Mary Jo Houghton

Background

When she was 15, Mary Jo Houghton enrolled in fashion school to learn the fundamentals of the industry. Although she did not share her works, her grandchildren inherited her talent and are now among the 21st-century trendsetters. Houghton has never revealed any information about her parents and it’s also unknown whether she has any siblings. After she graduated from high school, the man she had been dating for four years proposed to her. She later realized the marriage was not for her and decided to get a divorce.

Houghton’s second husband was Robert Houghton. He was born on May 12, 1931, in San Diego, California, and died in March 1975 when he was in his forties. True was named after him by her granddaughter, Khloe Kardashian. Houghton’s third marriage was to Harry Shannon. When Houghton married Shannon, a well-known businessman, he acted as a father figure to her daughters, Kris Jenner and Karen Houghton. Unfortunately, he died in a car accident in 2003, after nearly forty years of marriage to Houghton. Houghton has seven grandchildren between her two daughters, Kris and Karen. Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Robert Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, and Nattalie Zettel are her grandchildren. All of her grandchildren except Kendall and Natalie have children, making her a great-grandmother too. To honor her grandmother, Kylie named one of her red shade lipsticks after her grandmother during her Kylie Cosmetics campaign.

Houghton attended Charms School Fashionality to study fashion. She went on to become a model. She opened her own children’s clothing store,
Shannon & Co., in La Jolla, California, in 1980 — the store has been in business for 46 years. When her husband died in 2003, M.J. wanted to close the store, but Kris refused and offered to run it for her. Kris’ management abilities appeared to be present at a young age. Houghton can also be seen in episodes of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” where she shows her adorable personality. Houghton also appeared as a model in Kim Kardashian West concealer kits, which were released on March 23, 2018.