The Stunning Transformation Of Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Kardashian has undergone a stunning transformation. The United States might not have a royal family like England does, but it certainly has its fair share of Hollywood royalty. And when it comes to the first family of reality television, there's no question that it's the Kardashians. Since the mid-2000s, viewers have been following the exploits and ongoings of the clan on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, showing America what it's like to be one of the beautiful people.

While Kim Kardashian might get the most attention, and Kylie Jenner is an unparalleled makeup mogul, Kourtney has a flavor that's all her own. Known for being super focused on wellness and all things natural, Kourtney has truly come into her prime, showing that she's her own woman aside from her last name. That's not easy to do when you're a member of one of the most popular families in the world!

So what was Kourtney like before all the fame? How is she like her sisters, and how does she differ? And what are her hopes and dreams for the future now that Keeping Up With the Kardashians is over? Read on to find out!

On April 18, 1979, Kourtney Kardashian was born in Los Angeles, California, as noted by Biography. The eldest Kardashian sibling had a charmed life from the start, as her parents — Robert and Kris Kardashian (at the time) — were very well to do, thanks to her father's status as a famous lawyer.

However, a decade after her birth, Kourtney's parents split up, and her mother re-married renowned olympian Caitlyn Jenner (who was then known as Bruce Jenner). This resulted in Kourtney becoming part of a large, blended family, with many siblings from several different marriages. Naturally, this transition was a bit difficult for Kourtney, who wasn't exactly thrilled about her new step-parent. "Bruce tried to engage with Kourtney and to parent her as a good stepfather would," the Kardashian's former nanny told the New York Daily News. Added the nanny, "Kourtney wanted nothing to do with it."

All difficulties aside, Kourtney's childhood sounds like it was safe, warm, and full of love.

Kourtney Kardashian and all of her sisters are super glamorous, always keenly aware of (if not setting themselves) the latest fashion and makeup trends. As it turns out, that passion for aesthetics is something that Kourtney started cultivating as a young girl. 

"Kim and I would always play in my mom's bathroom, where she had a vanity and lucite makeup box filled with makeup," Kourtney recalled in an interview with Rose Inc. She continued, saying, "I remember her Saint Laurent lipsticks that had big jeweled red hearts at the ends." You know that had to be exciting, playing with all of Kris Jenner's good makeup.

Mom's bathroom wasn't the only place where Kourtney and her sisters developed their sartorial smarts. In fact, they also spent time in Jenner's designer-packed closet. "We had this game we played," she revealed to Harper's Bazaar. Added Kourtney, "I was Donna Karan and [Kim] was my assistant, and I was really bossy." What else would you do in a closet full of Chanel as a kid?

After Kourtney Kardashian grew from a child into young woman, she attended Mary Mount High School in Los Angeles until her graduation in 1998, according to Biography. Then she headed to college at Southern Methodist University in Texas, later transferring to the University of Arizona, where she received her bachelor's degree in 2002.

By the time Keeping Up with the Kardashians exploded on E! in 2007, rendering all of the Kardashians mega-celebs, Kourtney already been on reality television — but this was something else entirely. "I just didn't really think about it," she recalled in an interview with Paper. Kourtney continued, "I never thought it was going to become this thing, but everything just happened so quickly from when we shot the sizzle reel or whatever." She added that she show was so impactful that it got the green light seemingly overnight.

Once the floodgates had opened and America's obsession with the Kardashian clan ignited, several spin-off shows followed, making Kourtney a household name and face for the rest of her life.

Kourtney Kardashian found love while on vacation in Mexico in 2006, just before the first season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians debuted in 2007, as noted by Us Weekly. So once the cameras started rolling, fans of the Kardashians were also introduced to boyfriend Scott Disick, who frequently appeared in both that show and its spin-offs with Kourtney.

It was evident from the start, however, that the on-again, off-again couple didn't always have the easiest time making things work. Kourtney even accused Scott of cheating on one occasion, and spats between the pair were not unheard of. Still, the pair did have moments of genuine tenderness, which made fans hopeful that the romance would one day lead to wedding bells.

