Kris Jenner (Getty Images)When you say "Kardashian," the name alone elicits such drastically different reactions, but — love them or hate them — the family is certainly a success story in the entertainment world. Behind it all is matriarch Kris Jenner, who was able to capitalize on the public interest in her daughter Kim after what most families would deem a humiliating situation (sex tape, anyone?) and turn it into a successful reality TV series. Now the 56-year-old is at the helm of a multimillion dollar business empire, which includes spin-offs, boutiques, a clothing line, a fragrance, and just about any other product you can conjure up in your mind.
So what is behind America's fascination with the "Keeping Up With the Kardashian" stars? Jenner herself credits their relatability. "There are so many of us in my entire family that everybody finds someone who they can relate to or connect with," she tells Interview magazine. "At the end of the day, our show is just about our family and what happens, and over the last seven seasons, you've watched my little girls grow up, you've watched people get married and have babies and graduate from school and go to college. You know, it's like so much that goes on in any family, but it's magnified and dramatic, because that's who we are. So I think everyone can look at us and go, 'Wow! I can relate to them.'"
[Related: Kris Jenner: It's 'crazy painful' sharing marital woes on show this season]
According to Jenner, it also has to do with spontaneity. Many so-called reality shows are actually scripted, but "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" isn't, giving it that you-never-know-what-will-happen-next feeling. Also, the family has never instructed the cameramen to stop rolling in an attempt to hide anything from the audience. "We don't have writers. We don't have scripts. We don't have storylines that we preconceive before we start filming," Jenner notes. "We do have a big meeting at the beginning of a season and say, 'What is everybody doing?' Because we all have about five full-time jobs apiece. So I think the beauty is that there are so many of us and there are so many things going on that we don't have to sit and think, 'Oh, what would be interesting?' I mean, you can't make up Lamar [Odom] getting traded and Kourtney giving birth and the kids getting married — you can't write that stuff. Or Khloé going to jail."
Jenner with four of her six children (Getty Images)
After the show goes off the air — whenever that may be — Jenner's plans, other than counting her fortune, will focus more on her personal interests. "I actually enjoy working on the clothing line that I have on QVC, so I think I'd like to concentrate on growing that brand and just doing my own thing," she tells Interview. "My motivation is to be creative and have fun. You want to do something that keeps you on your toes the rest of your life and keeps you busy. That's why we're creating these clothing lines and the kids' fragrances and all the things we have our hands in. I'm really good at multitasking, but I always look at the amazing opportunity that we've been given. … You know, at this point, we've filmed more seasons of 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' than they did of 'I Love Lucy.'" (Yes, she just compared "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" to iconic TV show "I Love Lucy.")
[Related: Kris Jenner "test drives" a casket when planning her funeral]
Over the past seven seasons of the show, Jenner says her favorite moment so far was when Khloé and Lamar said "I do." We're guessing that some of her least favorite moments include Kim's soon-to-be ex-husband, Kris Humphries. When his name is brought up during the interview — they ask about Humphries' ex-girlfriend Myla Sinanaj saying that Jenner herself was behind the leak of Kim's sex tape — Jenner replies, "They're delusional."
And for the record, she's totally Team Kanye. Upon being asked how she would feel about the rapper becoming her son-in-law, she gushes, "He's fantastic."
Perhaps in a few years when she's again asked about her favorite moment on the show, she'll have a new one: Kim and Kanye's wedding. If it happens — and it's certainly looks to be headed that way — no doubt it will be included on air. Like it or not, that's the Kardashian way.
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