Kris Jenner is famous in her own right, but the eclipsing fame of her kids, the Kardashian-Jenner crew, and her former spouse, Caitlyn Jenner, have pushed her to the sidelines more often than not. Although the media understandably focused on then-Bruce’s transition to Caitlyn, Kris was undergoing her own transition as a mom of six, grandmother, and businesswoman.

Whenever you joined the cult following that is the Kardashian-Jenner fan club, you probably already know that Kris was part of the famous O.J. Simpson debacle, but that was just the beginning. Her marriage to lawyer Robert Kardashian ended abruptly after four children together, and mere months later, she was married to famous Olympian Bruce Jenner. It later came out- admitted by the matriarch herself- that Kris cheated on Robert with another man, one who famously turned up during filming Keeping up with the Kardashians.

But there’s more to Kris than her marriages and her children, though her focus throughout her life has centered on those two subjects. She’s a businesswoman and forward-thinker who helped propel her entire family to international star status, and it doesn’t seem like she’s willing to stop now. Between her TV persona and her business smarts, Kris Jenner is a lady to watch. Since we can’t predict what she’ll do next, let’s start with a recap of her evolution over the years.

20 Before They Were Famous

Fame came early in Kris and Robert Kardashian’s lives. While Kris was close friends with O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown, Robert served as part of O.J.’s defense during his trial. Even before the pair had children, they were thrust into the media spotlight. There was even a movie made about Kris’ part in the trial in the TV series American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. Selma Blair played the role of Kris Jenner, and the pair met up on the red carpet, too. But Selma’s not the only celeb Kris has rubbed elbows with- she has plenty of friends in Hollywood, as would later emerge.

19 Baby Kim Makes An Appearance

Kim Kardashian, now Kim Kardashian West, was the second of Robert and Kris’ children. Before becoming a wife and mom, Kris was reportedly a flight attendant for a year. Apart from that, the early years of her marriage revolved around caring for Kim and the couple’s other three kids, Kourtney, Khloe, and Rob. It wasn’t until much later that Kris would find reality TV fame, though her foray into the spotlight with the Simpson trial wasn’t her only brush with the media. Her marriage to, and two additional children with, Olympian Bruce Jenner would give the family even more opportunities for celebrity.

18 Wedding Bells Ringing

Through her 1991 marriage to Bruce Jenner, Kris gained four stepchildren- Burt, Cassandra, Brandon, and Brody. The couple dated for a mere five months before tying the knot. Before his transition to become Caitlyn in 2015, Bruce Jenner was first married to Chrystie Scott from 1972-1981. The couple had son Burt (Burton) and Cassandra together. In 1981, Jenner married Linda Thompson, and the pair had two sons, Brandon and Sam Brody (Brody). By 1986, the pair were separated and later divorced. Bruce and Kris met toward the end of 1990, dating for only five months before getting married in April of 1991- just a month after Kris’ divorce from Robert was finalized.

17 Family In Denim

You can guess at what year it was when this family photo was snapped, marking the unification of the Kardashian and Jenner clans. The denim is overpowering, sure, but the couple lovingly included all their collective kids in the shot. Bruce and Kris had a total of eight children between the two of them, and that was before Kylie and Kendall were born. Kendall arrived in 1995 and Kylie in 1997, with Kendall’s middle name (Nicole) honoring Kris’ late friend Nicole Brown Simpson. Unlike their brother Robert, all the girls were given K names, likely to follow the pattern Kris started with her older girls.

16 Less Glam Mom

Nowadays, it’s unlikely that you’ll catch matriarch Kris in anything that’s not super photogenic. She’s photographed often at events, dressed to the nines, and even her reality TV appearances are carefully made-up. But back in the day, Kris was just a happily married mom to four (plus her stepchildren), and her kids were far less glam then, too. Looking at the Kardashian Jenner clan today, you may not have guessed they used to be a rather normal family that reluctantly posed for media photographs while attending events. To Kris’ credit, most of her family’s fame came not just from husband Bruce’s Olympic past, but also her efforts toward making the family a household name (or names!).