Unfortunately for fans of the couple, any hopes of that were dashed during the Season 1 finale of Kourtney and Kim Take New York, when the pair discussed marriage over dinner, Kourtney put the kibosh on Scott's engagement ambitions. "Why mess it up?" Kourtney asked Scott. She continued, saying, "I just feel like right now I'm happy with the way things are."

While Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick didn't wind up getting married, they still had three children together: Mason, Penelope, and Reign Disick. 

According to Kourtney, becoming a mother was one of the best things she ever did. "It has changed me and made me realize there is nothing else I would rather do with my time," she gushed in a chat with Parents. Kourtney continued, saying, "Being a mom is what life is about."

In addition to filling her life with love and purpose, motherhood has also helped Kourtney get in touch with her own inner-child. "I actually think my favorite part is that you relive your own childhood — going to Disneyland and watching all the movies I watched when I was a kid," she shared with Harper's Bazaar. Added the successful reality star, "It's really fun — you almost get to be a kid again and do all those magical things." As the Kardashian sister revealed, that also includes sharing the books she loved as a child with her own kids. 

Kourtney Kardashian, like her fellow, famous sisters, has an enviable figure. Naturally, however, when Kourtney was pregnant, her body type changed as she nurtured the child growing inside of her. 

"I gained exactly 40 pounds with all three of my pregnancies, but my body and my experience after having each of my kids was so different," Kourtney penned in a blog post. She added that with each gestation, she wasn't in the same place physically, mentally, or even emotionally. In order for Kourtney to return to her original size and shape, she did various intense workouts after each child was born. Sometimes that meant a lot of hard cardio like jump-roping, and sometimes that meant doing lighter exercises, like yoga. "The most important thing is to listen to your body and to do what you're doing for you, not for society's standards of getting your body back, because they are unrealistic," Kourtney continued. Added the reality star, "This was my journey."

Kourtney also cites breastfeeding as a significant calorie burner, something she did for as long as she could.

Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick's relationship was full of ups and downs, and eventually the two decided to call it off completely.

In 2015, after nearly a decade, Kourtney and Scott officially split up, and soon started seeing other people. However, their split doesn't mean they're not experts at the whole co-parenting thing. In fact, quite the opposite is true. "We try to do as much with the kids together as possible," Kourtney explained in an interview with Cosmopolitan. She continued, saying, "He pretty much comes here every day."

Additionally, Scott has basically become part of the family himself, especially since both of his parents have passed away, and he has no siblings. That renders the Kardashian clan his de facto family, which fortunately, Kourtney isn't bothered by. "They're in the loop if I am annoyed at him," she continued. Added the reality star, "But if he needs to talk to them, I think it's only beneficial to us keeping a good relationship." That's certainly a mature approach that puts the kids first!

Pretty much everything that Kourtney Kardashian does is scrutinized by the public, given that she's a member of American's favorite reality television family. 

With that in mind, it makes sense that Kourtney is something of an open book about things that others might not be, including her struggles with anxiety. "For the past three years I've been going to therapy," she revealed in a chat with Health. Kourtney continued, saying, "Having that awareness, I find that I can almost catch things before they become a bigger deal." Way to de-stigmatize getting mental healthcare, Kourtney!

That's not all that the eldest Kardashian does to look out for herself, either. "My workouts are key, too," she continued. Added the reality star, "And I go to church once a week, if I can. I go with friends, and we go to dinner afterward." That helps the self-professed homebody get out of the house, something she has to force herself to do. Hey, if your home was as nice as Kourtney's digs, you might feel the same way!

Kourtney Kardashian hasn't shied away from expressing just how stressful being a mega-famous celebrity can be. While some folks might think that being a Kardashian is all wine and roses, as Kourtney tells it, it actually take quite the toll. This fact was super apparent for the star when she celebrated a specific milestone birthday. 

"There was this pressure, I think of where you think you're supposed to be at a certain age," Kourtney shared with E! News. She continued, saying, "I think, for some reason, 40 for me really made me analyze my life." 

