KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS WOMEN ON THE PLANET, KNOWN FOR HER FAMILY’S REALITY TV SERIES AND HER OWN UNIQUE BUSINESS VENTURES AS WELL. FOR MOTHER’S DAY, WE HAVE SPOTLIGHTED KARDASHIAN, WHO IS A FABULOUS MOTHER OF THREE HERSELF.
Kourtney was born on April 18, 1979 in Los Angeles, California to Robert Kardashian and Kris Houghton, who is now known as Kris Jenner. Kourtney’s father, the famed Robert Kardashian, was an attorney who became famous for his involvement in the 1994 O.J. Simpson case. Houghton and Kardashian divorced in 1991 when Kourtney was just 12 years old and one month later, Kris married Bruce Jenner, retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete.
Kourtney has two sisters, Kim and Khloé, as well as a brother, Rob from her biological father. But she also has half-sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner and her step-siblings, Brody, Burt, Brandon, and Casey Jenner.
She attended Marymount High School, a Roman Catholic all-girls school in Los Angeles. After, she moved to Dallas, Texas, to attend Southern Methodist University for two years. For her final two years of college, she then lived in Tucson, Arizona, where she attended the University of Arizona. She graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Spanish.
The following year in 2003, Kourtney’s father died from esophageal cancer. She was working with her mother at their children’s clothing boutique in Los Angeles called “Smooch” at the time and was devastated when she found out. “‘I miss him so much’ doesn’t begin to describe it,” Kardashian shared.
Years later, Khloé was still having a difficult time coping with their father’s death. She says she used to party hard and sleep in almost every day, citing Kourtney as the person who eventually saved her. “At the time, my mom and Kourtney were running their kids store and when the space next door opened up, Kourt got it,” Khloé said. “She saw that I was spiraling and wanted to give me responsibility…she told me I was going to help her run her new store.”
That new store ended up being DASH, the boutique clothing and accessory store that the three Kardashian sisters opened up together in 2006. It was located in Calabasas, California but was eventually relocated to West Hollywood in 2012. At first, DASH was struggling to make sales—the Kardashians were still largely unknown despite their friendships with other rich California families such as the Hiltons and the Richies.
That all changed in 2007, when Kris Jenner proposed the family’s reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, to Ryan Seacrest, a family friend. After having a camera crew record the family in their home, he loved the footage and saw the potential for a wildly successful E! reality show. Soon enough, the first season was on the air, premiering on October 14, 2007. The series made all of the family members overnight superstars. Kourtney quickly became a fan-favorite for her witty comebacks and more down-to-Earth attitude.
“I just didn’t really think about it,” Kardashian said when asked about the show’s early days. “I never thought it was going to become this thing, but everything just happened so quickly.”
The DASH store became fruitful after the show’s premiere and more locations in Miami Beach, New York City, and the Hamptons were opened. The store’s growth was captured throughout the Kardashian’s show, even garnering its own spinoff series titled Dash Dolls.
Besides Dash Dolls, plenty of other spin-offs have been created throughout the years, including Kourtney and Kim Take New York, Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami, Khloé and Lamar, Rob and Chyna, Life of Kylie, I Am Cait, Kourtney & Khloé Take The Hamptons, Kocktails With Khloé, and Revenge Body With Khloé. Kris Jenner even had her own talk show at a certain point called Kris, but it was cancelled after one season.
Because of how well the family’s lives are documented through the series, fans became very familiar with Kourtney’s on and off relationship with the father of her kids, Scott Disick, a businessman and model. The two first met at a house party in 2006 and were on and off until Kourtney gave birth to their first child, Mason, in 2009. Afterwards, Disick seemingly struggled with substance abuse and excessive partying, causing issues for the couple. Nevertheless, in 2012, the couple’s second child, Penelope, was born. Two years later, their third child, Reign, was born. In July of 2015, they called it quits again after Disick was suspected of cheating on Kourtney.
Years later, in 2017, after Disick and Kardashian had been successfully coparenting their three children, the news broke that she had begun seeing Younes Bendjima, an athlete and model who is 14 years younger than her. By the end of 2018, the short-lived romance was over.
In April of 2018, Kourtney and her sisters announced they were closing the DASH stores to focus on family and their personal brands. But when one door closes, another opens.
In April of 2019, Kardashian released her lifestyle website, Poosh. It was named after her daughter Penelope, whose nickname is Poosh. The website is a natural move for Kardashian, who is known for her healthy eating habits and wellness lifestyle. Throughout the family’s show, audiences watched as Kardashian threw candy-free kids’ parties and ate healthy salads for lunch. She has long been an advocate for all things clean and green. Poosh makes this knowledge and lifestyle accessible not only for Kardashian’s fans but for anyone interested in a healthier lifestyle.
“I decided to launch Poosh because I felt that there was something missing in the healthy lifestyle space. Healthy living gets a bad rap; it’s as though if you care about what you put in or on your body, then you’re not sexy or cool. But this just isn’t true, and Poosh is here to prove just that,” she wrote on the site.
The website marks the first substantial independent business venture for Kourtney. All of her sisters have started productive businesses, finding their niches. Kylie went the makeup route, Kendall is a model, Kim is also into makeup and fashion, and Khloé has explored fashion and fitness. Kourtney was really the last sister left without a niche of her own. Poosh marks a new beginning for her.
“It’s a new energy,” she shared. “I feel different. There’s something all day that I’m doing. Having something to keep my brain going. I do feel like that was missing before…[And] this is something I can make for my kids to be proud of. It’s named after my daughter, and it’s hopefully something that can be hers someday.”
In November 2019, Kardashian kept her money-making mindset forward by partnering with her sisters Kim and Khloé to create three new perfumes for Kim’s brand, KKW Fragrance. The collection includes Yellow Diamond (Kourtney’s fragrance), Pink Diamond (Khloé’s fragrance), and Pure Diamond (Kim’s fragrance).
2019 was monumental for Kourtney, but not just because of Poosh. After years of hinting that she didn’t want to be a part of the reality show lifestyle anymore, she announced that she would be stepping away from Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
“I have been filming the show non-stop for 14 years… I was feeling unfulfilled and it became a toxic environment for me to continue to have it occupy as much of my life as it was,” Kardashian opened up about her reason to leave. “Privacy is something I have come to value and finding that balance of private moments while being on a reality show is hard.”
Kourtney was always the odd one out in the Kardashian family. While the others enjoyed the reality show and all of the opportunities it provided, Kourtney was always indifferent. She longed to be out of the spotlight, spending time with her family.
At first, her sisters weren’t too pleased with her decision. But eventually, it turned out that she actually caused a snowball effect, because in fall of 2020 it was announced that Keeping Up With the Kardashians would be releasing its last season, closing a chapter in the blended family’s lives for good.
The show lasted 14 years and spanned 20 seasons, becoming one of the most-watched reality TV shows of its time. The family released a joint statement saying, “We’ve decided as a family to end this very special journey. We are beyond grateful to all of you who’ve watched us for all of these years.”
The family is set to continue their journey with TV but with streaming services. In December of 2020, they announced that that they signed a multi-year partnership with Hulu and Star, in which the Kardashians will “create global content.”
No matter what the rest of this year has in store for the Kardashian-Jenner crew, it’s clear that Kourtney will continue to follow her heart and pursue whatever it is that she desires to do.
“I am simply following my happiness and putting my energy into that which makes me happy,” Kardashian said with a smile.
By Selene Rivera