Kylie Jenner Young: The Girl Who Grew Up on Camera and Bet $250,000 on Herself

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Kylie Jenner in her early teens during the Keeping Up with the Kardashians era, years before Kylie Cosmetics

Kylie Jenner young​ years raise an odd question: what’s it like to grow up with no memory of life before cameras? She’s said she doesn’t know anything else. That one admission colors her whole story, from a Los Angeles childhood to a lip-kit bet she placed at 18.

In brief: Kylie Kristen Jenner was born on August 10, 1997, in Los Angeles. She’s the youngest daughter of Kris and Caitlyn Jenner. By her own account, she was nine when the family’s TV cameras started rolling. She switched to home study in 2012 and finished high school in July 2015. Her first Lip Kits went on sale that November. She’s 29 now, and our net worth estimate puts her near $700 million.

kylie jenner young​ Years: Born Into a Blended Family

Kylie was born in Los Angeles. Her mother is Kris Jenner. Her father is Olympic decathlon champion Caitlyn Jenner, then known publicly as Bruce. Kylie has one full sibling, her sister Kendall, who was born in 1995.

The family tree is crowded. Kris’s first marriage, to Robert Kardashian, brought Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob into the house. Caitlyn’s earlier marriages added Burt, Brandon, Brody and Casey. That made Kylie the youngest of a big, blended group.

Kris married Caitlyn in April 1991, one month after her divorce from Kardashian. Then the marriage ended. The couple announced their split in October 2013, when Kylie was 16. Kris filed for divorce in 2014, and it became final in March 2015. Caitlyn came out as a trans woman that same year.

Kylie was still a teenager through all of it. For the wider cast of characters.

kylie jenner young​ and Already on Camera

Keeping Up with the Kardashians began in 2007, and Kylie appeared from the first season. At 16, she told Us Weekly, “I don’t remember how it was before I was famous.” She added that she’d simply grown up into the life.

In recent interviews, she has reflected on it again. She said none of the family knew what they were getting into. Her own daughter is nearly eight now. Kylie said it’s strange to see how young that is.

School played out in two stages. First, Kylie attended Sierra Canyon School, where she joined the cheerleading team and took part in plays. Then, in 2012, she moved to an at-home program. She earned her diploma from Laurel Springs School in Ojai, California, in July 2015. That came only months before her first product went on sale.

Her business streak showed early. At 14, she and Kendall teamed up with PacSun on a clothing line called Kendall & Kylie. Time noted in November 2013 that the sisters had shown an early talent for deal-making. Time also named the Jenner sisters among its most influential teens in 2014 and again in 2015.

Meanwhile, her online following kept growing. By 2016, she ranked among the ten most-followed celebrities on Instagram. Today, she has more than 390 million followers.

kylie jenner young​ Insecurity: The Lips Behind the Lip Kit

Kylie has told this story several times, and the details barely change. On her 2017 spin-off Life of Kylie, she said, “I was 15 and I was insecure about my lips.” She described a boy’s comment after one of her first kisses. It hit her hard. She started overlining her lips with liner, and then she got her lips done.

Her lips were a public topic long before she spoke up. In a May 2015 episode of Keeping Up, she admitted to temporary lip fillers. Before that, she’d played down the rumors. In that episode, she said she wasn’t ready to talk to reporters yet, because people were quick to judge.

The Keeping Up reunion brought it back. She was 23, and host Andy Cohen asked whether that insecurity helped push her toward beauty. She said yes. She told him the comment left her feeling “unkissable” afterward.

Another Life of Kylie moment stands out. She also said, on camera, that balancing teenage life with running a business was hard. In that same season, she and Kris visited Peru, where Kylie paid for corrective surgery for children with cleft palates.

kylie jenner young​ Founder: The Lip Kit Bet

Lip Kit by Kylie went on sale on November 30, 2015, when she was 18. Each kit paired a liquid lipstick with a liner. Seed Beauty made the first 15,000 kits, and Kylie paid $250,000 from her modeling earnings. The kits cost $29, came in three shades and sold out in under a minute.

In March 2026, Vanity Fair asked her about that bet. She said the money was “half the money I had in my bank account.” Kris warned her she could end up with unsold kits piling up in a garage. Kylie said failure barely crossed her mind. Fans kept asking under her posts which shade she wore.

The first year wasn’t a victory lap, though. She said she felt stressed, because people harassed her on Twitter when they couldn’t buy a kit. She’d also tried to trademark her first name in 2015. However, Kylie Minogue blocked that effort.

In February 2016, the brand became Kylie Cosmetics, and production grew to 500,000 kits. Kris told WWD in 2017 that the line had made about $420 million in its first 18 months. That figure is a family claim, and later reporting questioned how the family described its numbers. More on that below.

Beyond the Lip Kit: Growing the Brand

The lip line was only the start. In November 2016, a month-long pop-up in seven Topshop stores sold Kylie Cosmetics. In February 2018, she released Weather, her first collection without a collaborator.

On Mother’s Day 2018, Kylie Cosmetics added a line called Kris Cosmetics, made with her mother. That Black Friday, she and Kim Kardashian released a second KKW x Kylie collection. Kylie Skin followed in May 2019.

Later came Kylie Swim and Kylie Baby in 2021. Her fashion label Khy debuted in late 2023, and her first fragrance, Cosmic, followed in 2024. Our net worth estimate leaves Khy and her other newer ventures out, since their profits aren’t confirmed in public filings.

From Forbes Cover to Coty Deal

In 2017, Forbes put her on its Celebrity 100 list as its youngest entry ever. That same year, Life of Kylie premiered. In March 2019, at 21, she got the Forbes cover and the title of youngest self-made billionaire.

