Despite her family’s made for reality TV antics, Kendall Jenner wants to be taken seriously as a model.
“People think that this [success] just came to me,” Jenner, who has walked the runway for Chanel and Givenchy, told Love magazine (via The Cut). “But it didn’t. What I have has almost worked against me. I had to work even harder to get where I wanted because people didn’t take me seriously as a model. Because of the TV show.”
The 18-year-old recalls a time when being a part of her famous family worked against her. “I went on castings and some people weren’t feeling me because of my name,” said Jenner. “But it was great when people didn’t recognize me. I was like, ‘Thank you. Please don’t recognize me.'”
Older sister Kim Kardashian knows that Jenner has had to prove herself in the modeling industry.
“She had to work extra hard to gain this respect and to fight for people to see she’s serious … Her hard work paid off, and that makes me so proud,” Kardashian said.