Kim Kardashian Ethnicity: Her Armenian Father and European Mother
Kim Kardashian is of Armenian descent on her father’s side and English, Scottish, Irish, German, and Dutch descent on her mother’s side. Born Kimberly Noel Kardashian on October 21, 1980, in Los Angeles, California, the reality star and billionaire businesswoman is the daughter of Robert Kardashian — a third-generation Armenian-American attorney — and Kris Jenner (née Houghton), who is of Northern European ancestry. Kardashian has called being Armenian “a big part of who I am,” was baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church in 2019 under the name Heghine, and has been one of the world’s most visible advocates for Armenian causes, including recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Kim Kardashian’s ethnicity story spans continents and centuries: from Armenian Spiritual Christians who fled the Russian and Ottoman empires for California, to a Dutch-Scottish-American mother whose family had lived in the United States for generations. This article explores her Armenian roots, her mother’s European ancestry, how her heritage shaped her identity and business empire, and the questions fans ask most.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kimberly Noel Kardashian |
| Date of birth | October 21, 1980 |
| Place of birth | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Ethnicity | Armenian (father); English, Scottish, Irish, German, Dutch (mother) |
| Parents | Robert Kardashian (father), Kris Jenner (mother) |
| Armenian baptismal name | Heghine |
| Occupation | Reality star, businesswoman (SKIMS, SKKN) |
What Is Kim Kardashian’s Ethnicity?
Kim Kardashian’s ethnicity is half Armenian and half Northern European. Her father, Robert George Kardashian, was of Armenian descent — a third-generation Armenian-American whose grandparents emigrated from the Russian Empire. Her mother, Kris Jenner, is of English, Scottish, Irish, German, and Dutch ancestry, from a family that had lived in the United States for many generations.
A 23andMe DNA test whose results were displayed on Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2018 showed the Kardashian sisters’ genetic ancestry as roughly 53–58% European and 41.6% Middle Eastern & North African (the category under which Armenian DNA is typically classified), with a small fraction of Native American DNA. The test confirmed what the family had always known: the Kardashian look — the dark hair, the curves Kim says she gets “from her Armenian heritage” — comes substantially from the Armenian side.
Kardashian has spoken about her Armenian identity throughout her career. She has said she did not speak Armenian at home growing up but uses it at family get-togethers, and her grandfather instilled Armenian culture in her. In 2019, she deepened the connection formally: she was baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in Armenia, taking the baptismal name Heghine — and had all four of her children baptized as well.
The Kardashian Family’s Armenian Journey
The Kardashian family’s Armenian story is extraordinary and well-documented. Kim’s paternal great-grandparents came from Karakale (Karakałe), a village in what is now northeastern Turkey but was then part of the Russian Empire. The family were ethnic Armenians and Armenian Spiritual Christians — specifically Molokan Jumpers, a dissident Christian sect at odds with both the Armenian Apostolic Church and Russian Orthodoxy.
According to family lore — retold by Robert Kardashian to his children and explored in Jonathan Van Meter’s 2026 biography Citizen Kim — the family’s emigration was spurred by prophecy. An 11-year-old illiterate boy in their Armenian village, Efim Klubnikin, reportedly fell into a trance in the mid-19th century and produced letters warning that Christians in the region were doomed unless they voyaged to the West Coast of America — to California specifically. Kim has recounted: “My great-grandparents… came from Armenia, and in their village, there was a boy who couldn’t read or write, and he supposedly went into a trance and wrote two letters… the first letter said: Everyone will be massacred; go to Los Angeles, California.”
Whether prophecy or pragmatism drove them, the family’s timing was fateful: they left before the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the Russian Revolution. The family name was originally spelled Kardaschoff — a Russianized version of the Armenian Kardashian — and was changed after immigration. They traveled through Germany before reaching the United States, eventually settling in Los Angeles.
Robert Kardashian was born in Los Angeles in 1944 to Armenian-American parents, making him third-generation. He became a prominent attorney — most famously representing O.J. Simpson during the 1995 murder trial (Simpson was Kim’s godfather) — and married Kris Houghton in 1978. They had four children: Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob. Robert died of esophageal cancer in 2003, but his Armenian identity remained central to the family’s story.
