Kimberly Noel Kardashian was born in Los Angeles, California on October 21, 1980, to parents Robert and Kris (née Houghton). She has an older sister Kourtney, a younger sister Khloé, and a younger brother Rob. Their mother is of Dutch, English, and Scottish ancestry, their father was a third-generation Armenian American.

In October 2007, Kardashian, in addition to her mother Kris; her step-father Bruce; her siblings Kourtney, Khloé, and Rob; and half-sisters Kendall and Kylie were commissioned by E! to star in the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians.The series proved successful for E!, and has led to the creations of spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take New York and Kourtney and Kim Take Miami.That December, Kardashian posed for a nude pictorial for Playboy.

2010 saw Kardashian venture into several new endorsement deals, including endorsing various food products for Carl's Jr. Beginning in early 2010, Kardashian and her sisters designed and developed clothing lines for Bebe stores and 'Virgins, Saints, and Angels'. In January 2010, she starred as Summa Eve in the film Deep in the Valley. In April, Kardashian sparked controversy over the way she held a kitten for a photograph, holding it by the scruff of its neck.

Kardashian also began dating American rapper and longtime friend Kanye West in April, though she remained legally married to Humphries. In October 2012, Kardashian released her fifth fragrance, "Glam", which "draws on the glamour of her Hollywood lifestyle", and was made available through Debenhams. In November, Kardashian and her sisters internationally launched the 'Kardashian Collection' in England, as well as launching a line of cosmetics, 'Khroma Beauty'. On December 31, 2012, Kardashian and West announced that she was pregnant with the couple's first child, a girl. In February 2013, a judge ruled that Kardashian's divorce case with Humphries would go to trial, and set a trial date for May. However, on April 19, 2013, 536 days after Kardashian's initial divorce filing, she and Humphries reached an undisclosed divorce settlement, avoiding a trial. The divorce was legally finalized on June 3, 2013

In March 2012, Kardashian debuted her fourth fragrance, titled "True Reflection", which she worked with the company Dress for Success to promote. That month, Kardashian and her sisters were named in a $5 million class action lawsuit against QuickTrim, the weight loss supplement they endorse. The complaint, filed in theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses the Kardashians (along with QuickTrim's manufacturer, Windmill Health Products; the retailer GNC; and others in the sales and marketing chain) of false and deceptive marketing of the diet aid. The plaintiffs, hailing from several states, brought claims under their respective states' consumer protection laws. In April, E! renewed Keeping Up with the Kardashians for two additional seasons, in a deal reported to be worth $50 million.

Kardashian gave birth to her daughter with West, named North West, on June 15 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, five weeks prior to her due date. Kardashian and West became engaged on October 21, Kardashian's 33rd birthday, when West rented out AT&T Park in San Francisco and projected a proposal message on the stadium screen in front of Kardashian's assembled friends and family members. On May 24, 2014, Kardashian and West married at Fort di Belvedere in Florence, Italy.