In her biggest acting role, Kim Kardashian drew on her own divorces to play lawyer in All’s Fair

LOS ANGELES – Kim Kardashian knows a thing or two about divorce law.

The 44-year-old American reality star and billionaire businesswoman has been divorced three times – most recently in 2022, when she split from American rapper Kanye West, the 48-year-old father of her four children aged six to 12.

And she channelled the experience of that and her two previous marital break-ups into All’s Fair, a new legal drama where she will play a hotshot divorce lawyer named Allura Grant.

“I feel very well-versed in family law and divorce law – and I was happy to bring my knowledge to the character,” Kardashian says with a knowing smile at a recent Los Angeles press conference.

Co-created by American writer-director Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, 2011 to present) and debuting on Disney+ on Nov 4, the star-studded series follows a team of female divorce attorneys who ditch a male-dominated Hollywood firm and open their own practice.

Co-starring Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson, Glenn Close, Niecy Nash-Betts and Teyana Taylor, it is the biggest acting role yet for Kardashian, whose first scripted television appearance was on the 12th season (2023 to 2024) of horror anthology series American Horror Story.

All’s Fair – on which she and her 69-year-old mother and manager, Kris Jenner, are co-producers – is partly inspired by American celebrity divorce lawyer Laura Wasser.

“Laura was my attorney on two of my divorces,” says Kardashian, whose earlier marriages were to American music producer Damon Thomas, 54, and American former basketball player Kris Humphries, 40.

“Her father was an amazing family law and divorce attorney who was actually my mother’s attorney in her divorce with my dad,” she says, referring to Jenner’s 2015 split from American Olympic gold medallist Bruce Jenner, now known as Caitlyn Jenner. 

Kardashian also took inspiration from her biological father – the late attorney Robert Kardashian, who famously defended American football player and actor O.J. Simpson in the latter’s 1995 murder trial – and began studying to become a lawyer herself six years ago.

“I had conversations with my dad about me going to law school. As a kid, especially during high-profile cases, I was always in his office going through all the crime scene photos.

“So, he knew I was really interested and gave me a lot of advice,” says the star, who did not go to university but apprenticed at a law firm, passed California’s “baby bar” law examination in 2021 on her fourth try, and will hear in November if she passed the full bar.

“And he actually discouraged me from being a lawyer. He said, ‘I know my baby girl – it’s going to stress you out too much,’” she recalls.

“But I think he would be so proud. He was a huge influence for me wanting to be a lawyer, so it’s fun to be able to play that on TV now and connect that with the real-life (female) family-law attorneys I’ve worked with and respect.”

In the show, Kardashian’s character goes through a divorce and clashes with both her husband and his lawyer, played by Paulson, a 50-year-old American actress who starred in American Horror Story.

But asked if she thinks women tend to be at a disadvantage in divorces cases, she says: “I think everybody needs support – I won’t single out women. Anyone that’s going through a separation of their family is going through a hard time.”

Reflecting on how she has handled having her personal life and mistakes play out in the public eye, the celebrity is philosophical.

“I think every person that has done me wrong along the way has played a part in helping me be strong and confident.

“And every person who has been positive and supportive and shown me the way – my sisters, my family, everyone – also has helped me to evolve and grow,” says Kardashian, who founded the billion-dollar shapewear company Skims along with her own skincare and beauty lines.

She remains close to sisters Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, and appears alongside them and their younger half-sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner, as well as mother Kris, on the reality show The Kardashians (2022 to present), the successor series to the original Keeping Up With The Kardashians (2007 to 2021).

“I hate to say there are no regrets because, of course, there are,” Kim Kardashian says. “But I’m happy that I’ve been able to come up with different career paths and learn along the way.”