Then came the Coty deal. In November 2019, Coty agreed to pay $600 million for 51% of Kylie Cosmetics. The price valued the company at $1.2 billion. The sale closed in January 2020.

By May 2020, Forbes had changed its view. It said the Coty paperwork showed a smaller, less profitable business than the family had described. Forbes put 2018 sales near $125 million, not the $360 million it said the Jenner camp had reported. It cut her wealth estimate to just under $900 million.

Kylie pushed back on Twitter, pointing to “inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions.” Her attorney also called the tax-return allegations false. Forbes held its ground. The dispute remains part of her public record.

Those numbers match our other coverage. As our [INTERNAL LINK: Kylie Jenner net worth breakdown → Kylie Jenner net worth] explains, she kept a minority stake of about 44%, and her mother takes a 10% management fee. Some outlets say 49%. Reporting on the Coty filings says a company tied to Kris holds the balance. We put her wealth near $700 million, inside a $680 million to $750 million range.

Motherhood: Stormi and Aire

Kylie and rapper Travis Scott were first linked at Coachella in April 2017. She kept her first pregnancy private. On Super Bowl Sunday in 2018, she announced that Stormi had been born on February 1. She was 20. Afterward, she wrote that she was sorry for “keeping you in the dark.”

Her son was born on February 2, 2022, one day after Stormi’s fourth birthday. She was 24. That March, she said he’d no longer go by Wolf and shared the name Aire.

The couple’s romance was on again and off again, and it has since ended. They still share parenting. In February 2026, they celebrated the kids’ birthdays together at a joint party.

In her Vanity Fair interview, she said she wants to focus on her work, her businesses and her kids in her late 20s. She also said she’d like more children.

What Kylie Jenner Has Said About Growing Up Young

She keeps coming back to three things: fame that never felt like a choice, a teenage insecurity that turned into a product, and a bet on her own instincts. Her account stays steady each time. Reporting backs the facts she’s shared, including the $250,000 and the November 2015 date. The gaps show up in the money story that came later.

What This Means to Them, In Their Own Words

In a 2024 WWD interview, she said, “It’s my dream that my daughter will want to take over Kylie Cosmetics.” She also said she hopes it becomes a legacy brand. And she hopes she’s inspired other women to follow their instincts.

That says a lot about how she sees her own story. The girl who never chose the cameras now talks about passing down something she chose herself.

What Reporters Found That Wasn’t in the Interview

Coty’s filings showed about $177 million in revenue for the twelve months before the deal. Forbes said that was far below what the family had described. Kylie and her attorney dispute Forbes’s claims.

Ownership is another gap. Some outlets say she kept 49%. Reporting on the deal says she holds 44.1%, with the balance in an entity controlled by her mother.

Kris tells the start of the brand differently, too. On the SmartLess podcast in May 2024, she said she contacted people to help and worried about marketing. Kylie told Vanity Fair she trusted her instinct. Both accounts can be true.

kylie jenner young​ Fame in 2026: Where She Stands at 29

She turned 29 on August 10, 2026. Kylie Cosmetics marked ten years in November 2025. Bloomberg reported in 2023 that she’d looked into buying back the 51% from Coty. We haven’t seen a completed deal. Forbes hasn’t restored her billionaire title, and her wealth still sits near $700 million in our estimate.

The story of Kylie Jenner young​ years is one of early fame, an early insecurity and an early bet. Her own account of that part has stayed steady. The money side is where reporters pushed back. For the full numbers, read our [INTERNAL LINK: Kylie Cosmetics and the Coty deal → Kylie Cosmetics Coty sale].

Key moments at a glance:

  • August 10, 1997: Born in Los Angeles.
  • 2007: Keeping Up with the Kardashians begins.
  • 2012: Moves to home study and teams with PacSun.
  • May 2015: Admits to lip fillers on Keeping Up.
  • July 2015: Earns her diploma from Laurel Springs School.
  • November 30, 2015: Lip Kit by Kylie goes on sale.
  • February 2018: Stormi is born.
  • March 2019: Forbes names her the youngest self-made billionaire.
  • November 2019: Coty agrees to buy 51% of Kylie Cosmetics.
  • May 2020: Forbes removes her billionaire title.
  • February 2022: Aire is born.

More On This Topic: The Kylie Economy: Deciphering the $700 Million Kylie Jenner Net Worth in 2026


FAQ

When and where was Kylie Jenner born?

Kylie Jenner was born on August 10, 1997, in Los Angeles. She’s the youngest child of Kris and Caitlyn Jenner.

How old was Kylie Jenner when Keeping Up began?

She’s said she was nine when it started. The show began in 2007, and she appeared from the start.

How old was Kylie Jenner when she started Kylie Cosmetics?

She was 18. Lip Kit by Kylie went on sale on November 30, 2015. The brand became Kylie Cosmetics in February 2016.

Did Kylie Jenner finish high school?

Yes. She switched to home study in 2012. She earned her diploma from Laurel Springs School in July 2015.

How old was Kylie Jenner when she became a mother?

She was 20 when Stormi was born in February 2018. She was 24 when Aire was born in February 2022.

Is Kylie Jenner still a billionaire?

No. Forbes removed the title in May 2020 and put her wealth just under $900 million. We estimate near $700 million today.

Disclaimer: Every date, figure, and quote in this article has been compiled from publicly available news reporting, on-record interviews, and corporate filings. Unless directly attributed, nothing here should be read as an official or confirmed statement from Kylie Jenner, her family, or her companies.

Sources: Vanity Fair (March 2026); WWD (2025); W Magazine on Life of Kylie; Forbes Australia on the Coty deal; AFP via The Jakarta Post; Us Weekly; Time; People; NPR.