Kris Jenner: Kylie Jenner’s Mother, Momager & the Woman Behind the Kardashian Empire
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Kylie Jenner is the most searched name in the United States today, 12 November 2026, after a fourth former household employee sued the reality star and beauty founder. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on 5 November and reported by PEOPLE and Page Six this week, accuses Jenner of workplace violations, including claims that a housekeeper was bitten by a dog, injured by pepper spray and locked inside a closet for more than an hour. Her lawyer has denied the allegations, and no court has yet ruled on them. Behind the 29-year-old, as ever, stands her mother and manager: Kris Jenner, the 71-year-old matriarch who turned a reality-television family into one of the most valuable brands in pop culture.
Jenner turned 71 on 5 November 2026, the same day her youngest daughter’s latest lawsuit was filed. The coincidence sums up her life in the public eye: family milestones and family headlines, handled in the same breath. She is the woman known as the “momager”, and this is the story of how she built the Kardashian-Jenner empire from a San Diego childhood that had nothing to do with fame.
Kris Jenner — Quick Reference Profile
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kristen Mary Jenner (née Houghton, formerly Kardashian) |
| Date of birth | 5 November 1955 (age 71) |
| Birthplace | San Diego, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Not publicly verified |
| Primary role | Media personality, businesswoman, talent manager, television producer |
| Famous anchor | Mother and manager of Kylie Jenner (also of Kim, Kourtney, Khloé, Rob Kardashian and Kendall Jenner) |
| Spouses | Robert Kardashian (m. 1978; div. 1991); Caitlyn Jenner, then Bruce Jenner (m. 1991; div. 2015) |
| Partner | Corey Gamble (2014–present) |
| Children | Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, Rob, Kendall and Kylie; 13 grandchildren as of 2025 |
| Net worth | Not publicly verified — published estimates range from $170 million to $230 million |
| Height | Not publicly verified |
| Social media | @krisjenner on Instagram |
San Diego Roots: The Childhood That Shaped the Momager
Kristen Mary Houghton was born in San Diego, California, on 5 November 1955, the elder of two children born to Mary Jo “M.J.” Shannon, who owned a children’s clothing store, and Robert True “Bob” Houghton, an engineer. Her parents divorced when she was seven, and she and her younger sister Karen were raised by their mother, with her stepfather Harry Shannon helping to bring them up. As a teenager she worked behind the counter at her mother’s shop, Shannon & Company, in San Diego.
She attended Clairemont High School and graduated in 1973. Two years later, when she was 19, her father died in a car crash in Mexico. She worked as a flight attendant for American Airlines for a year in 1976, before her life changed course entirely. Her mother, M.J., remained a constant presence in her life and in the family’s television story until her death in July 2026, aged 91.
From Flight Attendant to Reality Royalty: How Kris Jenner Built the Brand
Jenner married lawyer Robert Kardashian on 8 July 1978. The marriage put her at the edge of the public eye — Kardashian later became widely known as one of O.J. Simpson’s defence lawyers — but it was her second act that made her famous. In 2007 she took a family reality show idea to producer Ryan Seacrest, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians premiered on E! on 14 October 2007, with Jenner as executive producer. It ran for twenty seasons and almost fifteen years.
She did not stop at television. In 2004 she and eldest daughter Kourtney opened a children’s boutique called Smooch, which ran for almost six years. She launched a clothing line with QVC in 2011, published her memoir Kris Jenner… and All Things Kardashian the same year, and followed it with a cookbook in 2014. She also hosted a six-week daytime talk show, Kris, in 2013. When the family left E! in 2021, she moved them to Hulu, where The Kardashians premiered on 14 April 2022. In 2024 she joined the production team of the Hulu legal drama All’s Fair, in which her daughter Kim stars.
Her sharpest business move came with her youngest daughter. In 2014 she and Kylie founded the company that became Kylie Cosmetics, and the first lip kits went on sale on 30 November 2015. By the end of 2016 the company’s revenue had passed $300 million. In 2019, Coty bought a 51% stake in Kylie Cosmetics for $600 million. Jenner also co-founded the California Community Church in Agoura Hills with Pastor Brad Johnson in 2012, and in 2023 she appeared in Meghan Trainor’s music video for “Mother”, with Trainor calling her “the mother of all mothers”.
