Kim Kardashian enlisted longtime Vogue writer Jonathan Van Meter to author her authorized biography, "Citizen Kim: The Woman Who Created the Future," a project that captures her evolution from a reality TV star to a billionaire entrepreneur and cultural influencer. The decision to collaborate with Van Meter came, in part, on the recommendation of Anna Wintour, Vogue’s editor-in-chief, who believed he was the right person to tell Kardashian’s story authentically and sincerely.
Van Meter, who began working on the book in 2021, spent five years interviewing Kardashian and members of her family, including her siblings, mother Kris Jenner, and stepparent Caitlyn Jenner. The biography explores Kardashian's multifaceted persona and her impact on contemporary celebrity culture, which she helped shape through her extensive social media presence and entrepreneurial ventures. As an authorized biography, it portrays Kardashian with a nuance that goes beyond tabloid headlines, emphasizing her resilience and determination in the face of public scrutiny.
Throughout his career, Van Meter has gained a reputation for intimate profiles of prominent women, including Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, and Jennifer Lawrence. He is recognized for his ability to foster trust and convey warmth in his writing, qualities that have encouraged high-profile figures to open up to him. Van Meter attributes his rapport with Kardashians and others to his intention to celebrate his subjects while capturing their complexities.
The book touches on several pivotal chapters in Kardashian’s life, such as her 2019 Vogue cover story and work at the White House to secure clemency for Alice Johnson, a nonviolent drug offender. Van Meter emphasizes that despite criticism linking Kardashian to former President Donald Trump’s administration, she was motivated more by compassion than politics. He also chronicles her widely publicized divorce from rapper Kanye West amid his increasingly erratic behavior and controversial statements.
Central to the biography is Kardashian’s childhood, marked by a privileged yet turbulent upbringing in Beverly Hills. Her parents’ divorce and the reverberations of the O.J. Simpson trial, in which her father Robert Kardashian served as a defense lawyer and her mother was connected to the victim’s circle, are portrayed as formative experiences shaping her drive and resilience. Kardashian herself has acknowledged that reflecting on her life with Van Meter helped her realize the extent of her personal growth over the years.
The book also addresses the aftermath of the 2006 sex tape that significantly elevated Kardashian’s public profile. Van Meter presents evidence that she was aware of the tape’s financial success and maintains a neutral stance regarding her role in its release, suggesting that questions around this remain unresolved.
Van Meter’s approach to writing celebrity profiles rejects adversarial journalism in favor of storytelling that respects the subject’s humanity. His work with Kardashian stands as a testament to that style, aiming to provide readers with a fuller understanding of a figure often reduced to tabloid caricature, and highlighting her as a complex individual who has played a pioneering role in the digital age of fame.