It's Kim's World

…We Just Live In It. How An Underestimated La Socialite Became One Of The Most Powerful Women Of The 21st Century

- Edwain Steenkamp

It’s hard to imagine that there was ever a time the Kardashians were not a household name. Kim, her mother, Kris, and siblings, Kourtney, Khloé, Robert Jr, Kendall and Kylie are a pop-culture phenomenon. But less than 25 years ago, the family was all but unknown...

Kimberly Kardashian was born in 1980 in Los Angeles, the second child of Robert and Kris. In many ways, she was destined for stardom, growing up in the thick of LAceleb culture and attending preschool with the likes of Paris Hilton. However, it was Kim’s father, Robert Kardashian, who first brought international attention to the family when, in 1994, he joined the legal team representing his best friend, OJ Simpson, in one of the most publicised and controversial murder trials in history. The NFL star was Kim’s godfather, and his alleged victim, Nicole Brown Simpson, was Kris’s best friend.

During her early 20s, Kim stayed in Paris’s orbit, even working as her stylist (and as a stylist for the likes of Brandy and Lindsay Lohan). However, it wasn’t until 2007 that the name Kim Kardashian would dominate tabloids for the first time. In February that year, adult-film company Vivid Entertainment distributed Kim K Superstar, a leaked sex tape featuring Kim and her then-boyfriend, the musician Ray J. The Kardashians sued Vivid for ownership of the video, settling out of court two months later for a reported $5 million. Kim was now headline news – loved, hated and debated the world over. The public couldn’t get enough of her. Soon, their every curiosity would be satisfied.