Kim Kardashian to testify in Paris jewellery stealing trial

In the Paris trial of the "grandpa robbers" who are suspected of stealing $10 million worth of jewelry from the wealthy social media high priestess, Kim Kardashian is scheduled to testify. The trial starts on Monday.

According to reports, the elderly French criminals who are accused of tying her up and threatening her with a gun during the 2016 Paris Fashion Week theft were unaware of her true identity.

However, few people under 50 who own a smartphone could have avoided the growth of one of the most well-known influencers in the world over the past 20 years.

An uber-celebrity whose every action grabs attention, Kardashian has been a consistent presence in popular culture and never looks to be anything but completely in control.

In the Paris trial of the "grandpa robbers" who are suspected of stealing $10 million worth of jewelry from the wealthy social media high priestess, Kim Kardashian is scheduled to testify. The trial starts on Monday.

According to reports, the elderly French criminals who are accused of tying her up and threatening her with a gun during the 2016 Paris Fashion Week theft were unaware of her true identity.

However, few people under 50 who own a smartphone could have avoided the growth of one of the most well-known influencers in the world over the past 20 years.

An uber-celebrity whose every action grabs attention, Kardashian has been a consistent presence in popular culture and never looks to be anything but completely in control.

• Famous

Kardashian, 44, was born in Los Angeles and grew up on the outside of the spotlight.

After her mother Kris divorced her late father Robert Kardashian, she married Bruce Jenner, the 1976 Olympic decathlon champion who has now changed his name to Caitlyn.

He was among the elite attorneys that represented legendary American football player O.J. Simpson during his 1995 murder trial.

Kardashian got her first taste of fame as a young acquaintance of Los Angeles socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. She was pictured with them at well-known nightclubs and featured on their reality show, "The Simple Life."

However, it wasn't until 2007 that she became well-known after an explicit home video she had produced with musician Ray J, her then-boyfriend, was made public.

As Kardashian and her family prepared to market "Keeping up with the Kardashians," a fly-on-the-wall reality TV look at the family's life of affluence, luxury, astonishing cattiness, and shocking mundanity, cynics pointed out that the tape had surfaced.

Whether intentional or not, the video permanently etched Kardashian in the minds of the general public.

One of the longest-running reality shows on television was "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," which chronicled the personal and professional struggles of sisters Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe Jenner as well as their half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner.

For some, it was a must-see show that gave them a glimpse into the lives of celebrities through the eyes of a special family.

Others saw it as worthless fluff that "illustrates our nation's moral, spiritual, and cultural decay," according to a previous article in The Washington Times.

In any case, the show did incredibly well commercially.

Kardashian became a major force in the fashion and lifestyle industry through a number of businesses, such as KKW Beauty and KKW Fragrance. Her brand was developed by posting titillating thirst traps on social media.

However, the clothing brand Skims was the one that generated the most revenue.

The company unabashedly embraces the female body, advertising "technically constructed shapewear that enhances your curves."

A 2023 financing round valued the company at $4 billion, while Forbes estimates Kardashian's personal net worth to be $1.7 billion.

• Married to Kanye and divorced.

Her involvement in the fashion and cosmetics industries was fueled by her connection with West, her third husband.

Their marriage in 2014, the year of that "Break the Internet" picture with her shapely bare buttocks and loads of champagne, was a "historic blizzard of celebrity," according to The New York Times.

They flew to France for a pre-wedding rehearsal at the Palace of Versailles, arriving in a gold-plated carriage, before continuing on to Italy to marry.

After four children, the couple's relationship deteriorated as West's behavior became more erratic.

His weird but short-lived 2020 presidential campaign devolved into rambling self-confession.

Kardashian asked for sympathy for her spouse, who previously admitted to having bipolar disorder but was filed for divorce in 2021.

Kardashian stated that she has tried to shield the couple's children from the unavoidable pain of their parents' separation.

"You want to be sensitive because they're just kids, and it's hard to go through no matter what age," she told GQ at the time.

"Ultimately what matters is that kids feel loved and heard."

They are clearly visible: Kardashian's 357 million Instagram followers receive regular updates on the children.

Following her breakup from West, Kardashian had a high-profile romance with comedian Pete Davidson and was linked to NFL player Odell Beckham Jr.

In between motherhood, television shows, numerous red carpets, and a multibillion-dollar business, Kardashian has found time to pursue a law profession.

After starting an apprenticeship with a prison reform organization, she successfully petitioned US President Donald Trump to pardon a grandmother serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug conviction, and then paid him a visit at the White House.

In 2021, on her fourth try, she passed California's "baby bar" exam, a seven-hour struggle for first-year law students with a success rate of only about 20%.

Her late father, she imagined, "would be so proud."

"He would actually be so shocked to know that this is my path now."

AFP