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September 17, 2026 |
You know Kim Kardashian. (Obviously.) You know Kris Jenner too. If you’re a real fan, you’re familiar with M.J. Campbell as well. But you probably can’t trace the family tree back further than that. Yet as Jonathan Van Meter explains in this exclusive excerpt from his new book, Citizen Kim, that’s the best way to understand the phenomenon that is America’s most famous woman—particularly when you look back through the mists of history to her Armenian ancestors on her father Robert’s side of the family. To them, Kim’s success in America may well be fulfilling an ancient prophecy. Really. Not bad for a girl with no talent! Elsewhere, Dan Adler and Eve Batey have early looks at two absorbing new documentary projects: one about Salman Rushdie after the attack that left him with only one working eye; and one about the aughts reality phenomenon The Swan. How’s that for range? More tomorrow! |
HILLARY BUSISFEATURES EDITOR |
Exclusive Excerpt: A New Biography Traces Kim Kardashian’s Ambitions to Ancient Armenia By Jonathan Van Meter | |
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Call it a curse or call it destiny, Kardashian’s success is a fusion of Armenian folklore and the American dream. Her famous family was a prophecy foretold by her very own ancestors. “Not bad for a girl with no talent,” she once quipped about her billion dollar empire. But it’s in her blood, argues Jonathan Van Meter in Citizen Kim. Read more |
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MOVIES Salman Rushdie Was Stabbed. Then His Wife Started Filming By Dan Adler Alex Gibney’s new documentary Knife takes a striking look at the aftermath of the 2022 attack on Rushdie—and uses his wife’s own hospital footage as its emotional backbone. Rushdie and Rachel Eliza Griffiths tell Vanity Fair about the artistic choices they made in processing the unthinkable. Read more |
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ON THE SCENE Kai Schreiber Felt “Like a Unicorn” Starring in Thom Browne’s Buggy NYFW Show By Chris Murphy Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber’s daughter dressed as a beautiful butterfly for Browne, just days after becoming the first trans model to be named the breakthrough model of the year. Read more |
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EXCLUSIVE The Swan: Behind the Mirror Dissects Reality TV’s Most Infamous Trainwreck By Eve Batey Documentarian Erin Lee Carr takes on The Swan, one of the most reviled shows in reality TV history. Read more |
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Nepo Baby, Social Climber, or Fashion Genius? What People Don’t Get About Conner Ives By José Criales-Unzueta Fashion designer Conner Ives has famous, wealthy fans, and some anonymous detractors. He went viral for a T-shirt, but his ambition is much bigger. Behind the buzziest show at New York Fashion Week. Read more |
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