Kim Kardashian’s rise to global fame is the subject of a new biography that looks beyond reality television and celebrity headlines. In Citizen Kim: The Woman Who Created the Future, journalist Jonathan Van Meter explores the businesswoman’s personal relationships, family history and growing involvement in criminal justice reform.
Published on October 27, 2026, the book draws on years of conversations with Kardashian and people close to her. It includes accounts from members of the Kardashian family, as well as friends and associates who witnessed important moments in her life.
Among its most revealing subjects are her work with former US President Donald Trump, her relationship with ex-husband Kanye West and the family experiences that shaped her early years.
Kim Kardashian’s new book revisits her work with Donald Trump.
One of the book’s central stories concerns Kardashian’s efforts to secure the release of Alice Marie Johnson, a woman serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug-related offence.
According to Van Meter’s account, Kardashian first learned about Johnson’s case in 2017 after watching a video in which Johnson appealed for clemency. Kardashian then contacted lawyer Shawn Holley to ask how she could help.
Her efforts eventually connected her with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Those introductions helped arrange a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
The decision to meet Trump was not without controversy. Kardashian recalled that people warned her the visit could damage her public image. However, she believed helping someone regain their freedom was more important than criticism of her political associations.
The meeting led to a significant result. Trump commuted Johnson’s prison sentence on June 6, 2018, after she had spent nearly 22 years behind bars. The US Department of Justice lists Johnson among the people who received presidential commutations during Trump’s first term.
Kardashian later contacted Johnson to share the news, according to the biography. The experience became an important turning point in her public advocacy work.
Van Jones recalls Kardashian’s preparation for a White House meeting.
The biography also describes another meeting between Kardashian and Trump. This time, she advocated for a man serving a life sentence for a nonviolent offence.
Attorney and political commentator Van Jones accompanied her. He reportedly came away impressed by how closely Kardashian had studied the case.
Van Meter recounts Jones’s view that Kardashian knew the details and was able to communicate the request directly to the president.
The account challenges the assumption that her celebrity status was the only reason she could take part in criminal justice discussions. It also highlights how she used her public profile to bring attention to cases that might otherwise receive little notice.
Kardashian’s advocacy work has since become a more visible part of her public identity, alongside her entertainment and business activities.
Kim Kardashian opens up about Kanye West and co-parenting.
Another major subject in Citizen Kim is Kardashian’s relationship with rapper Kanye West.
The former couple married in 2014 and share four children. Kardashian filed for divorce in 2021, and their marriage ended in 2022.
In the book, Kardashian discusses the difficulties that developed during the later years of their relationship. She says she continues to worry about West because he is the father of her children.
She also describes the importance of maintaining boundaries while allowing their children to have a relationship with both parents.
Kardashian reportedly says she encourages the children to stay connected with West’s family, too. When relatives visit, she makes an effort to bring everyone together.
The biography also describes steps Kardashian took to protect her children from difficult situations involving their father. She explains that the household had a system for limiting their exposure to upsetting news and public discussion.
Her comments offer a personal look at the challenges of co-parenting after a highly publicised divorce.
Kris Jenner’s past relationship revisited
Van Meter also examines a difficult period in the Kardashian family’s history: the end of Kris Jenner’s marriage to Robert Kardashian Sr.
The couple separated after Jenner’s affair with soccer player Todd Waterman came to light. Their divorce became a defining family event, although the children experienced it in different ways.
Kim recalls being aware that her mother was dating someone else. She also remembers that the children were introduced to Jenner’s boyfriend.
Kourtney Kardashian, however, describes the separation as traumatic. In the book, she reflects on how the experience affected her as the oldest child.
The different memories show how one family event can leave a distinct impression on each child. They also add context to the family relationships that later became central to the Kardashian reality television brand.
The book revisits O.J. Simpson’s early prediction.
The biography also looks back at the period before Keeping Up with the Kardashians became a television success.
According to a recollection included in the book, memorabilia dealer Tom Riccio remembered O.J. Simpson expressing doubt that the family’s reality show would last. Riccio said Simpson recognised Kim as his goddaughter and predicted the programme would quickly disappear.
That prediction proved wrong. Keeping Up with the Kardashians premiered in 2007 and ran for more than a decade, helping turn the family into a major force in entertainment and popular culture.
The story offers a reminder of how difficult it was to predict the scale of the Kardashian family’s influence when the show first launched.
A broader look at Kardashian’s influence
Citizen Kim: The Woman Who Created the Future presents Kardashian as more than a reality television personality. Its reported subjects include her family background, business ambitions, personal relationships and criminal justice advocacy.
The book also explores how she turned public attention into a lasting business career. Her work in fashion, beauty and social media helped establish an identity that reaches well beyond television.
At the same time, the personal stories show the pressures that have accompanied her fame. Her experiences with family conflict, marriage, public scrutiny and advocacy offer a more complicated picture of a celebrity whose life has often played out in front of cameras.
By bringing together interviews and memories from people close to Kardashian, Van Meter aims to examine how she built her public identity and adapted it over time.
For readers familiar with the headlines, the biography offers another perspective on the personal decisions and relationships behind her public career.
