Who is Kim Kardashian’s glamorous grandma, Mary Jo Campbell, aka ‘MJ’? Kris Jenner’s 89-year-old mum was a model who has been married thrice, appeared on KUTWK, and owned a kid’s clothing store (TR)

Three generations of Kardashians: Kim Kardashian (top), her mum Kris Jenner (right) and her grandma Mary Jo Campbell (left). Photo: @maryjo_campbell/Instagram

Pretty much every member of the Kardashian-Jenner family has experienced some sort of spotlight on their lives, with some individuals (i.e. Kim, Khloé, Kourtney, Kylie and Kendall) getting more attention than others.

The Kardashian-Jenner clan back in the day, with grandma Mary Jo “MJ” Campbell (centre). Photo: @krisjenner/Instagram

But if you go back a couple of generations, before “momager” Kris Jenner, you’ll find that even their grandma Mary Jo Campbell, aka “MJ”, is equally as glamorous as her famous grandchildren.

Mary Jo Campbell (centre) with her family members in May 2022. Photo: @maryjo_campbell/Instagram

And if she looks familiar to you, that’s because she probably is – MJ was one of the crowd favourites to appear in Keeping Up with the Kardashians over the years. And when she’s not stealing the show on reality TV episodes, she’s being featured on her clan’s Instagram accounts.

Kris Jenner posted this photo with her mum, Mary Jo Campbell, to celebrate the latter’s birthday in July 2021. Photo: @krisjenner/Instagram

Here’s what we know about the Kardashian-Jenner grandma – who’s 89 years old and still thriving.

Mary Jo Campbell has been married three times

A young Mary Jo Campbell. Photo: @krisjenner/Instagram

It’s not just Kim who’s been married thrice in the family. Per People, Arkansas-born MJ married her first husband, her high school sweetheart, when she was just 18, but they went their separate ways after just two months.

The Kardashian-Jenner clan back in the day. Photo: @krisjenner/Instagram

“We have so much in common. History repeats itself,” MJ was quoted saying to Kim on the Skims’ founder’s website and app in 2017. “I can’t believe it because I was married for two months at 18. Right out of high school I was given an engagement ring, a guy I had been going with for four years,” MJ said. “And then I just thought, ‘You know what? This isn’t really that much fun,’ so I got out of it.”

Mary Jo Campbell (pictured) has been married thrice – just like her granddaughter, Kim Kardashian. Photo: @maryjo_campbell/Instagram

Not long after, MJ married Robert Houghton. The former couple welcomed Kris in 1955, and Kris’ sister Karen Houghton in 1958, per People.

MJ and Robert got divorced when Kris was seven, and MJ ended up tying the knot again, the time with Harry Shannon, whom she stayed with until his tragic death in 2003 in a car crash, states the source.

She has two children

MJ had two children with her second husband – Kris Jenner, the popular “momager” credited as the mastermind behind the Kardashian-Jenners’ hugely successful empire, and Karen, who has been described by the media as the “mysterious” sister to Kris.

She’s very close with her family

Kris Jenner, Mary Jo Campbell and Kim Kardashian posed for a shoot together in 2018. Photo: @maryjo_campbell/Instagram

It goes without saying that this granny appears to be very tight-knit with her famous family. Besides regularly featuring on her daughter and grandchildren’s Instagram accounts (with many of them having tens if not hundreds of millions of followers each), she was also asked to be one of two witnesses present for Kourtney and Travis Barker’s official courthouse nuptials in Santa Monica in 2022, per People.

What did Kris Jenner’s mum do for a living?

Mary Jo Campbell and Kris Jenner make a glam mum-daughter pair indeed. Photo: @krisjenner/Instagram

According to People, MJ was a model in her youth who went on to own a children’s clothing store for decades. The now-closed boutique was called Shannon & Company and first opened in 1980, in La Jolla, San Diego, California.

Mary Jo Campbell and her daughter Kris Jenner share an entrepreneurial spirit. Photo: @krisjenner/Instagram

In 2017, Jenner told Haute Living, “My mum has a children’s clothing store – for 45 years. It’s called Shannon & Company, and I used to work there when I was young.”

Is Mary Jo Campbell rich?

Kris Jenner and Mary Jo Campbell, living that glam life. Photo: @krisjenner/Instagram

While MJ’s wealth seems tiny compared to that of her daughter and grandkids, her bank balance is certainly better off than most. Per The Things, she has a net worth of about US$5 million.