I could never be a divorce lawyer

Kim Kardashian may be weeks away from finding out if she’s passed her law exams, but she says practising divorce law is not in her future.

The 45-year-old, who plays divorce attorney Allura Grant in the Disney+ upcoming legal drama All’s Fair, tells the BBC she’s “more into criminal justice and reform work” and adds, “I don’t think I can ever really do family law”.

Kardashian has been studying to become a lawyer for the last six years, undertaking an apprenticeship that negates the need for a university degree.

“It was the wildest idea that I was going to law school – but to me it all makes sense and I hope that I’m forever curious and always want to try new things,” she says.

Kardashian, who has four children with ex-husband Kanye West, also runs fashion and shapewear brand SKIMS and appears in the reality series The Kardashians with her family.

Her interest in criminal justice has been documented on her reality TV shows, where she has advocated for prison reform in the US and sentence reduction for first-time offenders.

Not content with her already packed-out schedule, her recent pivot to acting has raised eyebrows – but it hasn’t dented Kardashian’s ambition.

“I guess I just don’t live in those expectation boxes,” she says.

She says she “loves taking on constructive criticism” but doesn’t understand why people think she “can’t do something that you want to do or are curious or want to learn about”.

Her first real introduction to acting was her 2023 casting in the 12th season of American Horror Story, in which she appeared as a publicist.

Kardashian received mostly positive critical reviews for her portrayal, which encouraged her to take on more acting roles.

All’s Fair reunites the star with American Horror Story showrunner Ryan Murphy, who is also behind hit series such as Glee and Pose.

His latest project, All’s Fair, is a legal drama set in the US, which sees Kardashian play a divorce lawyer alongside Sarah Paulson, Naomi Watts, Glenn Close, Niecy Nash and Teyana Taylor.

Kardashian says her priority was to “come in prepared” to set, adding she would spend every day “watching and learning from these women”, who she called “the best acting coaches in the world”.

She adds that there was a lot of pressure on her, because those behind the show were “taking a chance on working with me”.

“The last thing I would want to do is be unprofessional, be late or not know my lines,” she says.

All’s Fair, which Disney+ says holds the records for their most-watched trailer of all time, is a spectacular dramatisation of the lives of lawyers tasked with navigating divorce for rich and famous female clients.

Kardashian says divorce is “such a relatable topic” after experiencing it “with my family and parents growing up”.

Kardashian herself has been divorced three times – most recently to Kanye West in 2022 after eight years of marriage.

Whilst she says the stories of the women in the show “are not based on anything I’ve been through”, she was “definitely inspired” by practising to be a lawyer.

Kardashian’s co-star Watts also recognises that, whilst the show might be sensationalised, the story of “women who feel like they’re finished, [their lives] are all over, broken and in pieces” at the end of a relationship is one that is familiar for many.

Nash, who stars as a legal investigator in the show, says that divorce is something many “have in common with other women and celebrities” and thinks the show is so appealing due to its relatability, even if it’s more dramatic way than real life.

Paulson adds says that although the central theme of the show may be divorce, “conflict and resolution is a beautiful part of the show”, which also “tackles big, important and emotional relationships”.

Much of the talk around the show has been about the strength of the all-female cast, which is filled with some of Hollywood’s biggest names.

The cast all echo that it was Ryan Murphy – who has won six Emmy awards, a Tony award and two Grammy awards in his 25-year career in television, film and theatre – that convinced them to sign up.

“He [Murphy] calls and I don’t tend to say no to him,” Paulson jokes.

Paulson is perhaps one of Murphy’s greatest collaborators, having appeared in nine series of American Horror Story between 2011 and 2021.

Kardashian says the cast all went into the project “blindly” but it was great to see Murphy’s “magic come to life”.

“Ryan was really intentional in that way, he really loves to uplift women and make these female-led casts, which is super empowering. He wrote it that way, he saw it no other way,” she adds.

Watts also agrees, noting that the writer and producer “manages to identify spaces that haven’t necessarily been visited before”.

“He’s wonderful at creating stories for women of a certain age and for me that’s where I am at in my life.

“These women all get to do these incredible things together – we’re such a different group – different ages and everything and we’re supporting each other through the story,” Watts adds.

Murphy received a five-year developmental deal with Netflix in 2018, which was reportedly worth $300m (£228m).

During that time he made two true crime series for the streaming service – Dahmer- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, plus drama series The Politician.

Murphy now has a new deal with Disney+, which includes All’s Fair.

He serves as executive producer on the show alongside Kardashian, Close, Paulson, Watts and Nash.

Kris Jenner, Kardashian’s mother and manager, also receives a director credit.