Claire Leeson is clearly keeping up with Kim Kardashian. The Essex, England resident told ITV’s This Morning on Monday, July 14, that she has spent nearly £20,000 ($30,000) on plastic surgery to mimic the reality TV superstar’s face and body.
“When I get my Kimmy on I feel like I’m unstoppable,” Leeson, 24, told the program.
Her obsession began back in 2009, when she first watched Kardashian’s popular E! reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians. “I was told every day that I was the ‘ugliest thing alive’ and I should kill myself,” Leeson recalled of being bullied. “When I left school, friends would tell me that I had a resemblance to Kim. I watched [Keeping Up] and realized I had the same amount of siblings and that we have the same kind of arguments and things going on. I thought she was so beautiful and I really wanted to be like her.”
To accomplish her goal, Leeson underwent extensive work to channel the 33-year-old mother to North West and wife to Kanye West. “I’ve had my teeth whitened, then I wanted my boobs enhanced,” Leeson told ITV, adding that she had pictures of Kim and “explained to my surgeon that I wanted to look like this.”
Along with those surgical procedures, she also spent thousands of dollars on spray tanning sessions, hair extensions, clothing, makeup, and even, a special butt pad to give her behind a boost like the famous Mrs. Kardashian-West.
Leeson, who’s become an Internet celebrity for her Kardashian obsession, has unsurprisingly posted countless Instagram selfies where she mimics Kim. In the snapshots, Leeson flutters her fake eyelashes at the camera, smiles seductively as Kim, and poses provocatively like her idol.
In the ultimate Kardashian tribute, Leeson posted a rearview picture of herself last week in which she wears a thong. The image mimicked Kardashian’s revealing photoshoot from March, when the star was on vacation with her family in Thailand.
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The cost of looking like Kim Kardashian, though, comes with a hefty price. Leeson told This Morning that her obsession has resulted in debt “up to my eyeballs,” even though she has an unspecified job. “My job doesn’t pay enough,” she said. “I’m in major debt. I say that I’m going to pay them but as soon as money comes in, I just think about getting my Kimmy on.”
What does this mean? “I feel like no one can stop me and I can make something of myself,” Leeson concluded. “I feel strong… and I feel that I have built enough confidence to love myself a little bit more.”
