Tragic Details About Kylie Jenner
From her early years on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," to her rise as a cosmetics and fashion mogul, Kylie Jenner has largely experienced a life of fame, fortune, and opportunity. Yet, beneath the surface, the starlet has faced her fair share of personal and familial challenges.
As the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner family, Jenner has had to navigate the complexities of reality TV fame, all while building her own life, brand, and identity. To add to these pressures, she is also constantly compared to her successful older sisters. During her teenage years, Jenner's ever-changing appearance caused invasive speculation about cosmetic procedures and her personal life behind the cameras.
Even though she has become a mother of two and a multi-millionaire in her own right, Jenner is still not immune to unsolicited remarks about her body and life choices. Although her struggles in the limelight have helped her grow stronger, that doesn't negate the fact that she didn't ask to be born into this star-studded life.
Kylie Jenner grew up under scrutiny in the spotlight
Kylie Jenner has spent the majority of her life in the limelight. As a member of the Kardashian-Jenner tribe, Jenner's journey from child to business mogul and pop culture icon has been meticulously documented through reality TV cameras, paparazzi, and social media. In spite of how glamorous her life appears, growing up in the public eye has not been without challenges. Jenner, like the rest of her family, has faced intense media criticism and controversies.
Jenner's earliest exposure to Hollywood came through her family's reality TV show, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," which began in 2007 before she had even become a teenager. "I grew up in the TV spotlight since I was nine years old," Jenner opened up to Vanity Fair. "Fame came early in my life, in a way I can say it came naturally because I can't define a real before or after — it has always been that way."
Still, Jenner wishes she had a more "normal" upbringing. "I dream about it," the starlet told Time. But Jenner maintains that she was meant for this life. For her, the hardest part about fame has been struggling with identity in front of an audience. "I didn't know who I was a year ago, and I still don't know exactly who I am now. You're trying to grow up and make mistakes and everybody's watching," Jenner admitted to Complex.
She has to manage her anxiety
Throughout her years as a socialite and business owner, Kylie Jenner has amassed an insanely large audience. With nearly 400 million followers on Instagram alone, Jenner's seductive and fashion-forward posts on social media have played a pivotal role in her rise to stardom and allowed her to become one of the top influencers in the game.
However, behind the scenes, Jenner is quite vulnerable to anxiety. "I wake up every morning with the worst anxiety. I don't know why," she admitted in a chat with Interview, adding that she is constantly worried about negative press. "My worst fear is waking up and finding something bad about me on the Internet." In the same profile, Jenner confessed that if she could have any superpower, it would be invisibility.
In her interview with Complex, Jenner explained that her anxiety has been a lifelong battle. "I used to have a lot of anxiety. I never went out. If I tried to go to the movies or something, I would stop breathing in the middle and just cry ... I felt super trapped, like everybody was watching me. I felt like everyone was hating on me." Ultimately, Jenner's mother, Kris, has been her support system through this journey. "I learned to slow down everything, focus on things that I love, and say no to things I didn't want to do," she told the publication.
Jenner dealt with postpartum depression
Kylie Jenner became a mother at just 20 years old. In February 2018, she gave birth to her daughter, Stormi Webster, after hiding her pregnancy from the public for months. Jenner's second child, Aire Webster, was born four years later, in 2022. Her transition into motherhood was met with both curiosity and scrutiny as fans wondered how she was going to navigate young motherhood with then-boyfriend Travis Scott. Alas, while experiencing motherhood was fulfilling for her, postpartum also proved to be extremely difficult.
In a 2022 episode of "The Kardashians" (via Page Six), the Khy founder told her sister, Kendall Jenner, that she cried nonstop after giving birth to her second child. "I cried for, like, three weeks ... every day to the point where I would be laying in bed and my head would just hurt so bad," the young mother revealed. In the same episode's confessional, Jenner clarified that she only started to feel better after six weeks. Though she was left "mentally, physically, [and] spiritually" depleted by her pregnancies, Jenner found a lot of joy in her new role as a mom and encouraged other women to "live through the transition" (via Vanity Fair).
"Motherhood really feels like something I was always meant to do," Jenner told Elle. In an Instagram story (via Page Six) posted 6-weeks postpartum, Jenner told her followers: "We have to stop putting pressure on ourselves to be back, not just physically, mentally after birth. Just sending some love."
She feels like she lost her youth
One of the many cons of growing up famous is growing up too fast. Kylie Jenner, like many child stars before her, unfortunately fell victim to this phenomenon. She first appeared on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" as a 9-year-old, and by 16, we saw her getting lip filler and dominating millions of people's Instagram and Snapchat feeds with selfies. Though she has lived the glamorous life, Jenner still wonders how she would have turned out if she was out of the public eye.
"I'm just trying to not lose myself through this process, because I feel like I've already lost parts of me, like, my youth," she explained to Interview. "I feel like I'm going to look back and be like, 'Damn, I wish I could've just been a kid and done normal teenage stuff that my friends get to do.'"
