News summary produced by Claude AI
Mary Jo Campbell, the mother of Kris Jenner and matriarch of the Kardashian-Jenner family, died at 91. Jenner announced her passing on Thursday through social media, stating that the family said goodbye to her “beautiful Mommy MJ.” No cause of death was disclosed at the time of announcement. Campbell was born in 1934 and had been a fixture in the family’s reality television ventures since Keeping Up with the Kardashians premiered in 2007.
Campbell had two children with Kris Jenner being one of them. Her other child, Karen Houghton, died of cardiac arrest in March 2024 at age 65. As a grandmother and great-grandmother to members of the famous family including Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe Kardashian, as well as Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Campbell made numerous appearances across the family’s reality programs including Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Kardashians series on Hulu.
In her tribute, Kris Jenner described her mother as instrumental in shaping who she had become, writing that there was not a part of her that wasn’t shaped by her mother. Kim Kardashian also paid homage to her grandmother on social media, calling her a best friend and crediting her with instilling values about family, work ethic, and business acumen. Kim noted that her grandmother gave her an early job at her San Diego retail store, lessons she credited with helping her throughout her career as a businesswoman and entrepreneur.
Throughout her appearances on the family’s reality programs over the years, Campbell developed her own following among viewers, known for her witty remarks and candid advice to family members. The family celebrated her 90th birthday on The Kardashians series with a hotel party in San Diego, California, where she reflected on her greatest accomplishment being her two daughters.