Her Mother’s European Ancestry
Kris Jenner’s ancestry represents the other half of Kim’s heritage: English, Scottish, Irish, German, and Dutch, with additional Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Welsh, and even remote Channel Islander and Cornish traces documented by genealogists. The Houghton family had lived in the United States for many generations — the classic “old American” stock of colonial and 19th-century immigration.
This Northern European heritage is the source of the Kardashian children’s lighter features alongside their Armenian coloring. After Robert and Kris divorced in 1991, Kris married Caitlyn Jenner (then Bruce Jenner), the 1976 Olympic decathlon champion, giving Kim stepbrothers Burt, Brandon, and Brody Jenner, stepsister Casey Marino, and later half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
Kim attended Marymount High School, a Roman Catholic all-girls school in Los Angeles. In her teens she was close friends with Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton — working as Hilton’s stylist and appearing on The Simple Life — before her own fame erupted with Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2007.
Armenian Advocacy and Visits to Armenia
Kim Kardashian has leveraged her enormous platform for Armenian causes more consistently than perhaps any other celebrity. She has been vocal about the Armenian Genocide — the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, which Turkey does not recognize as genocide — and has lobbied US presidents on the issue. In 2021, President Joe Biden formally recognized the genocide, a moment Kardashian publicly celebrated.
She has visited Armenia multiple times, most notably in 2015 for the 100th anniversary commemoration of the genocide, and again in 2019 for the baptisms at Etchmiadzin. During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, she donated and raised awareness for Armenian humanitarian relief. Her advocacy has made her a beloved figure in Armenia and the global Armenian diaspora — and a controversial one in Turkey and Azerbaijan.
This activism is inseparable from her ethnic identity: Kardashian has said “being Armenian is a big part of who I am,” and her engagement with Armenia goes beyond symbolism into genuine political and financial commitment. Like fellow Armenian-American icon Cher — born Cherilyn Sarkisian to an Armenian-American father — Kardashian represents the Armenian diaspora’s most visible face in global popular culture.
How Heritage Shaped a Business Empire
Kardashian’s ethnicity has influenced her business decisions in tangible ways. Her shapewear brand was initially named “Kimono” in 2019 — but after backlash accusing her of cultural appropriation of the traditional Japanese garment, she renamed it SKIMS, demonstrating sensitivity to cultural concerns that her own experience as a member of a historically persecuted ethnic group likely informed.
More broadly, the Kardashian-Jenner beauty empire — SKIMS (valued in the billions), SKKN BY KIM, her fragrance lines — has been built substantially on an aesthetic rooted in her Armenian heritage: the contouring, the emphasis on curves (which she attributes to her Armenian genes), the glamorous presentation. The family’s look became a global beauty standard, for better or worse, and its origins are inseparable from Kim’s ethnic background.
Her four children with ex-husband Kanye West — North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm — carry the Armenian heritage into a fourth generation, now blended with West’s African-American roots. All four were baptized in the Armenian Church alongside their mother in 2019, ensuring the family’s Armenian identity continues.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Kim Kardashian’s ethnicity?
Kim Kardashian is half Armenian (through her father, Robert Kardashian, a third-generation Armenian-American) and half Northern European — English, Scottish, Irish, German, and Dutch (through her mother, Kris Jenner).
Is Kim Kardashian Armenian?
Yes. Her father was of Armenian descent, and Kim strongly identifies with her Armenian heritage. She was baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church in 2019 with the name Heghine, visits Armenia, and advocates for Armenian causes including genocide recognition.
Where is the Kardashian family originally from?
The Kardashian paternal line comes from Karakale, a village in the Kars region — formerly part of the Russian Empire, now in Turkey. The family were Armenian Molokan Jumpers who emigrated to California via Germany, originally spelling their name Kardaschoff.
What is Kim Kardashian’s mother’s ethnicity?
Kris Jenner is of English, Scottish, Irish, German, and Dutch ancestry, from a family that had lived in the United States for many generations.
Did Kim Kardashian take a DNA test?
Yes — a 23andMe test shown on Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2018 showed the sisters’ ancestry as roughly 53–58% European and 41.6% Middle Eastern & North African (where Armenian DNA is classified), plus a trace of Native American.
For more celebrity background stories, explore Solica Casuto and Dorothée Lepère on MyEthnicity, and see Kim Kardashian’s Wikipedia page for verified biographical details.
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