Celebrity Q + A: Kris Jenner

January 12, 2012 at 3:44 pm
by familycircle

What you see on Keeping Up with the Kardashians is what you get in Los Angeles, where the lively 56-year-old lives with husband Bruce Jenner and kids Kendall, 16; and Kylie, 14. (Kourtney, 32; Kim, 31; Khloé, 27; and Robert, 24, are always nearby.)

Celebrity Kris Jenner

Q: Whose idea was it to do a reality TV show?
A: Mine! As a businesswoman, I’m always thinking. I wanted to bring attention to our family’s clothing stores. It’s simply good enterprising.

Q: Well, it certainly worked: Most of your kids have spin-offs—not to mention all of those endorsement deals! Were you ever afraid of failing?
A: Never! Being intimidated is just not part of my personality.

Q: Looking back, do you wish you’d kept some moments private?
A: Honestly, no—although I’m guessing some people could have done without details of Kim’s marriage and split. But we wouldn’t be the Kardashians if we censored ourselves.

Q: What’s it like being momager [mom + manager] to a family that works together and plays together?
A: Being around my kids has always been a priority. When they were growing up, I was the classroom mom or the soccer coach or the Brownie troop leader. Now we go on family vacations, and the kids hang out even when we’re not filming.

Q: When you married Olympic gold medal decathlon winner Bruce Jenner in 1991, you each had four kids (before having two more together). Was it hard blending families?
A: I think all kids are raw after divorce—it takes time to heal. Luckily all of mine embraced Bruce, except for Kourtney, who didn’t talk to him for the first six months. But I tried to be patient and nurturing while maintaining a sense of humor.

Q: How were you able to keep everyone out of trouble?
A: Years ago someone told me, if you want to know where your kids are, invite their friends over. So I did. Whether they were making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or throwing parties, I always kept an eye on them.

Q: Do the older kids mentor Kendall and Kylie?
A: They drill messages into their sisters’ heads so they won’t make the same mistakes. But it’s Khloé who checks the younger girls’ e-mails and texts to make sure they’re not up to anything inappropriate. Sisters can get away with doing more of that than parents can.

Q: What’s your advice for busy moms?
A: Take care of yourself first. I get up at 5 a.m. to work out or pray. Knowing I’ve done a good thing for myself keeps me in a positive mood all day long.

Fast Facts

Writing her memoir
“People always ask how I got where I am, so I decided to record it in Kris Jenner…and All Things Kardashian. I hope the book will be an inspiration to people who think it’s impossible to start over at 50.”

Proudest family TV moment
It’s a tie between grandson Mason being born and Khloe getting married. “I watch both of those shows over and over and cry every time!”

World’s best kid-tracker
Twitter. “I can go online at any time and see what my family members are doing.”

On parenting
“My ex-sister-in-law once said, ‘Little kids, little problems. Big kids, big problems.’ I remember calling her when Kourtney was five months old to say, ‘This is so hard—I’ve been folding cloth diapers for days!’ At the time I thought, ‘Nothing can be harder than this!’ Boy, was I wrong.”

–PATTY A. MARTINEZ, originally published in Family Circle’s February 2012 issue

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