It’s true what they say about not being able to pick your family, but those conversations don’t usually involve people being born into one of the most famous families in the world and whose drama often plays out on our television screens. At 27 years old, Kendall Jenner has parlayed her family’s reality TV fame into a modeling career, tequila brand and several other business ventures, boasting more than 290 million Instagram followers. But the spotlight hasn’t come easy for her, and she recently opened up about why it’s been more “challenging” for her than Kourtney, Khloé and Kim Kardashian to live her life through The Kardashians and other ventures.
Kendall Jenner spoke out recently about what it was like to grow up as one of the Kardashians’ little sisters, and while she seemed to fully recognize her privilege, she admitted that living her life in front of the camera does not come naturally to her, saying to to WSJ Magazine:
I consider myself one of the luckiest people on the planet to be able to live the life that I live. But I do think that it’s challenging for me a lot more than it’s not.
Kendall Jenner was just 12 years old when the first episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians aired in 2007. (Her younger sister Kylie was 10.) Even if the daughters of Kris and Caitlyn Jenner had been able to predict just how big the Kardashian-Jenner empire would become, they still would have been too young to really have a say in their roles in it.
Kourtney, Kim and Khloé Kardashian were all in their 20s when their show became a hit, and maybe that’s part of the reason Kendall said she’s never quite felt like she fit in, telling the magazine:
Since I was really young, I felt out of place in my family. I was born into this life, but I didn’t choose this life.
While she has definitely benefited from her family’s fame, It’s true that she didn’t have a say in it, and that seems to be a point that the Kardashian-Jenner family is taking more into consideration with the next generation. We recently saw Khloé Kardashian and Kylie Jenner keep their children’s identities private for months after their birth. Kourtney Kardashian, for her part, said on a podcast last October that her oldest son Mason Disick “doesn’t want any part of” social media, and the family seems to be pretty respectful of that.
It’s a completely different mindset than Kim Kardashian had 15 or 20 years ago, Kendall Jenner pointed out:
[Kim’s] like, 'I used to go to Kitson on Robertson just to get photographed….' I think she was built for [this life]. It took me [almost] 20 years to be like, OK, I guess I’m getting used to it now and it’s fine and I get it.
It seems like she may relate more to her other half-siblings. Caitlyn Jenner also has Burt, Cassandra, Brandon and Brody from previous marriages, and while Brody Jenner in particular had some reality TV success of his own on The Hills, that side of the family live decidedly more private lives. Kendall continued:
I obviously understand I fall under the umbrella of the Kardashian sisters. It’s just weird to me…because I am just like my dad in so many ways. I’m such a Jenner, in my opinion.
Maybe Kendall Jenner is more of a Jenner at heart than a Kardashian, but she’s still an active member of her mom’s side of the family. Kendall, like her sisters, serves as an executive producer of The Kardashians and, of course, makes appearances on the show. Fans can continue to keep up with Kendall via a Hulu subscription, with new episodes airing every Thursday.
