Having just profiled anchorman(nequin) Don Lemon in the pages of GQ, Taffy Brodesser-Akner turns her attention to Kris Jenner for the New York Times Magazine. Her work is starting to form a through line.

These subjects are shallow people consumed by what they see in the mirror, but they also reflect, if uncomfortably, who we are and the period we live in. Jenner seems equal parts producer and pimp, but pimpin’ ain’t easy. Without a ton of obvious talent to work with but also unencumbered by a sense of shame, she’s molded her brood into the apotheosis of Andy Warhol’s prediction (warning?) that in the future everyone would be famous for 15 minutes, and she’s made a mockery of that shelf life. 

In that sense the Kardashian-Jenner family members are the most interesting celebrities of our era, because they’re more emblematic of it than anyone else, a harsh, anxious age marked by decentralized media, branding, exhibitionism, narcissism as entrepreneurialism, faces filled and filtered, and banal self-promotion. It’s a moment when the spoils go to the most aggressively remorseless. Maybe someday their stars fall and selfies fade, but the clan has already left a mark on its time–our time. That’s what great performers do.

An excerpt from the largely admiring piece:

There are still people who dismiss Kris Jenner, 59, and her family — Kourtney, Kim and Khloé Kardashian, all in their 30s; her son, Rob Kardashian, 28; and Kendall and Kylie Jenner, 19 and 17 — as “famous for being famous,” a silly reality-show family creating a contrived spectacle. But we have reached the point at which the Jenners and the Kardashians are not famous for being famous: They are famous for the industry that they’ve created, the Kardashian/Jenner megacomplex, which has not just invaded the culture but metastasized into it, with the family members emerging as legitimate businesspeople and Kris the mother-leader of them all.

She is an executive producer of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and its summer spinoffs. She also manages the careers of all six of her children, as well as her own. Without Kris, Kim might not have pulled in a reported $28 million in 2014. Kendall wouldn’t necessarily be an in-demand model, walking runways for Chanel and Marc Jacobs and appearing on the covers of Allure and Harper’s Bazaar. There would most likely be no Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, a choose your own adventure (presuming it’s an adventure Kim Kardashian would go on) game app, starring Kim, that brought in many millions last year, or T-Mobile commercial, or book of selfies (“Selfish”), released this month. Kourtney and Khloé and Kim might not have three retail stores, named Dash, in Los Angeles, New York and Miami; a hair-and-makeup line, Kardashian Beauty; a bronzer line, Kardashian Glow; and Kardashian Kids, a children’s clothing line sold at Babies “R” Us and Nordstrom. Kendall and Kylie might not have licensing deals with PacSun, Steve Madden, Topshop and Sugar Factory, where they each have signature lollipops and several contractual agreements to appear at the candy stores. Rob, the lone brother, would probably not have a sock company that features socks that say things like “LOVE HURTS” and “YOLO” or sell adult onesies at places like Macy’s. There would not be seven perfumes in Kim’s name, or Khloé’s perfume with Lamar Odom, Unbreakable, which is still available, though their marriage has ended. There would be no endorsement deals, either: things like OPI nail polish and a “waist trainer” that Khloé and Kim model on their Instagram account. It is entirely possible that without Kris Jenner and all her wisdom over the years, all the attention she has garnered for her family, 16.9 million people would not have tuned in on April 24 to watch her ex-husband Bruce tell Diane Sawyer that he is transgender. 

The thing is, no one in her family knew what they were doing until Kris took charge.•