Kim Kardashian’s assistant Stephanie Shepherd dished to Refinery29 on what it’s like to work for the A-lister, from putting together North’s first stroller to working Kimye’s glamorous Italian wedding.
Shepherd, who has been working for Kardashian since 2013 and was recently promoted to COO of Kardashian West Brands, opened up about her job interview with the 36-year-old reality star. “She had no makeup on and was in her sweats, super pregnant with North. She was just like, ‘Look, I need help, Robin [Antin] loves you and says great things about you; this is what I need. Can you do it?’ And I was like, ‘OK, sure, I can do that — and if I can’t, I’ll figure it out!’ Meanwhile in my head, I was so nervous.”
Initially, Shepherd was doing it all as Kardashian’s only assistant. “I was doing her whole schedule, doing her laundry, booking travel, putting the stroller together and all of these things. But I wasn’t nervous. I was just excited, always staying longer than I needed because I was trying to prove myself — and then North came early!” she recalled. “I was a brand new assistant who had no idea what to do with a baby, but we all moved into Kris’ house, and she was the one who made it all feel OK and moved mountains for us.” Four years later, Kardashian has upgraded to a personal assistant, a house assistant and two nannies, Shepherd said.
Shepherd has been with the family through some of their biggest moments, including the KUWTK star’s May 2014 nuptials to Kanye West. “I didn’t even get to watch the ceremony because I was also filming — I often producer-cam the more personal moments for the show, when they don’t want full-on cameras around — so I was filming everyone getting ready,” she said. “And then Caitlyn lost her suit, so I had to locate it; all the girls are getting ready, we’re getting Kim together, we’re in this castle; Kanye is down rearranging the floral arrangements and all this stuff, all while I’m trying to film.”
She was also in charge of getting Kardashian back to the U.S. after her October Paris heist. “It was terrifying. At the time, I had to hold it together and make sure everything was getting handled, and that we could get Kim home as quickly and safely as possible,” she said. “The night of the robbery, Kourtney and I were out, we were a little drunk, so when everything happened, we rushed home and sobered up real quick. We didn’t sleep that entire night. I was so busy handling stuff.”
As Kardashian’s right-hand woman, Shepherd added that she’s gotten close with the entire Kardashian-Jenner clan. West is “so funny” and “so unfiltered” and North is “the sweetest child, truly, she’s so smart and so charismatic,” Shepherd said. “Kendall and Kylie, we have some of the same friends, so we’ll go out together and have that relationship. Khloe is just like everybody’s friend, you can talk to her about anything, she’s just a down ass girl, truly. And then Kourtney and I weren’t really close at all when I first started working — I don’t think she really liked me at first, to be honest! But I think when we were doing that world tour of Miami and Iceland and all those places, with so much travel time, we bonded.”
At the end of the day, though, she reminds people that she’s still an assistant. “With all of that glamour comes schlepping the bags and the suitcases and taking the fall when the car doesn’t show up or the flight is delayed or something goes wrong,” she said.
Check out the full interview on Refinery29.
