Love her or hate her, Kim Kardashian has made a name for herself in the entertainment industry. She has built an illustrious career as a model and media personality throughout the years. After all, she has her mother, Kris Jenner, to thank for the Kardashian-Jenner empire. The star of Keeping Up With the Kardashians is now worth around $1.8 billion with dozens of stellar business ventures.
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With that being said, however, there is still so much to say about Kim Kardashian's life before her sudden rise to superstardom back in the 2000s. Thanks to her Hollywood network, she befriended Paris Hilton and became her personal stylist, worked for R&B star Brandy before that infamous credit card case and got involved in a high-profile Hollywood scandal. Here's a slight look at Kim Kardashian's life before the fame, before KUWTK, and what's next for the supermodel.
8 Kim Kardashian Attended An Elite Roman Catholic All-Girls School
Born in 1980 to a wealthy family of Robert (a world-renowned lawyer) and Kris Kardashian, young Kim and her sisters got access to some of the country's most elite high schools. She, Kourtney, and Khloe attended independent Catholic all-girls Marymount High School, in which she became a part of the class of 1998.
Fast-forward to 2018, she held a reunion party for the class of '98, and it was an absolute nostalgia trip. She said, "So my friends are worried that we're going to run into people that they were mean to... I feel so good about my conscience, I was so nice to everyone."
7 Where Kim Kardashian Worked Before Becoming Famous
By 1996, Kim Kardashian, aged 16 at the time, landed her first-ever paid job at a clothing store in Encino, California, called Body. At the time, she'd just crashed her car, and her father Rob made her sign a contract that said she'd be responsible for any future damages. What eventually started as a way to discipline her ended up becoming her workplace in the next four years.
"I always was working. I never asked people for money. That was never really my thing. I always just figured it out," Kim recalled in an interview with Teen Vogue. She added, "The way that my parents taught me was, ‘Hey, when you’re 18, you’ve seen this lifestyle, I’m sure you’re going to want to upkeep it. If you’re going to want to live this way you’re going to have to get a job."
6 When Kim Kardashian Became A Personal Stylist For Brandy
In 2003, Kim Kardashian worked for Brandy Norwood, an R&B singer and the sister of fellow rapper Ray J, as her personal stylist. The "Afrodisiac" also employed her sister, Khloe, as a personal assistant. It's believed that the three were friends thanks to Kim's relationship with Ray J, whom she was dating at the time.
Related: Did Robert Kardashian Really Believe OJ Simpson Was Innocent?
5 Kim Kardashian's Lawsuit With Brandy Norwood
However, Kim Kardashian and Brandy's relationship went south after Kim and Khloe allegedly made over $120,000 in unauthorized purchases from Brandy's American Express credit card at the Kardashians' now defunct-boutique stores Dash and Smooch. The singer's mother, Sonja, took the matter to the courtroom. The Kardashians denied the allegations, but the proofs said otherwise. They settled the lawsuit in 2009 out of the courtroom in an "undisclosed settlement."
"Apart from them stealing money from my family, we would probably still be together now," Ray J told the DailyMail. He added, "But when that happened, I said I don’t want to be sleeping around with you no more – you stole money from my family. So that’s why we stopped speaking."
4 Kim Kardashian's Appearance In Paris Hilton's 'The Simple Life'
In the same year, Kim K. began working for her childhood friend Paris Hilton in her then-latest reality show, The Simple Life, as her stylist alongside Nicole Richie. It spanned over five seasons and 55 episodes and chronicled the life of the two socialites as they struggled to do low-paying jobs like fast-food restaurant servers and camp counselors. For Kim, however, it became an important cornerstone in her entertainment career.
Related: Fans Think There Are Certain Similarities Between Kim Kardashian And Marilyn Monroe
3 That Infamous X-Rated Tape With Ray J ...
In 2007, an X-rated tape of Kim Kardashian and her then-boyfriend Ray J depicting them having an intimate steamy time was leaked to the internet. Kim was relatively unknown prior the time of the tape's leak, except for being Paris Hilton's stylist for Fox and E!'s short-lived The Simple Life reality series. It was a massive scandal back in the days, especially considering that Ray J was a big name in music and Kim's status in the entertainment industry. Many have accused Kris and the Kardashians of fabricating the "leak" story for fame, but they vehemently refuted it.
2 Did Kanye West Recover The Tape From Ray J?
This year though, Kim Kardashian's ex-husband Kanye West had apparently gotten the original tape back from Ray J. On an April 2022 episode of Hulu's The Kardashians, Kim told her mother and her sister Khloe that the rapper recovered the forbidden tape that catapulted her to stardom.
"He got me all of the sex tapes back," Kim says. "And he flew home, and he got the computer it was on and the hard drive. He met up with Ray J at the airport."
1 What's Next For Kim Kardashian?
So, what's next for Kim Kardashian? Surely, her Keeping Up With the Kardashian days are long gone, but its Hulu successor is doing quite well so far. In addition to that, she's also been keeping herself busy with her shapewear company Skims and her KKW Beauty line. Speaking of her personal life, however, she's been the center of the messy divorce process from Kanye West, as she continues to date comedian Pete Davidson.
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