15 More Iconic K’s

With Kylie’s recent journey into motherhood with daughter Stormi Webster, the internet was all abuzz seeking out pics of the youngest Kardashian-Jenner kid as a child. Out came this snap from 1997, with big sis Kim posing in the background, as a still-young Kris holds baby Kendall on her lap and sister Kylie nearby. Kylie was barely two at the time, but Kim was already a teen. The arrival of the youngest two Jenners meant a total of ten kids between Bruce and Kris- and that was before the younger generation started having kids of their own, making the famous fam even bigger.

14 Reality Family Beginnings

Whether you love or hate the Kardashian TV shows, spinoffs, and special events, you have Ryan Seacrest to thank for their reality TV existence. But the original idea came from Kris herself, the all-powerful matriarch of a family full of Instagram models and fashionistas. Back in 2007, Kris pitched the show to Seacrest’s production company, aiming to copy the style of the reality TV show The Osbournes. The Kardashians’ version later became the longest-running reality TV series in the country- and the appearance of Kardashian grandbabies, superstar spouses, and plenty of cheating and other drama probably helped. Still, Kris had forewarned Seacrest that the drama “would be natural”- and the definitely proved to be the case.

13 TV Personality Turned Author

Although television appearances are a huge part of Kris’ enterprise, her Wikipedia page also titles her as a television producer, talent manager, businesswoman, and socialite. Who knew being a socialite was a career, right? But with her daughters’ success, it only follows that Kris would have the same social chops to promote products, services, and write books- making a killing just for being herself in the public eye. She’s written two books, so “author” should be another title for the mom mogul- she wrote both an autobiography and a cookbook in between filming for TV, taking care of the grandbabies, and more.

12 Talk Show Time With MIL

While you may have noticed Kanye West is reluctant to speak with the media most times, his wife’s reality TV persona requires that he indulge the fans a little. So when it came time to announce North West’s arrival, Kanye chose his mother-in-law’s short-lived talk show to broadcast the tot’s first pic, the Daily Beast reported. The pair is reportedly close, with Kris worrying over Kanye’s mental state and his “erratic” behavior. Some tabloids report “explosive” fights between the two, but they always seem to make up in the end. That’s good news for Kim because of her close relationship with her mom- and grandma’s relationship with the kids- obviously takes center stage.

11 Selfies With Kim

Despite all the drama over the years within the Kardashian-Jenner clan, it seems like the girls, at least, appreciate their mom’s early work toward securing their futures. Kim, for example, was the first Kardashian that most of America was focused on when the family’s show began. She was a “socialite” who posed for Instagram and was friends with celebrities- most notably Paris Hilton in her early media days as a stylist. But as Kim grew into her own, she still credited Kris with much of her success, keeping mom in the loop and, of course, in the spotlight alongside her.

10 A Kardashian Christmas

Although the public’s fascination with the Kardashians could have fizzled out years ago, the fact that the family keeps growing helps maintain interest. While many women would probably want to slow down as they become grandparents, Kris is the opposite. She’s impressively active in all her kids’ and grandkids’ lives, and we’d bet she commissioned this Kardashian Christmas card with all her girls. While Kylie is noticeably absent (pregnancy reclusion, perhaps), three generations of the fam are present for the holiday snap. You have to give Kris credit for keeping everyone together, despite their global jet-setting and business ventures.

9 Grandma On Duty

If you thought Kris would “retire” from daily living as she gets older (she’s in her sixties, if you can believe it), that’s not the case. She’s been photographed for years out with her grandkids, though sometimes you can spot a nanny or two in attendance. We get it though- parenting is hard enough- try grandparenting when your grandkids are the kids of your celebrity kids! It’s been a long time since Kris was raising her own brood, but she seems right at home carting North, Penelope, and Reign around with her. Fortunately, she knows enough to not take on the whole crew at once- she has a whopping nine grandkids between all her children- and Kendall hasn’t had a baby yet.

8 Not-So-Sweet Sixteen

During a time when most parents would lament how “old” they’re getting, Kris instead decides to photobomb one of her daughters (Kourtney) at her other daughter’s (Kylie’s) sweet sixteen party. Thanks to Scott and Kourtney's PDA, though, we can't share that image here. But we’ll bet Kylie’s sixteenth was an event to remember- the Kardashian-Jenners have always done it big when it comes to birthdays, especially those captured by reality TV. That said, most moms wouldn’t be so happy to pop in on their grown daughter’s PDA session with her partner.

