Mary Jo Campbell, the mother of the Kardashian-Jenner “momager” Kris Jenner, has died aged 91.
Jenner, 70, announced the news on Thursday on social media: “Today, we said goodbye to my beautiful Mommy MJ.”
No cause of death was immediately provided. Campbell, also known as MJ Shannon, appeared on the family’s reality programmes multiple times since they were first brought into the spotlight with Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which premiered in 2007.
“She taught us that family is everything. She showed us how to love unconditionally and how to find joy in the little moments. She showed me how to face life’s challenges with resilience and faith,” Jenner wrote.
The great-grandmother had two children, Kris Jenner and Karen Houghton. Karen Houghton died of cardiac arrest in March 2024 at 65.
MJ – grandmother to Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, along with Kendall and Kylie Jenner – has appeared over the years with her daughter and grandchildren across their Keeping Up With the Kardashians reality series and The Kardashians show.
The matriarch was born in 1934 and died just shy of her 92nd birthday on 26 July. The family celebrated her 90th birthday on The Kardashians series on Hulu, with floral decor at a hotel party in San Diego, California.
During the episode, MJ said her biggest accomplishment was having her two daughters.
“How wonderful life is when you’re in my world… that’s all of you,” she said.
At the party, Kris Jenner was brought to tears about the prospect of one day losing her mother, calling her “my best friend and I couldn’t live without you”. MJ replied that she wasn’t going anywhere, and would “have to wait for the next one (party)”.
The family honoured her 91st birthday with a garden-themed celebration.
Throughout her appearances on the show over the decades, MJ drew her own fanbase, with her sassy one-liners and sage advice. She would tease her family for their extravagant lifestyles and spoke fiercely about beating cancer twice – something the family admired her for.
“When I look at my kids and my grandkids, I will forever see pieces of you in all of us,” Kris Jenner wrote in a tribute.
“There is not a part of me that isn’t shaped by you. And if I have done anything right in this world, it’s because I spent my life trying to live in a way that would make you proud.”
Kim Kardashian paid tribute to her grandmother on social media, describing her as “my best friend, my gossip buddy, my forever twin”.
“You taught all of us the importance of family, and those values are something we’ll carry with us forever!!!!! You were the woman who showed me what it meant to be a hardworking businesswoman,” the Skims founder wrote.
She added that MJ gave her her first job at her San Diego retail store and taught her lessons about having a work ethic, strength and confidence that she has carried with her ever since.
Alongside sisters Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian’s first reality programme started with the trio launching their clothing store Dash in the upscale southern California city of Calabasas, which has become synonymous with the famous family.
The siblings have since launched numerous ventures in clothing – including Kim’s Skims business and Khloe’s Good American denim brand.
By BBC News
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