Two Marriages, Six Children and Thirteen Grandchildren
Jenner’s first marriage, to Robert Kardashian, produced four children: Kourtney (born 1979), Kim (born 1980), Khloé (born 1984) and Rob (born 1987). Kardashian filed for divorce in 1990 and the divorce was finalised in March 1991, but the two remained friends until his death from oesophageal cancer in 2003.
One month after that divorce, in April 1991, she married retired Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner, who publicly came out as a transgender woman in 2015 and took the name Caitlyn. They had two daughters together: Kendall (born 1995) and Kylie (born 1997). Jenner has said she named Kendall Nicole after her late friend Nicole Brown Simpson. Through the marriage she also gained four stepchildren: Burt, Casey, Brandon and Brody.
The couple announced their separation in October 2013. Jenner filed for divorce on 22 September 2014, and it became final on 23 March 2015. She has been in a relationship with Corey Gamble since around 2014. As of 2025 she has thirteen grandchildren, including Kim’s daughter North West. She is far from the only celebrity relative to build a public profile of her own: Lara Stone, David Walliams’ ex-wife, did the same after her marriage ended, while Coleen Rooney turned life as a footballer’s wife into a media career of her own.
The Momager’s Millions: What Kris Jenner Is Actually Worth
No official figure exists for Kris Jenner’s personal wealth, and the published estimates disagree, ranging from around $170 million to around $230 million. That is why her net worth is recorded here as not publicly verified. What is documented is how she earns it: she runs her own production company, Jenner Communications, and manages the careers of all six of her children, reportedly taking a 10% management fee from their earnings.
The distinction matters. The billion-dollar figures attached to the family belong to the children’s companies — Kylie Cosmetics, SKIMS, Good American, 818 Tequila — not to Kris herself. Her income comes from management fees, executive producer fees and her own deals, such as her QVC collections and the Kris Kollection lip kits she launched with Kylie in 2018. She turned motherhood into a management company, and the company into a fortune, without ever publishing a balance sheet.
Kris Jenner — Career Milestones
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1955 | Born Kristen Mary Houghton in San Diego, California |
| 1978 | Marries lawyer Robert Kardashian |
| 1991 | Divorces Kardashian; marries Olympic champion Bruce Jenner a month later |
| 2007 | Keeping Up with the Kardashians premieres on E! |
| 2011 | Publishes memoir Kris Jenner… and All Things Kardashian |
| 2015 | Divorce from Caitlyn Jenner finalised; Kylie Lip Kits launch |
| 2021 | Keeping Up with the Kardashians ends after 20 seasons |
| 2022 | The Kardashians premieres on Hulu |
| 2026 | Turns 71 on 5 November; mother M.J. dies aged 91 in July |
Frequently Asked Questions About Kris Jenner
How old is Kris Jenner?
Kris Jenner is 71. She was born Kristen Mary Houghton on 5 November 1955 in San Diego, California, and celebrated her 71st birthday on 5 November 2026.
Who are Kris Jenner’s children?
She has six children: Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob Kardashian from her first marriage to Robert Kardashian, and Kendall and Kylie Jenner from her second marriage to Caitlyn Jenner. She also has thirteen grandchildren as of 2025.
What is Kris Jenner’s net worth?
Her net worth is not publicly verified. Published estimates range from around $170 million to around $230 million, and no official figure has ever been disclosed.
Is Kris Jenner still Kylie Jenner’s manager?
Yes. She manages the careers of all six of her children through her company, Jenner Communications, and is reported to take a 10% management fee from their earnings.
Who is Kris Jenner’s partner?
She has been in a relationship with Corey Gamble since around 2014. Her two marriages — to Robert Kardashian (1978–1991) and to Caitlyn Jenner, then Bruce Jenner (1991–2015) — both ended in divorce.
Is it true that Kris Jenner is a billionaire?
No. That claim confuses her with her daughter: Forbes named Kylie Jenner the youngest self-made billionaire in 2019, then revised the figure in 2020. Kris Jenner’s own wealth is far smaller, and no reliable source puts her in billionaire territory.