7 A Daughter In Law At Last?

When Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna got together, mama Kris seemed thrilled! After all, she’s had plenty of experience with daughters and sons-in-law, but so far, no lady had ever snagged her only son long-term. Rob’s two-year relationship with actress Adrienne Bailon was documented on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but Rob’s subsequent illnesses and diabetes diagnosis stole the spotlight. Later, Rob and Chyna dated for three months before announcing Chyna’s pregnancy. The relationship spanned less than a year, including Chyna’s pregnancy, but that didn’t stop Kris from trying to get cozy with her potential daughter-in-law. However, it ultimately wasn’t meant to be.

6 Posing For Pregnancy Shots

Although Blac Chyna wound up needing a C-section to delivery baby Dream, proud grandma-to-be was on hand for some perfectly-posed labor shots. In stark contrast with recent events, Kris was positively pally with son Rob’s lady, even though Rob and Blac Chyna have had more than a few relationship troubles over the years. While the animosity began back when his younger sister Kylie was dating Tyga, the father of Blac Chyna’s older child, the birth of Dream helped relieve tensions for a bit as all the Kardashian-Jenners became doting aunties and grandma. Unfortunately, the peace didn’t last for long, though who would expect it to.

5 Court Cases And Custody

While Rob and Blac Chyna’s relationship problems and custody dispute were at the forefront of the media storm after Dream was born, another type of drama emerged after. Blac Chyna filed a lawsuit claiming that Kim Kardashian West and Kris Jenner were blocking the production of Chyna and Rob’s reality TV show endeavor. Rob & Chyna documented Dream’s birth and the couple’s lives together, but it ended before Chyna was ready. A judge noted that there wasn’t a contract in place for a second season and threw out the lawsuit on that basis, People reported. That didn’t end the custody dispute over baby Dream, though, so there’s likely more drama in store for Rob and Chyna.

4 Mourning Her Second Husband

While Kris and her ex Robert Kardashian reportedly remained friends following their divorce, he passed away from esophageal cancer in 2003. But after 22 years together, she and Bruce Jenner moved to end their marriage, following Jenner’s coming out as transgender in 2015. While Caitlyn, formerly Bruce, has moved on, the Independent quoted Kris as saying, “I just miss Bruce… I’m confused what happens to Bruce… I look at pictures of you and the kids and I get really sad… Bruce died.” Kris goes on to explain that she needs time to mourn the relationship and come to terms with Caitlyn’s transition.

3 Supportive Ex-Spouse

Although Kris admittedly had a difficult time facing Caitlyn’s transition, especially since it happened in full view of the media, she also told her ex-spouse that at the end of the day, it wasn’t about Kris’ feelings. She told Caitlyn, “Live the happiest life you can live… That’s all I care about… You were a great dad, a great friend, a great partner.” Though media appearances by the pair have been few and far between since Bruce’s transition, Caitlyn and Kris will always be part of each other’s lives through their children and grandchildren.

2 Grandma Times Nine

With the birth of Kylie’s daughter, Stormi Webster, Kris became a grandma for the ninth time! Elle did a breakdown of the Kardashian-Jenner grandkids because you need an entire magazine article to comprehend it. They even left a space for Kendall’s kids- hint, hint! The first Kardashian kiddo was Kourtney’s son Mason with ex Scott Disick. The pair later had daughter Penelope and son Reign as well. Kim also has three kids, with eldest daughter North pairing off with Penelope most often since the girls are so close in age. Then came son Saint and most recently, daughter Chicago through surrogacy. Of course, Khloe has her own tot now- daughter True, and there’s Rob’s daughter Dream, too.

1 Adventures In Post-Divorce Dating

Although Kris took her divorce from Caitlyn Jenner hard, exclaiming that it was as if her former husband, Bruce, had died, she seems to have recovered nicely from the shock. Although she maintains that her former husband’s gender transition was a complete surprise, Kris isn’t the lady to sit around feeling sorry for herself. Plus, her most recent boyfriend is the perfect guy to help her feel young- Corey Gamble is 25 years younger than the deceptively young-looking grandma. Though they dated for four years, tabloids are now reporting that the pair has split up- leaving fans to wonder what’s next for Kris.

References: The Daily Beast, Independent, People, Elle