What jobs did the Kardashians do before they were famous?

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - Wednesday August 17, 2011. The Kardashians at the Kardashian Kollection Launch Party held at the Colony,
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - Wednesday August 17, 2011. The Kardashians at the Kardashian Kollection Launch Party held at the Colony,


Ask today's children about their career ambitions, and a shockingly high proportion - nearly half, in some surveys - will say that they just want to appear in a reality TV show.

Programmes like Keeping Up With The Kardashians depict a wealthy and glamorous lifestyle. And while its stars tend to dabble in the fashion and beauty industries, they're mostly famous for doing - well, in some cases not much work at all.

There isn't, obviously, a clear career path towards becoming a reality TV star - and we don't recommend that you take Kim Kardashian's route and gain notoriety through the release of a sex tape.

But it's interesting to take a look at the jobs that the family members had before they shot to fame - at least, those old enough for life before the show...

Kim Kardashian
It was with the launch of reality television series Keeping Up With The Kardashians in 2007 that Kim Kardashian really shot to fame.

She now has a wide range of business interests, including a mobile game for iPhone and Android called Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and an emoji pack for IOS devices called Kimoji.

She has lines in clothing and cosmetics - including the Kardashian Kollection, Kardashian Beauty and a chain of boutiques called D-A-S-H. Last year, she released a 325-page book of selfies called Selfish - and even her sponsored Instagram and Twitter posts bring in up to $25,000 each.

But life wasn't always that exciting for Kim, who started work at a young age, spending four years in a clothing store as a teenager. She later made money buying and selling clothes, shoes and accessories on eBay, a business which later led to her becoming a closet organiser for stars including Cindy Crawford, Serena Williams and the Hilton sisters.

It was through contacts like these that she met singer Ray J - with whom the fateful sex tape that prompted the show was made.

Kourtney Kardashian
Kourtney now works with her sisters on D-A-S-H, as well as representing the skincare line PerfectSkin and acting as a spokeswoman for the diet supplement Quick Trim.

But Keeping Up With The Kardashians wasn't Kourtney's first TV job - or even her first reality television. Back in 2004, she appeared on a show called Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive, which put a group of privileged kids to work on a Colorado ranch to give them a glimpse of 'real' life. She gave her earnings to charity.

Khloe Kardashian
Khloe Kardashian has admitted she tried hard to achieve fame before Keeping Up With The Kardashians hit the airwaves. But, she says, she was rejected by agent after agent for not being able to sing - or, indeed, do much of anything else.

Rob Kardashian
Like his sister Khloe, Rob Kardashian was a little to young to have forged a career by the time Keeping Up With The Kardashians first aired in 2007. He graduated from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business in 2009 and now has several business ventures with PerfectSkin, Rival Spot, the BG5 - and a planned range of socks.

Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn - formerly Bruce - Jenner was of course a gold-medal Olympian before Keeping Up With The Kardashians. She sold insurance at night while training during the day.

After winning the decathlon at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, she became a spokesperson for Wheaties breakfast cereal and had a number of TV and movie roles - although in one of them, the Village People comedy Can't Stop the Music, she was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor.

Jenner also became a successful racing car driver in the 1980s.

In 1994, Jenner and wife Kris launched a line of sports fitness equipment and chain of fitness studios. She also runs Bruce Jenner Aviation, which sells aircraft supplies to executives and corporations.

Kris Jenner
Kris Jenner started out a long way from her current glamorous lifestyle, selling donuts as a teenager before becoming a flight attendant for American Airlines. She was just 22 when she married lawyer Robert Kardashian - who later became famous for defending O J Simpson against murder charges - and children Kourtney, Kim, Khloe Rob followed soon after.

After her divorce in 1990, Kris had a short stint as a correspondent for the ABC daytime talk show Mike & Maty, started managing new husband Bruce's career, and launched a line of fitness equipment. She also opened a children's store called Smooch in 2003.