a mother, wife to musician Kanye West, law apprentice, makeup brand founder and a shapewear designer. 

Kim Kardashian West has often been credited with being one of the first celebrities to intentionally tip off the paparazzi regarding her own whereabouts. This is something many celebrities do today in order to stay relevant and take control of the story being told about them.

She has appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine, met with President Donald Trump to discuss prison reform and was also the victim of an armed robbery in Paris during 2016.

KKW Beauty and SKIMS, her shapewear brand, have helped Kim Kardashian West branch out to other avenues and explore passions of hers as well as amass a great deal of wealth. As of 2020, Forbes magazine estimates Kim Kardashian West’s net worth to be $900 million.  

In 2019, Kardashian West revealed she was studying to take the California state bar exam to study law and follow in her father’s footsteps to become a lawyer. 

Kardashian West and Kanye West have four children together, two of which were born via surrogate mothers. 

Kris Jenner, the matriarch of the Kardashian-Jenner family, serves as the manager to multiple of the siblings and profits off of them as well. Kris Jenner first became well-known in the 1980s and ‘90s while married to Robert Kardashian, notorious for being on O.J. Simpson’s legal defense team in 1995. 

O.J. Simpson was a close family friend of the Kardashians and was tried for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson was found not guilty, although his innocence is still debated to this day.

Kris Jenner’s love life has been the focus of her life on the show, following her marriage and separation from Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Olympian Bruce Jenner. 

Together, the pair had children Kendall and Kylie Jenner. Transitioning into Caitlyn Jenner in 2015, since then, she has served as an empowering individual within the LGBTQ+ community. 

The show documented the family as Caitlyn came out to them and the transition process. 

Amassing 13 seasons and 20 years, while “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” will discontinue, the impact of the Kardashian-Jenner family will reign on through their social media accounts and businesses. The longest-running reality TV show being canceled raises questions about how this will shape reality TV in the future. 

“Keeping Up with the Kardashians” has been one of the most successful reality TV shows on E! Network, alongside shows such as “Chrisley Knows Best,” “Total Bellas” and “Botched.”