How Kylie Jenner Became a Millennial Icon

She's just 18, but could Kylie Jenner be the savviest of her famous older sister? Inside her hot media and retail empire, where millennial fans and brands want in.

- Emma Bazilian

There are few narratives in modern celebrity culture as unexpected as the ascent of the Kardashian-Jenner family. When they first appeared on America’s televisions in 2007 as the stars of E!’s reality series Keeping Up With the Kardashians, few could have guessed that within nine years, daughter Kim would become a massive, global celebrity; that patriarch (and former Olympian) Bruce would transition to Caitlyn; that matriarch Kris would sit atop a billion-dollar empire—or that the youngest daughter, Kylie, just 9 when the show launched, would find herself an online superstar, budding entrepreneur and millennial icon.

Now 18, Jenner is the embodiment of an entirely new type of celebrity, one that didn’t exist only a few years ago. Her massive celebrity is not based in any type of legacy medium (although she appears on KUWTK, the show is far less essential to her than to her older sisters), any aspiration to be an entertainer (she has expressed little interest in acting, singing or hosting) or the creation of digital content (unlike major online celebs like PewDiePie and Bethany Mota, Jenner didn’t accrue her fan base via YouTube videos or blogs). Rather, her celebrity—and increasingly valuable brand—stems merely from the image she presents across social media.