..[and] if we wanted to keep it, we had to work hard," she has said.

For Kim Kardashian, that has translated into a number of different things, from wardrobe stylist to actress. She's even stepped into the business world herself, forming Kimsaprincess Productions, LLC., which has seen the release of three successful workout videos starring—you guessed it—Kim Kardashian.

In 2006, Kardashian went back into business with her family when she and her two sisters opened the boutique shop D-A-S-H (derived from the family's last name) in Calabasas, California. A showcase of the owners' own personal styles, the store features some of the sisters' favorite American designers.

Unlike some of her fellow targets of paparazzi obsession, Kardashian married young. In 2000, she wed music producer Damon Thomas. The marriage ended after four years. In subsequent years, Kardashian has had a string of high profile boyfriends, including singer Nick Lachey and New Orleans Saints running back, Reggie Bush.

But it was with hip-hop artist Ray J., whom she dated for three years, which sparked the most attention. In early 2007, a video of Kardashian and the rapper in bed made it into the hands of Vivid Entertainment, a large adult film company. Vivid, which paid $1 million for rights to the 30-minute tape, widely promoted the release of the video, which it called Kim Kardashian Superstar. Kardashian quickly countered with legal action, suing for invasion of privacy. But in May 2007, three months after the video's debut, she agreed to a $5 million settlement.

"It definitely puts you in a category that I would wish upon no one," Kim Kardashian later said on The Tyra Banks Show. "Your reputation is all that you have, and if people prejudge you over something that you did, than that kind of sticks with you a long time."

Around the time of the video's release, Kardashian started making her way onto the television screen for something completely different, when the E! Network debuted a new reality TV series called Keeping up with the Kardashians.

Produced by American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, the show follows the lives of Kim, her sisters, her brother Robert Jr., Bruce and Kris Jenner, and the couple's two young daughters, Kendall and Kylie. In one memorable episode from the first season, Kim discusses with her family an offer from Playboy to appear nude in the magazine. Kardashian eventually agreed to do it, and bared it all for the publication in the December 2007 issue.

Which, in a way, represents just how far Kardashian has come in terms of confidence about her own body. A big part of the Kardashian brand is her curves, something she wasn't always so enamored with, she admits. "I used to say my prayers before bed and pray I would stop developing," she told Playboy. That's apparently changed. "You always see the typical skinny models and I'm not that and I'm proud not to be that," she said following the shoot.

Since then, Kim Kardashian's celebrity status has only grown. The woman who became the most Googled celebrity in 2008, ending Britney Spears' four-year-run, signed on to become the face of Bongo Jeans in 2008. In March 2009 Kardashian launched a shoe shopping service that taps into the expertise of Hollywood's most revered stylists. In addition, there are plans for the debut of her own perfume line.

In 2010, she became involved with Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo when two were caught seen kissing in a restaurant in Madrid in late April 2010.