Mary Jo Campbell, the mother of Kris Jenner and a recurring family presence on Kardashian reality TV, has died at 91, turning a woman long framed as the family’s steady elder into the subject of its latest public farewell.
XOOMAR Intelligence
Analyst Take
Jenner, 70, announced the death Thursday on social media, writing, “Today, we said goodbye to my beautiful Mommy MJ,” according to BBC World. No cause of death was immediately provided.
Mary Jo Campbell, Kris Jenner's mother and Kardashian family fixture, dies at 91
Campbell, also known publicly as MJ Shannon, was the mother of Kris Jenner and Karen Houghton. Houghton died of cardiac arrest in March 2024 at 65.
She was also grandmother to Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Rob Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner, making her one of the few figures who connected the family’s pre-fame history to its reality TV empire.
“She taught us that family is everything. She showed us how to love unconditionally and how to find joy in the little moments. She showed me how to face life's challenges with resilience and faith,” Jenner wrote.
Campbell was born in 1934 and died shortly before her 92nd birthday on 26 July, according to the BBC report. That timing gives the news its emotional edge: viewers recently saw the family celebrate her milestone birthdays on screen, including her 90th on The Kardashians on Hulu.
Kris Jenner’s tribute framed Campbell less as a supporting character and more as the emotional source code for the family’s public identity.
“When I look at my kids and my grandkids, I will forever see pieces of you in all of us,” Jenner wrote. “There is not a part of me that isn't shaped by you. And if I have done anything right in this world, it's because I spent my life trying to live in a way that would make you proud.”
The confirmed facts are narrow but clear:
- Who died: Mary Jo Campbell, also known as MJ Shannon
- Age: 91
- Family link: Mother of Kris Jenner, grandmother to the Kardashian-Jenner children
- Announcement: Kris Jenner posted the news Thursday
- Cause of death: Not immediately provided
MJ Campbell became a familiar face through Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Mary Jo Campbell was never the main engine of the Kardashian-Jenner media machine. That was part of her appeal.
She appeared across the family’s reality programs after Keeping Up with the Kardashians premiered in 2007, later appearing in The Kardashians. Her scenes often worked because they cut against the family’s scale: a grandmother teasing the excess, offering advice, and reminding viewers that the franchise sold intimacy as much as spectacle.
That contrast mattered. The Kardashian-Jenner brand has often been built around public access to private family moments. Campbell gave those moments a generational anchor.
The family’s on-screen matriarch beyond Kris Jenner
The BBC described Campbell as someone who developed her own fanbase through “sassy one-liners and sage advice.” She also spoke about beating cancer twice, something the family admired her for.
At her 90th birthday celebration on The Kardashians, held with floral decor at a hotel party in San Diego, California, Campbell said her greatest accomplishment was having her two daughters.
“How wonderful life is when you're in my world... that's all of you,” she said.
During that same episode, Kris Jenner cried while discussing the thought of losing her mother, calling her “my best friend and I couldn't live without you.” Campbell answered that she was not going anywhere and would “have to wait for the next one (party).”
The family later honored Campbell’s 91st birthday with a garden-themed celebration.
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Kim Kardashian tribute ties MJ Campbell to the family’s business origin story
Kim Kardashian also paid tribute to her grandmother on social media, describing Campbell as “my best friend, my gossip buddy, my forever twin.”
“You taught all of us the importance of family, and those values are something we'll carry with us forever!!!!! You were the woman who showed me what it meant to be a hardworking businesswoman,” Kim Kardashian wrote.
That line matters because Campbell’s influence was not limited to family sentiment. Kim Kardashian said Campbell gave her a first job at her San Diego retail store, teaching her lessons about work ethic, strength and confidence.
The BBC notes that Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian’s first reality program began with the sisters launching Dash, their clothing store in Calabasas, California. The sisters later built other ventures, including Kim’s Skims and Khloe’s Good American denim brand.
Here is the split the tributes reveal:
| Public role | What the source shows |
|---|---|
| Reality TV presence | Campbell appeared on Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Kardashians |
| Family elder | Kris Jenner called her mother central to the family’s values |
| Business influence | Kim Kardashian said Campbell gave her a first retail job |
| Viewer connection | The BBC says she drew fans through humor, advice and candor |
Analysis: Campbell’s role in the Kardashian-Jenner story was quieter than the family’s headline businesses, but it was strategically important to the shows’ emotional architecture. Her appearances helped make the family’s wealth and celebrity feel attached to a longer family history. That is not a small function in a franchise built on access, conflict and reconciliation.
No cause of death or memorial plans have been released
As of the BBC’s report, no cause of death had been immediately provided. The available source material also does not include funeral arrangements or memorial details.
That leaves the next phase of the story in the family’s hands. Further public comments may come from Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Rob Kardashian, Kendall Jenner or Kylie Jenner, but only Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian’s tributes are confirmed in the provided reporting.
For longtime viewers, Campbell’s death closes a visible chapter in the Kardashian-Jenner family narrative. For the family, it follows the death of Karen Houghton in March 2024, adding another private loss to a public life.
The watch item now is simple: whether the family addresses Campbell’s death further on social media or in future episodes of The Kardashians, and whether they disclose more about her final days. Until then, the confirmed story is a personal one: Mary Jo Campbell, known to millions as MJ, was Kris Jenner’s mother, Kim Kardashian’s early model of a working businesswoman, and a familiar grandmotherly presence inside one of television’s most watched families.
Why It Matters
- Mary Jo Campbell was a longtime family figure who linked the Kardashians’ private history to their public reality TV era.
- Her death marks another major loss for Kris Jenner after the 2024 death of her sister Karen Houghton.
- The public tribute underscores how family legacy remains central to the Kardashian brand and audience connection.
Primary Sources & Disclosures
Written by
XOOMAR Insights Team
Research and Editorial Desk
The XOOMAR Insights Team pairs automated research with human editorial judgment. We track hundreds of sources across technology, fintech, trading, SaaS, and cybersecurity, cross-check the facts, and explain what happened, why it matters, and what to watch next. We do not just rewrite headlines. Every article is fact-checked and scored for reliability before it goes live, and we link back to the original sources so you can verify anything yourself.
