Words by Kim Kardashian built her public life in front of cameras, and she has turned much of the attention it brought into companies. The largest of them is Skims, the Los Angeles shapewear and clothing brand she started in 2019 with Jens Grede. By late 2025 it was reported to be worth more than $5 billion.
From Los Angeles to reality television
Kimberly Noel Kardashian was born on Oct. 21, 1980, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Her father, Robert Kardashian, was of Armenian descent. Her mother is Kris Kardashian, née Houghton. She has two sisters, Kourtney and Khloé, and a brother, Rob. Her parents divorced in 1991, and her mother later married Caitlyn Jenner, then known as Bruce Jenner. Robert Kardashian died of cancer in 2003. She went to Marymount High School, a Roman Catholic girls’ school in Los Angeles.
Her early work was in styling. In 2003 she worked as a personal stylist for the singer Brandy Norwood, and in 2006 she and her sisters opened the DASH boutique in Calabasas. A sex tape with the singer Ray J leaked in February 2007; she later settled a lawsuit against Vivid Entertainment for a reported $5 million.
That October, Keeping Up with the Kardashians premiered on E!. The flagship series ran until June 2021 and 294 episodes. A follow-up, The Kardashians, arrived on Hulu in April 2022 under a multiyear deal. Along the way she took acting roles, among them Disaster Movie in 2008, a voice part in the PAW Patrol films, and a turn in American Horror Story: Delicate. In 2025 she co-executive produced and starred in the Hulu legal drama All’s Fair.
Building a brand business
Before Skims came KKW Beauty and KKW Fragrance, launched in 2017. KKW Beauty was valued at more than $1 billion in 2021, and both lines were shut down in 2022. She started a skincare line, SKKN by Kim, the same year.
Skims has been the more durable effort. It began in 2019 as Kimono Intimates. Critics said the name disrespected Japanese culture, and the mayor of Kyoto, Daisaku Kadokawa, wrote to Kardashian asking her to reconsider the name and the trademark. She renamed the company Skims in August 2019. Grede is the chief executive, and Emma Grede, who also co-founded Good American with Khloé Kardashian, is a founding partner.
The first launch reportedly produced more than $2 million in profit and sold out in 10 minutes. The company has said it sold more than three million products in its first year. Valuations climbed quickly: $1.6 billion in April 2021, $3.2 billion in January 2022, $4 billion in July 2023, and $5 billion in November 2025. Net sales were around $1 billion as of 2024.
- Skims supplied athleisure to the U.S. Olympic team for the 2020 Tokyo Games and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
- In October 2021 it released a capsule collection with Fendi, which Bloomberg reported brought in about $3 million in sales within 10 minutes.
- In September 2023 it became the official underwear partner of the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball in a multiyear deal.
- It launched its first menswear line in October 2023.
The brand began as an online-only business. It now sells through other retailers, including Nordstrom in the United States, and opened its first standalone store in 2024. Its flagship is at 647 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and the company operates 27 stores worldwide as of 2026. Sizing runs from XXS to 5XL, and the shapewear comes in nine shades. TIME put Skims on its 2022 list of the 100 most influential companies, and in November 2022 it received the inaugural Innovation Award from Amazon Fashion at the CFDA Fashion Awards.
Law study
Kardashian also pursued a legal career. In 2025 she completed a four-year law apprenticeship, a path that allows candidates in California to sit for the state bar exam. She did not pass the exam.
For someone first known for her appearances rather than any product, the shift is notable. Skims has its own executives, retail footprint and sports contracts, and its figures are tracked by business reporters as much as entertainment ones. How far it grows from here is not something the public record can say.
Sources: Wikipedia entries on Kim Kardashian and Skims.
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