She’s more than just a Kardashian copy
Toronto woman wants world to know she’s more than just an eerily similar pretty face
When Kamilla Osman, 21, was attending Richmond Hill High School north of Toronto, her classmates used to tease about her resemblance to Kim Kardashian. Osman didn’t know what to say, mostly because she didn’t know who that was.
“They would say, ‘Did you watch The Kardashians?’ ” she recalls. “I was like, what is that? In our house we did not have cable.”
Finally, Osman Googled her. “I was like, okay, I think she’s pretty,” she says. “I’ll take it as a compliment. I don’t think we look alike to be real honest with you.”
Begging to differ: the Internet. Flare.com recently volunteered Osman for the role of Kim Kardashian’s body double, a position her security detail is actively scouting for in the wake of the reality star’s Paris robbery, according to the New York Post. Asked if Osman had been approached for the gig, her manager said they did not want to comment on the situation, though in an interview Osman called the robbery “a really amazing thing that happened (for Kim Kardashian) in terms of PR.”
When Osman joined Instagram last year, her photos went viral, with commenters comparing her to the 36-year-old emoji mogul.
One particularly Kim-ly photo shoot she posted last year blew up her following from 100 to 50,000 in two weeks.
“They called me . . . an Internet sensation?” she says, sounding uncertain. “Instagram sensation? It was really funny.”
The Kardashian insanity hit its zenith earlier this year, when Osman was invited to dinner by Kardashian sidekick Jonathan Cheban. Kim Kardashian herself crashed the dinner, all filmed for an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
“We were just observing each other for a little bit,” Osman says. “I think they were expecting me to be a little more excited.”
Unlike the million-plus subscribers who pay $2.99 a month for makeup, fashion and even selfie tutorials on the Kim Kardashian West Official App, Osman has never tried to emulate Kardashian’s style, namechecking Rihanna and Beyoncé as the celebrities she most admires.
Osman credits the resemblance to their similar backgrounds: Kardashian’s father, Robert Kardashian, was Armenian while Osman’s parents hail from the neighbouring nation of Azerbaijan.
“We have almost identical features in some ways,” she says. “Dark hair. Thick eyebrows. Very structured faces. I think that is the reason.”
The social media mob that elected her “cut and paste Kim” frequently float conspiracy theories that her Kardashian-esque look is the result of cosmetic procedures to look more like Kardashian.
While Osman did have a nose job as a teenager, she explains it followed surgery on a deviated septum that had widened her bridge.
She also got lip enhancements when she was 15.
“My mom has really big lips, and my dad doesn’t,” she says. “Unfortunately, I got my dad’s lips.”
Osman plans to relaunch her website KamillaOsman.com next month, as a subscription-based site, focusing on lifestyle, fashion and beauty. Early next year, her plan is to release a debut single, a “chill R&B” track she compares to Bryson Tiller and Rihanna.
With these kinds of ambitions, it’s no wonder that it’s not Kim Kardashian that Osman looks up to in the Kardashian family, but her mother, Kris Jenner.
“She’s a great example for young women in terms of business,” she says.
“She has a great understanding of marketing and how to market her kids. I think that’s a great skill.”
And though she admires the Kardashian hustle, she feels limited by the constant comparisons.
“Why do I always have to be compared to somebody?” she says. “I’m totally different.
“I have so much to offer. I’m Kami Osman. And I’m so happy to be that.”
“Why do I always have to be compared to somebody? I’m totally different. I have so much to offer. I’m Kami Osman. And I’m so happy to be that.” KAMI OSMAN ON CONSTANTLY BEING COMPARED TO KIM KARDASHIAN