Kendall Jenner on Claims Her Modelling Career Was Just Handed to Her

There’s no doubt that the Kardashian-Jenners are literal powerhouses when it comes to success. Aside from starring in their own reality TV show for 20 seasons and amassing millions of followers on social media, they’ve all built impressive business empires. But since Kylie Jenner was stripped of her ‘self made billionaire’ title by Forbes, some Keeping Up With The Kardashians fans have questioned the ease at which the family have made their money.

In response to claims that her own success was handed to her, on Sunday’s (June 20) reunion episode of KUWTK, model Kendall Jenner set the record straight about how her career came to be.

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Kendall told reunion host Andy Cohen that she always knew she’d be a model. “I know it's kind of corny to say, but [it was] almost like destiny," she said, "I think that was what was pushing me that direction."

Andy then questioned Kendall on claims she hadn’t “paid her dues” in the modelling world. "Everyone around me, whether it's friends or family, knows how hard I worked and still work," Kendall said, "I did everything that I was supposed to do and had to do to get to the position that I'm at now as a model."

"I went to every single casting and ran all over not only New York City but all over Europe trying to get a job and make my way," she added, "I think it's just a perception that people have, that I just was like, 'Give it to me!' and I had it… It definitely was not that."

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She also revealed that while her family’s fame was at times an advantage, it came with downsides too. “Of course I had a platform, and I never took that for granted," she said, "I always knew that that was there, but that almost made my job a little bit harder. Only because people probably didn't want to hire me because I was on a reality TV show."

Kendall has modelled for designers including Karl Lagerfeld, Fendi, Calvin Klein and Chanel. In 2018, Forbes named her the highest-paid model in the world, with earnings of $22.5 million.