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REAL-LIFE FAMILY DRAMA IN 10 YEARS OF THE KARDASHIANS
The TV stars have made a fortune out of their fame and a decade on, they’re still setting trends in fashion, make-up and on social media
IT’S hard to believe that 10 years ago Kim Kardashian was just a college student and Caitlyn was still Bruce.
We’ve seen a lot in the decade that TV’s first reality show family have graced our screens – three weddings, five kids and one disastrous Pepsi ad.
They’ve created a whole industry of people famous for being famous and are unapologetic about it.
The award-winning show Keeping Up with the Kardashians has now aired in 167 countries and the family have a social media following of 700million.
And in a trailer for the new series Kim Kardashian tells sister Khloe that she and husband Kanye West are expecting a baby. It’s thought that a surrogate is carrying their child.
Love them or hate them, their impact is undeniable. Here’s 10 things the Kardashians have brought us.
1 24/7 reality shows The sisters and their “momager” Kris (we’ll get to that) have revolutionised reality TV. Before they hit our screens, reality TV needed a concept but the Kardashians merely have to exist to draw millions of viewers.
There are no challenges, no tasks and no privacy. It’s simply vapid voyeurism but it’s become the guilty pleasure of millions as they talk, shop, have dramas and run their multi-million-dollar empire for us all to see.
2 Contouring Admittedly contouring has been around since 1945, but the Kardashians have helped bring it to the mass market and many of us now can’t imagine our make-up routine without it. The images of perfectly defined cheekbones and highlighted foreheads flood our social media feeds and thoughtful Kim even has her own line in contouring kits.
3 Belfies Another contribution is the belfie, or for those of you who have been asleep for the last year, a selfie of your bum.
The family have never been shy about showing a little skin and Kim is happy to show off her famous derriere.
The rest of the family have been getting in on the act, Khloe has been showing off her “revenge body” or more to the point, her “revenge bum” while
Kylie has modelled her swimwear line with the help of many belfies.
4 Instagram fame Kendall has the third most liked photo of all time (behind Beyonce and Selena Gomez) on the photo sharing site. She has 83million followers and has been paid £185,000 for an Instagram post.
Even this pales in comparison with the eye-watering £370,000 her half-sister Kim can make from an single post. They’ll advertise almost anything from weight-loss tea to the infamous waist trainers.
They led the way in making cash from publicising products on social media and other celebs have followed suit.
The Kardashians and Jenners have inspired a new generation of Instagram celebrities.
5 The term “momager” Kris is undoubtedly the brains behind the whole operation and her place at the head of the family, personally and professionally, has made the word momager such common parlance that it is now in the Cambridge English Dictionary. As well as starring in Keeping up with the Kardashians, the mother of six manages all of her children’s lucrative careers and takes a cut of the money. And with an estimated net worth of £45million, she’s not doing too badly. 6 Kids as style gurus For anyone who disagrees with this, take a look at what North West wears on a regular basis. The pint-sized princess boasts a wardrobe of more than 200 designer outfits and has her own distinct style.
She wore a pair of fake fur sandals and, despite the shoes being ghastly, they sold out in hours. We’re sure little brother Saint will follow suit and be a fashion influencer as soon as he can walk.
7 Transgender awareness Caitlyn told the world about her transition in typical style – on a magazine cover.
She’s opened up about the struggles she’s faced accepting her identity. And she’s been vocal in criticising Trump’s controversial ban on transgender people serving in the military.
She’s raised millions of dollars for trans organisations and become the most famous trans person on the planet.
Although her wealth may have helped make her transition easier than it is for other trans people, no one can deny she has brought attention to an often overlooked and marginalised community.
8 Spin-offs Obviously spin-offs were a thing before the Kardashians exploded on to our screens but they have capitalised with a dizzying array of shows and their product ranges.
On telly, there’s been Kourtney and Kim Take Miami, the recent Life of Kylie, and Kris even had a shortlived talk show.
Kim makes millions from her Kimoji app and Kylie makes around £35million a year, partly from sales of her hugely popular lip kits.
But as spin-offs go, it’s hard to to top Kim’s book, entitled Selfish. Yes, a book of her selfies.
Say what you want about the Kardashians but they certainly know how to make wads of cash with little effort.
9 Interracial relationships Although nearly 20 per cent of newly married couples in the US are interracial, most TV does not reflect this. There are white families, black families, Asian families but hardly ever mixed.
When Kanye and Kim were on the cover of Vogue in 2014, they were the first interracial couple to grace the front of the fashion bible.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians is an example of reality TV reflecting the reality of an increasing number of couples.
Even some of the youngest family members – North and Saint West – are making an impact.
Kylie is reportedly expecting a baby with Travis Scott, her rapper boyfriend of five months, and Khloe is said to be four months pregnant by her NBA star boyfriend Tristan Thompson.
10 Curves Before the Kardashians, the desirable figure was model thin but they have made curves desirable.
What is a more realistic shape for many women is now fashionable, including hips, thighs and big bums.
Primark even sold bum padding to help fans emulate the famous Kimmy bottom.
The family are a range of shapes and sizes and show that all women are different, which is no bad thing.
And brother Rob has had a long battle with his weight which has been played out on screen.