Additionally, the people around Kourtney only made the occasion more difficult, due to their high expectations. "There was intense pressure from everyone. Like, 'You have to look the best you've ever looked walking down the stairs to your party,'" she continued. But given that Kourtney doesn't enjoy being the center of attention, she found herself unsure if she even wanted a party. All stressing aside, Kourtney said that she ended up feeling "really good" when she woke up on her birthday, and that she now "feels amazing."

Kourtney Kardashian has always been known as the hippie of her famous family; after all, she's all about eating and living as clean as possible.

It's no surprise, then, that Kourtney decided to launch her own health and wellness brand in 2019. "There is this image out there of the woman who cares about eating organic and feeding her kids that way that is somehow uncool," Kourtney explained in an interview with Health. She continued, saying, "That's not the case, and I wanted to make something that embodied my passions and interests." Thus, Poosh was born.

The brand, which borrows its moniker from Kourtney's pet name for her daughter, aims to be a community that fosters healthy living for its members. "Poosh is about a way to live, not necessarily which items to buy," Kourtney shared in a chat with Paper. Added the reality star, "But I do like having that, too."

In 2020, Kourtney Kardashian did something that shocked longtime viewers of Keeping Up with the Kardashians: she made the decision to stop appearing on the reality television juggernaut. "I have been filming the show non-stop for 14 years," she told Vogue Arabia. Kourtney continued, saying, "I was feeling unfulfilled, and it became a toxic environment for me to continue to have it occupy as much of my life as it was." For fans, this must have felt akin to how royal devotees reacted to Megxit!

Kourtney's primary motivation for leaving the show was to salvage her privacy, something she values very much, but has found it difficult to get. "People have this misconception that I don't want to work, which isn't true," she continued. 

Added the reality star, "I am following my happiness and putting my energy into that which makes me happy."

When Kourtney Kardashian announced that she'd stepping back from the spotlight, many of her fans wondered how she'd spend her time. 

If you're concerned about all of the extra time Kourtney will undoubtedly have on her hands, don't worry: Chances are that when she's not working on Poosh or posing at a photo shoot, she'll be spending quality time with her little ones. "I always try my absolute best when I'm with my kids not to be on my phone, to be present in what we're doing, and have those moments where you're looking in each other's eyes and connecting," she explained in an interview with Vogue Arabia. Added Kourtney, "It's so important."

That's why Kourtney makes a point to spend a minimum of one day per week just hanging out at home, sleeping in late and staying in PJs all day — and doing activities that don't involve scrolling through Instagram. "Khloé and I, we say when we go to our younger sisters' parties, we're the most fun out of anybody," Kourtney explained. She continued, saying, "It's so true because I think we're more used to not living on our phones."

Kourtney Kardashian has accomplished a lot in her lifetime. She's a reality television star, the mother to three healthy children, a social media magnate (homegirl has more than 100 million Instagram followers!), and an entrepreneur with her own chic lifestyle brand. On top of the stunning good looks that she maintains — and you know that has to take some significant effort — that's a lot to be proud of!

So what would the Kourtney of today tell herself when she was younger, before she was an internationally famous celeb? Believe it or not, she would tell herself to have more faith in herself. 

"I've always been pretty confident, but just to trust more in God's plan and not give any energy to worrying about the future, and just trusting that it will all come together," Kourtney revealed to Jenni Kayne. Of course, this makes sense, as things really have turned out swimmingly for the eldest of the Kardashian children.

Kourtney Kardashian really does seem to have it all. After all, is there anything more glamorous than being a member of the Kardashian family?

Truth be told, it's not as rosy as it may seem, as there's something that Kourtney really misses about life before all of the fame: "People not judging your every move and commenting on it," she shared in an interview with Cosmopolitan. Kourtney continued, saying, "But then, we didn't really have social media before, so would that have just been life anyways?"

That's part of the reason that Kourtney harbors a secret fantasy. "I always say I want to move away someday and just be away from it all," she revealed to Paper. Added the reality star, "[I will] sail away. No one will ever see me again." Whether "sailing away" means she's thinking of running off to Switzerland, Norway, Bali, or Bora Bora, no one knows for sure. But, if Kourtney does up and disappear one day, just know that she'll be happy wherever she lands.