Kendall Jenner is a Scorpio. And with typical Scorpio reticence, Jenner and I don’t discuss this fact until almost the end of our time. But the qualities attributed to the sign are intertwined throughout our conversation. Jenner often talks about change and evolution. “I feel like I’m stepping into womanhood,” she tells me, “and having so many strong women around me has helped shape my sense of self-worth.”
Jenner, 27, is in a bright white room with shelves full of art books and novels behind her. She is dressed casually, in a black T-shirt, her hair pulled back, her skin damp. She looks like she’s just returned from a walk or a trip to the dog run—a platonic ideal of what one might look like while lounging at home. When she speaks, it is with the self-awareness of someone who has spent her entire adult life in front of the camera. She often clarifies what she says with what it should look like. “I guess I sound Laotian like that,” she says at one point. Later: “It probably sounds corny.” It comes across less as nervousness and more as someone accustomed to being watched cutting off the observer at the pass, a reminder that she knows how others might try to fit her into the narrative. Even when people look at her, she looks back.
The Jenner family has been at the forefront of global popular culture ever since. Keeping up with the Kardashians The premiere took place in 2007. The show, which aired on E! for 14 years, moved to Hulu last year, where it was rebranded. Kardashian. Jenner was 11 years old when it first aired, and from the start she was positioned as the little sister involved in healthy scrapes with Kylie’s younger sibling, as opposed to an inside look at the lives of their older sisters as they worked to create their brand and fame. But Jenner remembers her childhood as a place full of refuge. “I just kept to myself,” she says. “I liked to hide in my room and do my own thing or ride horses.”
“She was always very clear about who she was,” says her mother Kris Jenner. “Her superpower is knowing when it’s too much and when it’s not enough. … She’s a lot smarter than me about it, and she kind of taught me a thing or two about it.”
Jenner’s ability to maintain a sense of mystery has played a crucial role in her success in fashion, where she is now one of the most sought-after models. Essential to this work is a character who hints at knowingness while maintaining a sense of mystery, allowing the audience to create their own story—the dance of imagination that is what we mean by glamour.
“It’s not always an easy industry to work in,” Jenner says. “Sometimes it can be really brutal and intense.” But today’s fashion business is radically different from the one Jenner entered almost a decade ago. Her rise reflects changes in how brands and careers are built and where power lies. Jenner has been at the forefront of a new generation of models—many of whom, like her, were either born into privilege or rambunctious children—have used social media to expand their personal brands by offering glimpses into their personal lives. She now has over 292 million followers on Instagram and over five million on TikTok. And Jenner works. In addition to her ever-growing Kardashian roster, as well as runway and campaign commitments, she also has her own tequila brand, 818, and recently announced a new partnership with L’Oréal Paris.
While the Kardashian machine has certainly supported her, she has diligently found ways to move between the realms of reality television and ultra-high fashion without falling into either. “I think when people think something comes easy, there’s a lot of criticism,” says the casting director (and Harpers Bazaar executive editor) Anita Bitton, who played Jenner in her first Marc Jacobs show in 2014. “But it takes a certain degree of rigor to keep it all together, and Kendall has that rigor,” Bitton explains. “Kendall Jenner is her own person.”
“I feel really balanced now,” Jenner says. “I started my therapeutic journey a year and a half ago. I see my therapist once a week, so I learn something new every week. I’m constantly developing and I’m just happy about it.”
Last spring, Jenner’s sister Kim famously trolled her with a “Kendall in the Starting Five” T-shirt for her penchant for dating professional basketball players. The internet has also exploded with rumors of her dating Bad Bunny. It’s an aspect of Jenner’s life that, like most things, had to play out publicly, but it’s also, unsurprisingly, sacred to her. “I love very deeply and I love unapologetically,” she says. “I don’t like to say goodbye, and I will fight so that I don’t have to say goodbye. I will always fight for relationships. I’ve been like this since I was a child, although I was shy and sometimes very private,” she continues. “I don’t give up anything. Some people don’t want to meet me on that level. But it normal. I’d rather do that than shut myself off from something and not give it the chance it deserves.”
I ask Jenner if she’s familiar with the astrological lore of Scorpios, which are considered so mysterious because they are associated with not one but three symbols: the scorpio, the stereotypical vengeful stinger; the eagle, who uses Scorpio’s ability to work hard to improve his world; and the phoenix, whose capacity for deep love leads to higher understanding. The idea is that Scorpios embody all of these archetypes at certain points, cycling through them, not necessarily linearly. For Jenner, this is another story to discuss. “My affection for people and my empathy have only increased,” she says, smiling. “My favorite part of growing up is the wisdom and knowledge.
This article originally appeared in the September 2023 print edition of Harper’s Bazaar India.