Telly 19th March 2021 by Vicki Notaro

Trip Down Memory Lane? A Look At The Kardashian Family Then And Now

It's the end of a reality TV era!

Kardashians super fan and STELLAR editor in chief Vicki Notaro will be recapping every episode of the final season of KUWTK right here every Monday morning. But first, let’s take a walk down memory lane… 

And so we face, the final curtain. I am of course talking about season 20 of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, also known as the last season ever of the frankly iconic E! reality show. Dramatic? Moi? I don’t know about you, but I am going to truly miss the escapades of Kimberly, Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall, Kylie, Kris and, er, Rob.

I have been a card carrying, gung-ho Kardashian fan and apologist for as long as the show has been on the air. I remember watching it back in 2008 and just marvelling over these amazing women – their stunning smoky eye makeup and lustrous locks, their gorge SoCal lifestyle, fabulous looking salads and above all, their hilarious family dynamic. As an only child, I was absolutely obsessed with their relationships with one another. From the glam momager to the Olympian stepdad, to all the kids being half-siblings with ridey Brody from The Hills, it was all just so glossy and glam.

The little kids were a bit bratty, the brother was a bit of a snack and the three older girls had it all going for them – Kimberly a socialite and unwilling sex tape star, DUI-getting Khloe the wildchild, and elder, sensible Kourtney and her younger, wildly inappropriate boyfriend Scott. They were so funny, so Hollywood-adjacent, so no-holds-barred. I, like millions of others, was hooked as they ran their clothing store in Calabasas (LOL) and cameras captured their every move.

In the case of the Kardashians, truth has been stranger than fiction. I mean, things started out crazy enough – their dad defended OJ Simpson when he was accused of murdering his wife, dividing the family and their loyalties, Kim was besties with Paris Hilton and they’d lived a charmed Beverly Hills life. But who’d have thought that they would be where they are now, especially in a genre where so many fade to mere nostalgia?

That Kim would have two more marriages and divorces under her belt, and four children? That she’d be a world class authority on prison reform and training to be a lawyer just like her famous dad? That she’d be an admired businesswoman with several companies, and often the voice of reason on so many issues?! That she’d be robbed and held at gunpoint, and it not be anything to do with TV?

Who would have thought that Caitlyn Jenner would undergo her transition before our very eyes on reality TV, and that it would be groundbreaking for LGBT rights? That every family member would endure public humiliations, breakups, scandals and setbacks, as well as huge success and notoriety? They’ve been through it all and then some, and it has been compulsive viewing for fourteen years.

But the time is right for things to end. The show has evolved with the world, with social media and with the family itself. Who knows what’s going to be next, now Kris has struck a major deal with hulu?

 

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A post shared by Kris Jenner (@krisjenner)

But for now, we have weeks of Kardashian khaos ahead of us to enjoy so please join me for my episode recaps every Monday. And let’s remind ourselves of how the gang have changed since we first met them…

Then and Now 

Kimberly Kardashian

Then: 27 years old. Wardrobe stylist to the rich and famous, recent subject of a very high profile sex tape, gal about town in Hollywood. Divorcee, times one.

 

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A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian)

Now: 40 years old. Entrepreneur, trainee lawyer, campaigner and activist, the biggest reality TV star in the world. Divorcee, times three. Single mother of four; North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm.

 

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A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian)

Kourtney Kardashian

Then: 29 years old. Manager of children’s clothing boutique Smooch, and ladies boutique DASH. College graduate. Dating a younger man, Scott Disick.

Now: Almost 42. Mother of three; Mason, Penelope and Reign. CEO of lifestyle site poosh.com. Dating former Blink182 drummer, Travis Barker.

Khloe Kardashian

Then: 23 years old. Bit of a Hollywood party gal. Very short-term jailbird thanks to a DUI. Unlucky in love.

Now: 36 years old. CEO of Good American clothing. Divorced once. Mother of True with boyfriend Tristan Thompson. Everyone’s BFF.

 

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A post shared by Khloé Kardashian (@khloekardashian)

Kris Jenner

Then: 51 years old, mother of five. Married for the second time, with a blended family. Manager for her daughters and husband. Glam icon, originated the term “momager”.

Now: 65 years young. 10 grandchildren. 40 year old boyfriend. Still hustling away for the fam. Still a glam icon.

 

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A post shared by Kris Jenner (@krisjenner)

Rob Kardashian

Then: 20 year old USC student, in a relationship with Disney star Adrienne Bailon. Wanted to be a serious businessman like his late father.

Now: 34, father of Dream with ex Blacc Chyna. Has been laying low for the past few years, but seems to be ready to emerge a little. Has a sock line, now co-owned with his mother Kris.

Kendall Jenner

Then: 11 years old, enjoyed running amok with little sister Kylie and misbehaving for the cameras.

Now: 25, one of the world’s most recognisable supermodels. About to launch her very own tequila brand. The only one of Kris’s children without kids of her own.

 

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A post shared by Kendall (@kendalljenner)

Kylie Jenner

Then: 10 years old, Kendall’s shadow.

Now: 23, the world’s youngest ever self-made billionaire thanks to Kylie Cosmetics. Social media queen, mother to Stormi with her alleged ex, Travis Scott. Infamous thanks to her lips, and for concealing her entire pregnancy.

 

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A post shared by Kylie 🤍 (@kyliejenner)

Special shout outs for… 

The pals, the fellas, the glam squads.

We’ve watched Scott Disick go from immature party boy to a father of three (with a rather startling taste in younger women).

 

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A post shared by Scott Disick (@letthelordbewithyou)

We’ve nodded along with Malika Haqq when she’s talked sense for fourteen seasons, laughed at Jonathan Cheban’s attempt to be known as FoodGod, made emoji eyes whenever Kim’s ex Kanye West appeared on screen, and bought anything and everything the hairdressers and MUAs told us to over the years – we’re looking at you, Ireland’s own Andrew Fitzsimons.

Snaps to the sidekicks and sub-characters that have often been who we mere mortals can attempt to relate to. And to Kris Jenner’s iconic beverage fridge which has stolen so many kitchen scenes – we salute you.

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