Young people in China have found a digital lucky charm in Kris Jenner
BEIJING — Young Chinese hoping to increase their chances of success have a new digital lucky charm: American reality TV star Kris Jenner.
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Gen Z social media users are channeling the “mommy” energy of the wealthy Kardashian-Jenner matriarch to manifest their own prosperity in a tough economy. Images of Jenner, 70, have proliferated in recent days on Chinese platforms such as Weibo, Xiaohongshu and Douyin, most often in profile photos or wallpapers.
Digitally transformed into a CEO in a suit, a doctor in a white coat, or a Ph.D. student dressed in a graduation gown, she is a shape-shifting symbol reflecting users’ different career goals.
Photos of Jenner, who is believed to have a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars, are often superimposed on images of dollar bills or captioned in English with phrases such as “Let’s show up” or “Let’s stay rich, stay to kill.” On Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, a hashtag that translates to #KrisJennerManifestation has garnered nearly 2.7 million views.
“Using your photo as your profile picture gives off that ‘I’m a force to be reckoned with’ vibe,” said Chichi Xu, a student at Shanghai University. Xu said she uses the image to help her feel more confident, especially when talking to her research supervisor.
“The look in her eyes is lively – it looks like a powerful woman evaluating you. I want this image to make people take me seriously,” Xu added.
Even if the memes are meant to be playful, the desire for luck is completely serious. Young Chinese people face a very competitive job market and are trying to stay competitive amid slowing economic growth.
Digital optimism contrasts with the “stay flat” mentality that has prevailed for years among young Chinese who turn inward in the face of social and economic pressures, doing only the bare minimum necessary to survive.
Chinese social media users say Jenner’s memes reflect the belief that luck and opportunities could eventually come their way if they can attract them.
“For me, manifestation is really about believing in the power of belief itself,” said George Zhao, a 23-year-old student from Shandong province, who hopes Jenner’s vibes can help him succeed in a paper on environmental science he is writing. “People joke that they want Jenner’s nine-figure assets, but I think it’s also a kind of positive self-orientation.”
Jenner — mother of Kourtney Kardashian Barker, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian and Rob Kardashian, as well as Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner — It is not known that he ever visited China. But she is well known here as the mastermind of her family’s entertainment and business empire. Social media users dubbed her the “Empress Dowager,” a reference to the woman who ruled China through her young son during the Qing dynasty in the late 19th century.
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Chinese influencer Marcelo Wang, who teaches Mandarin and explains Chinese pop culture to international audiences, said in a video last week that Jenner is popular in China because she is “one of the hardest-working businesswomen in the United States and the Chinese really respect hard work.”
Jenner herself acknowledged the trend, commenting “Y’all are doing amazing, darling!!!!!” on one of Wang’s Instagram videos in reference to his catchphrase from the family’s reality shows.
Viral memes and clips from “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and other shows have further boosted the family’s online presence in China. Kim Kardashian, founder of fashion brand Skims, speaks to Chinese fans on RedNote and the brand is steadily gaining popularity in the country.
Jenner may be the new face of luck, but she’s just part of China’s long-standing tradition of Gen Z praying for fortune. Other symbolic gestures they have adopted include using phone cases depicting the Chinese god of wealth, reposting images of golden fish traditionally associated with prosperity, and visiting temples to pray for success in their careers, studies, or relationships.
As the Year of the Horse approached this year, some Chinese decorated their homes with pictures of Draco Malfoy, a character from the “Harry Potter” films, because “Malfoy” sounds like “lucky horse” in Chinese.
Jenner is also not the first foreign woman to be seen as a role model in China due to her and her family’s business success, with Maye Musk – the mother of tech billionaire Elon Musk – also gaining a large following online.
Danica Lu, a 23-year-old computer science student from Guangzhou, said she hoped to attract some luck from Jenner, an “accomplished and powerful woman”, as she searched for a job.
She realizes that relying on luck is far from enough. “You always have to rely on your own work. As they say in Chinese, iron only becomes strong when hammered,” Lu said.
But for many, the first step toward changing their fortunes might be changing their profile picture to that of Kris Jenner.
