Twenty Fifteen was a tough year for both entrepreneurs and entertainers. Richest billionaires swapped net-worth positions with others as the world’s economy fluctuated. Likewise for the famous entertaining TV family, the Kardashians and their step family, the Jenners; it was a wavering year as well.
The world got to know the two families through the Television program, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but in 2015, it was more about the Jenners than the Kardashians. The Kardashians did not have a bad year though, but the Jenners had a better year; they are gradually taking over the shine of the famed Kardashian ladies whose shadows the Jenners have stood under for a while now.
Update on the Kardashians: Kim Kardashian gave birth to her second child and first son, Saint West. She was also at the verge of a messy divorce with her third husband, Kanye West, due to alleged infidelity on his part. Khloe Kardashian had a great year getting in shape and posing for the steamy Complex spread, which earned her much praise for her new, tighter physique. For Kourtney Kardashian, after much difficulty trying to split with the drinking, partying, philandering father of her children, Scott Disick, she was is better off without him. Kourtney handled it well though by hanging out with Justin Bieber as a way to bounce back and forget her past.
It’s hard to really say that any of these two families, linked by the opportunist of a mum, Kris Jenner, had a bad year, when the renewal of the contracts of Keeping Up with the Kardashians is reported to be a whooping sum of $100 million, nonetheless the Jenners rocked 2015 with the following reasons.
1. The Birth of Caitlyn Jenner
In mid 2015, the father figure of the family, Olympic Champion, Bruce Jenner, after his divorce with Kris Jenner, came open in an interview as a transgender woman, introducing himself as Caitlyn Jenner. This was a shock to the world, and attracted more attention to the Jenners. Following the 20/20 special, Caitlyn Jenner made her official debut in June issue of Vanity Fair, which made the magazine cover one of the most talked about and iconic photographs in 2015. Caitlyn surely faced some harsh criticism for her transformation, however she also received much praise for her strength and courage. She is now a face for transgender rights and is often described as the most famous openly transgender person in the world.
2. Kendall Walks In Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
Kendall Jenner locked down a coveted spot walking in this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. She strutted down the runway with her bestie, Gigi Hadid. The duo walked with veterans like Adriana Lima and Lily Alridge, who wore the Fantasy Bra, valued at a whooping $2 million. Caitlyn and Kris Jenner watched their daughter from the audience in delight, while she made them proud all the way. This gait runway parade of Kendall solidified her as not only a high-fashion model, but as someone on her way to becoming one of the biggest and most well know supermodels in recent times.
3. Lip Kit By Kylie
The youngest daughter of Kris Jenner, Kylie, made her lips a hot topic in 2015. The internet was full of articles analysing her lips which suddenly appeared to grow a few sizes overnight. Kylie came forth to say that she did a lip job and then went ahead to turn the lip controversy into profit by releasing Lip Kit By Kylie in three different shades. The lip kits sold out in three minutes and the site completely crashed shortly after. It seems Kylie did what Kim tried so hard to do when she posed for Paper Magazine: Kylie’s Lip Kit broke the internet.
4. Kendall & Kylie Named Influential Teens
Kylie Jenner and her elder sister Kendall were both named on Time’s list of The 30 Most Influential Teens of 2015. Their influence is largely visible on social media which they strategically use for business purposes. It has recently been reported that Kendall Jenner commands up to $30,000 for a single Instagram post if she endorses a product. Just so you know how influential these young models are, Katherine Polk’s dress was immediately sold out after Kylie was photographed wearing it. Also, Kylie Jenner’s lips inspired thousand of #KylieJennerLipChallenge hashtags on twitter and instagram which went viral like wild-fire.
5. Selfish Book Sales Weren’t Great
Prior to her child-birth experiences, Kim Kardashian used selfies to capture the hearts of her fans which led to her accumulating such high online followers. In 2015, she released a book full of Selfies entitled Selfish, with the hope of making massive sales. Unfortunately, Kim’s large social media following didn’t translate into success for the book despite her aggressive social media campaign – Selfish made only 32,000 copies sale in the first three months of its release.
6. Instagram Queen Kim Is Dethroned
Kim Kardashian was once the reigning queen of Instagram, but In 2015, she lost it as the Most Followed and Most Liked Picture. Kim’s still has over 56.4 million Instagram followers, but her baby sister Kendall Jenner stole her title of Most Like Picture when she posted a photo of herself lying on the floor with her hair positioned into little hearts. That single post gained 2.6 million likes. Shortly after that, Taylor Swifts nagged the title of Most Followed via videos of the 1989 Tour and pictures of cat .
7. The Success of Kylie’s App
In 2015, Kris Jenner, America’s most ambitious “momager,” decided that each daughter should have their own app. Each app costs $3 per month for an unlimited look into the life of your favorite Jenner/Kardashian. When the apps were released, the sister with the most popular app surprised everyone. Youngest sister Kylie kicked everyone’s ass. It is estimated that 1.5 million people downloaded her app in the first five days. The next most popular app was Khloe’s and comparatively, that was downloaded 398,000 in the first week. The fact that Kylie was raised in the social media area and that her fan base is so much younger are two factors that attributed to her app’s success. It is estimated that Kylie’s app will generate about $15 million a year in revenue.
8. Kendall During Fashion Week
It’s official, Kendall is a high-end fashion model. The 20-year-old dropped the “Jenner” and is just going by “Kendall” as a way to distance herself from her family and their reality star fame, establishing herself as a model on her own. She is one of the faces of the Balmain and H&M collaboration, a line so highly anticipated that people waited outside of H&M in lines that wrapped around city blocks. In 2015, she also landed her first solo campaign with Marc Jacobs. During the 2015 fashion weeks, she walked in Diane Von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs, Chanel, and Michael Kors shows, among others.
9. Caitlyn Wins Glamour Woman Of The Year Award
Caitlyn Jenner was honored with a Glamour Woman of the Year award for her work in transgender advocacy. Caitlyn’s acceptance speech was praised as inspiring. The story should have ended there but as with anything Caitlyn seems to do, there was backlash. Rose McGowan, actress of Charmed and Scream fame, publicly voiced her concern with Caitlyn receiving this award.
James Smith, husband of Moria Smith, a NYPD police officer who died while helping people on 9/11, returned his wife the 2001 Woman of the Year award and posted an open letter to Glamour on his Facebook page. In the letter, he asks, “Was there no woman in America, or the rest of the world, more deserving than this man?” Ouch. Well, regardless of some of the negative reaction, Caitlyn winning such an award was still a moment of great success.
10. Kris Jenner Was In Bed With Jennifer Lawrence
Kris Jenner confused the world when she posted a photo on Instagram of her in bed with Jennifer Lawrence. The Oscar-winning actress has long professed being a fan of Keeping Up with the Kardashians but people still wondered how exactly these two ended up in bed together. In an interview, Lawrence later explained that her best friends threw her a surprise party and added another surprise: Kris Jenner holding her cake.
Kris Jenner just chillin’ in bed with America’s sweetheart and Hollywood A-lister Jennifer Lawrence was definitely one of her high points of this year. Also, it should be stated that since Kris is the manager of all her children, any of their success is her success. Kendall and Kylie’s stepping out from the shadow of their older sisters is really a success for Kris as well. All the best to the Jenners and also the Kardashians in 2016.
Sources: VanityFair.com, Time.com, HollywoodLife.com, HollywoodReporter.com, USMagazine.com
