Kim Kardashian

Kimberly Noel "Kim" Kardashian,   born October 21, 1980 is an American socialite, television personality, model, and actress. She is the daughter of late attorney Robert Kardashian, and is known for a sex tape with her former boyfriend Ray J as well as her E! reality series that she shares with her family, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Kardashian's prominence has increased as of January 2011 with the premiere of Kourtney and Kim Take New York, the second spin-off of Keeping Up with the Kardashians (the first being Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami), debuting on E!, with the series following Kim and sister Kourtney Kardashian as they leave Los Angeles to open a third D-A-S-H store in New York City.

Kardashian has launched multiple fragrances, guest starred on numerous shows, competed on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, and has had roles in movies such as Disaster Movie and Deep in the Valley. In 2010, Kardashian, along with her sisters Kourtney and Khloé, released an autobiography, Kardashian Konfidential, and plan to launch their own fashion line.

Early life

Kardashian was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of late attorney Robert Kardashian and Kris Jenner (née Houghton). Her father was a third generation Armenian American and her mother is of Dutch and Scottish descent. Her paternal great-grandparents immigrated to Los Angeles from historic Armenia (then part of the Ottoman Empire, now in Turkey). Her last name in Armenian (spelled Քարտաշեան in Armenian) means "son of a stonemason." Although only half Armenian, she states that she "was raised with a huge Armenian influence, always hearing stories of Armenia, eating Armenian food and celebrating Armenian holidays".

Kardashian has two sisters, Kourtney and Khloé, and one brother, Robert. She has stepbrothers Burton Jenner, Brandon Jenner, and reality TV star Brody Jenner, step-sister Casey Jenner, and half-sisters Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner.

She attended Marymount High School. During high school, Kardashian worked at her father's music marketing firm, Movie Tunes.

Career,Reality television

Kardashian first rose to fame in October 2007 when she along with her two sisters, mother, brother, half-sisters, and stepfather starred in the E! television series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The series has aired five seasons to date, with two spin-off series.

Her first acting role was in the television series Beyond the Break. She then starred in the 2008 disaster film spoof Disaster Movie as Lisa. Kardashian appeared in the How I Met Your Mother episode "Benefits". She also appeared on the Season 3 premiere of the series 90210 with her sisters Khloé and Kourtney; they all played themselves. Kardashian was a guest hostess of WrestleMania XXIV and appeared as a guest judge during Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model. On December 16, 2009, Kardashian made a guest star appearance on CBS's CSI: NY with Vanessa Minnillo.

Kardashian was one of 13 participants on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with Mark Ballas and was the third contestant voted off the show on September 30, 2008, finishing in 11th place overall.

Week # Dance/song Judges' scores Result

Inaba Goodman Tonioli

1 Foxtrot/"The Pink Panther Theme" 6 7 6 Last to be saved

1 Mambo/"Baby Got Back" 6 6 6 Safe

2 Rumba/"You Give Me Something" 6 6 5 Eliminated

Personal life

In 2000, Kardashian married music producer Damon Thomas; their relationship ended in divorce in 2004.

Kardashian dated R&B singer Ray J in 2007. Later in 2007, she began dating NFL star Reggie Bush after they met at the ESPY Awards. The couple split at the end of July 2009.On September 29, 2009, E! stated that Kardashian had visited Bush. Khloé's wedding made her miss him, so she flew to see him".According to their reality show, they began dating once again in October 2009, although they split again in March 2010. She dated Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin up until August 2010. She later admitted that she and Austin were indeed dating. The couple split in September 2010. She was later spotted with model Gabriel Aubry in November, but by December, they too had split. Kardashian then began dating NBA player Kris Humphries of the New Jersey Nets.

On May 18, 2011, Humphries and Kardashian became engaged. Humphries proposed with a custom-designed 20.5-carat Lorrain Schwartz diamond engagement ring. On June 2, 2011, Kardashian stated in an interview with Allison Kugel that she is planning on using Kardashian as her middle name and taking Humphries as her last.

Modeling and retail

Kardashian co-owns a clothing boutique called D-A-S-H with her sisters Kourtney and Khloé. In the spring of 2010, she and her sisters released a clothing line for retail store Bebe.

In December 2007, Kardashian posed nude for Playboy. She has also featured in numerous international editions of FHM, including the cover of the April 2010 Australian edition and the UK March 2011 edition. In February 2008, Bongo Jeans announced that Kardashian would be their face model. Kardashian is also a model for Travis Barker's Famous Stars and Straps clothing line. She also models for Quick Trim weight loss supplements, Balenciaga shoes, Carl's Jr. fast food,Sugar Factory lollipops, Perfect Skin skincare products, and various other products.