The businesswoman also acknowledged that she would be "heartbroken" if her daughter, Stormi, went down the same path she did. "I'd be heartbroken if she wanted to get her body done at 19," she said on an episode of "The Kardashians" (via People). "She's the most beautiful thing ever. I want to be the best mom and best example for her, and like I wish I could be her, do it all differently. I wouldn't touch anything."
Jenner is scared to show the world her authentic self
When everything you do is scrutinized, some celebrities have resorted to shielding themselves from this by hiding their true selves. Kylie Jenner admitted in a 2020 YouTube collaboration with James Charles that her real identity is "sacred," and she's sad that she can no longer show every part of herself to her fans.
"I think that when I showed my personality too much or shared a little bit too much, people just had more access to say things about the real me," Jenner explained in a 2022 episode of Hailey Bieber's YouTube series. "So, I decided to push back a little bit."
Jenner is very careful to keep the important parts of her life a secret. For instance, the young mom kept both of her pregnancies almost completely private. For the most part, the socialite feels that she must play a character in public. "I'm 'Kylie Jenner' to the world, but I'm just 'Kylie' to my friends and family," she confessed to Complex. "I already give so much of my life."
Dating in the public eye is painful for her
Dating in the public eye is not for the weak. From gossip to paparazzi and tabloids, most celebrities go through the wringer in their relationships. Kylie Jenner is certainly no exception. Her high-profile relationships with Tyga, Travis Scott — with whom she shares two children, Stormi and Aire — and Timothée Chalamet have garnered her tons of unwanted attention.
In her 2017 docuseries, "Life of Kylie" (via Vogue), the entrepreneur explained how she has found the "hardest part" of dating to be how "it's blasted all over the Internet." "You have to hear about other people's opinions on who you're with," she detailed. "It's a lot. Most of the time it's just not true. Like you have no idea what I'm like in a relationship, what kind of bond I have with somebody else." In a dystopian way, Jenner likened the public attention to her dating life to "[feeling] like [she's] in a relationship with the world."
She faced bullying from a young age
Due to her very public upbringing, Kylie Jenner grew up in front of a massive audience — which made her vulnerable to both online and offline harassment. Such harassment often targeted her appearance and personal life choices.
"Yeah, pretty much ever since I was nine, since the show started, there's been so much bullying towards me," Jenner told Interview. "Like, every single day I see something negative about me. And it's just completely torn me apart. I feel like I've lost so many amazing traits because I've listened to stupid people, ignorant people who are bullies." The bullying came from people in her real life too, she told the publication. "It was in person, too. Just friends growing up. We were all young, and I always felt like people weren't friends with me for the right reasons, and they would be like, 'You know everyone is just friends with you because you're famous,' or just weird stuff."
Negative comments about her lips led the young star to get them filled, or cosmetically enhanced, but also inspired Jenner to create her hugely successful makeup line, Kylie Cosmetics. The company helped the social media maven get to a reported net worth of $700 million. Jenner's unpleasant experiences with bullying also inspired her to create her own anti-bullying campaign called "#IAmMoreThan," which she shared on Instagram in 2015.
Jenner is not immune to body shaming
Kylie Jenner's transformation over the years has been widely documented in the media, and her looks were scrutinized by millions on social media. The attention and commentary mainly focused on Jenner's changing appearance, with many speculating that the socialite had gotten work done to her lips and figure. Others thought that Jenner might just be using some serious Photoshop. Despite the criticism, she has never shied away from clapping back at the haters, and she often uses her platform to promote body positivity and self-acceptance.
Regardless, the incessant gossip not only had a personal impact on Jenner but also served as a catalyst for the new beauty standard of the 2010s; one that told women to be curvy. On an episode of "The Kardashians" (via Today), Jenner sat down with the rest of her sisters to discuss insecurities and the effect the famous family's image has on the world.
"I think I just see so many young girls on the internet now, like, fully editing [their pictures]," she said. "I went through that stage too, and I feel like I'm in a better place." She continued by stating that the "biggest misconception" about her is that she's insecure because of her alleged surgery. In truth, she said she has only had one procedure. "I've only gotten fillers, and I feel like I don't want that to be a part of my story," she said. "I will always want everyone to just love themselves."
She struggles to balance work and motherhood
After becoming a mother at a relatively young age, Kylie Jenner faced the challenge of managing her expanding business while raising her children, Stormi and Aire. Through it all, Jenner has been vulnerable about the difficulties of juggling her career and motherhood.
In fact, in order to be as present as possible for her daughter, Jenner included a highchair in her Kylie Cosmetics building specifically for Stormi, as seen in her 2019 office tour. "She does spend a lot of time here," the business owner noted during the video. "She really never leaves my side, so we're here all the time. She'll have lunch here, dinner sometimes, breakfast. She is always here."
Jenner found other creative ways to incorporate her children into her work life. In 2021, she launched her own baby care line, Kylie Baby. As for any words of advice for working moms? "Be gentle with yourself," Jenner answered to Elle. "Motherhood is such a balancing act, and I just try to take one day at a time!"