In July 2008, Kardashian announced on her blog that she was working on her own perfume line to be released in 2009. The perfume, Kim Kardashian, was released into U.S. stores in February 2010. The perfume was released in Canada on May 4, 2010.

In March 2009, Kardashian launched an endorsement with ShoeDazzle shopping. Kardashian is the co-founder and chief fashion stylist for ShoeDazzle. The following month on April 9, 2009, Kardashian released a workout DVD series, Fit In Your Jeans By Friday, with trainers Jennifer Galardi and Patrick Goudeau. On September 15, 2009, Fusion Beauty and Seven Bar Foundation launched "Kiss Away Poverty", with Kardashian as the face of the campaign. For every LipFusion lipgloss sold, $1 went to the Foundation to fund women entrepreneurs in the US.

Famous Cupcakes, a Los Angeles bakery, created a vanilla cupcake mix for Kardashian. The cupcake flavor is called Va-Va-Va-Nilla.

Kardashian also creates jewelry along with her sisters, Khloé and Kourtney. The trio released a jewelry line for Virgins, Angels, and Saints. The 20 piece collection debuted in March 2010. The jewelry reflects on the Kardashian's Armenian heritage. In addition, Kardashian and her sisters created a sunless tanner called Kardashian Glamour Tan. It was released in Summer 2010 and is available at Sephora. In August 2010, Kardashian announced that she and her sisters will release another clothing line. The clothing line is called K-Dash and it will be sold on QVC. K-Dash will be released on September 10, 2010.

On July 1, 2010, the New York City branch of Madame Tussauds revealed a wax figure of Kardashian

Present

Kardashian is the producer of The Spin Crowd, a reality television show about Command PR, a New York City public relations firm, run by Jonathan Cheban and Simon Huck. The show follows them as they settle into their new offices in Los Angeles. Kardashian is friends with both, specifically Cheban, and frequently appears on her reality shows. She also appeared at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010. She also appeared in and was the subject and judge of a task on the ninth episode of Season 10 of The Apprentice (US air date, November 12, 2010); the two teams had to create an in-store display for her new perfume line, to be sold at Perfumania.

Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé wrote an autobiography entitled Kardashian Konfidential. The book was released in stores on November 23, 2010.

In December 2010, Kardashian filmed a music video for a song titled "Jam (Turn It Up)," the video was directed by Hype Williams; Kanye West makes a cameo in the video. Kardashian premiered the song during a New Year's Eve party at TAO Las Vegas on December 31, 2010. The song was produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. Kardashian said that she was forced into doing the song by friends such as Ciara, Kanye West, and "Turn It Up" producer The-Dream. When asked if an album is in the works, Kardashian replied: "There's no album in the works or anything – just one song we did for Kourtney and Kim Take New York, and a video Hype Williams directed, half of the proceeds we're giving away to a cancer foundation, because The-Dream's and one of my parents passed away from cancer. It's just all having fun – with a good cause".

Sex tape

In February 2007, a pornographic home video she made with singer Ray J was leaked. Kardashian sued Vivid Entertainment for ownership of the tape. In late April 2007, Kardashian dropped the suit and settled with Vivid Entertainment for $5 million.

Cookie Diet lawsuit

Dr. Sanford Siegal, the creator of the Cookie Diet, sued Kardashian, claiming she defamed him on Twitter. According to Siegal, Kardashian tweeted in October that he was "falsely promoting" that she was on the cookie diet. Siegal filed a claim in a Florida state court claiming the statements are false and defamatory. He also alleges that Kardashian was on QuickTrim's payroll when she posted the tweet. Kardashian's tweet appears to stem from an article on CookieDiet.com, that named Kardashian as one of many celebrities who saw positive results on the diet. Kardashian sent a cease-and-desist order to Siegal, demanding the link be removed.

Activism

Kardashian has openly supported the recognition of the Armenian Genocide on numerous occasions and has encouraged Barack Obama and the United States government to consider its acknowledgement. On April 21, 2011, a few days before the 96th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, she has written about the issue on her blog in an effort to put it under spotlight and has also sent a tweet to her fans urging its recognition.

On April 1, 2010, Kardashian joined Cyndi Lauper in the launch of her Give a Damn campaign to create a wider awareness of discrimination against the LGBT community as part of her True Colors Fund. The campaign is to bring straight people to stand up with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered community and stop the discrimination. Other names included in the campaign are Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Mraz, Elton John, Judith Light, Cynthia Nixon, Clay Aiken, Sharon Osbourne and Kelly Osbourne.

However, she has also been on the receiving end of activism. Animal rights organization PETA has criticized her for repeatedly wearing fur coats, and named her as one of the five worst people or organizations of 2010 when it came to animal welfare.