Everyone thinks they know the story. The tape, the reality show, the billionaire status. But if you rewind the clock to the year 2000, Kim Kardashian wasn't a household name. She wasn't even "Kim K" yet. She was just Kimberly, a 19-year-old girl from Beverly Hills who was about to make a choice that would change her life—and not necessarily in the way she expected.
Honestly, the Kim Kardashian 2000 era is kind of a fever dream of Juicy Couture, eBay side hustles, and a secret marriage that almost nobody talks about anymore.
The Secret Las Vegas Elopement
In January 2000, while the rest of the world was breathing a sigh of relief that Y2K didn't crash the power grid, Kim was in Las Vegas. She wasn't there for a club appearance or a red carpet. She was there to elope with a music producer named Damon Thomas. He was 29; she was just 19.
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She later admitted on Keeping Up With The Kardashians that she was actually high on ecstasy when it happened. Talk about a "wild phase."
The marriage was basically kept under wraps from the general public for years. Kim wore leather capris and a leather halter top to tie the knot. It was very "peak 2000s" fashion. But behind the scenes, things weren't exactly a fairytale. Court documents that eventually surfaced during their 2003 divorce painted a much darker picture. Kim alleged that Thomas was controlling, forced her to get plastic surgery (specifically liposuction), and even discouraged her from seeing her family.
It's a side of her history that feels worlds away from the "Boss Bitch" persona she projects now. Back then, she was still finding her voice.
Before the Closets: The eBay Queen
Before she was organizing Paris Hilton’s footwear, Kim was already a bit of a hustle-culture pioneer. She had this job at a trendy clothing store called "Body" in Encino. She worked there for about four years, helping them open new locations.
But her real money? That came from eBay.
Kim had this realization early on: she could take high-end designer items from her own closet—or her friends' closets—and flip them for a profit. She was basically a one-woman luxury consignment shop before apps like Depop or RealReal even existed.
What her life looked like in 2000:
- Daily Grind: Working at her father Robert Kardashian’s law office.
- The Side Hustle: Selling Manolo Blahniks and Galliano on eBay.
- The Social Circle: Hanging out with Nicole Richie and the Hilton sisters (though she was mostly in the background).
- The Car: She drove a white BMW, a classic "rich kid of Beverly Hills" staple.
The Robert Kardashian Factor
You can't talk about Kim Kardashian 2000 without mentioning her dad. Robert Kardashian Sr. was still a massive figure in her life. This was only a few years after the O.J. Simpson trial, so the Kardashian name already carried a certain weight in Los Angeles, even if it wasn't "famous" in a pop-culture sense.
Robert was reportedly pretty upset about her marriage to Damon Thomas. There was a lot of tension there. Kim has mentioned in interviews that her dad was her moral compass, and during this 2000-2003 window, she felt like she was drifting.
He passed away in 2003, which most fans know was the catalyst for the family "growing up" fast, but in 2000, Kim was still just a daughter trying to figure out her own identity under a very famous shadow.
The Paris Hilton "Assistant" Myth
One thing people always get wrong is when Kim started working for Paris Hilton. In 2000, they were just friends who grew up in the same zip code. The whole "closet organizer/stylist" thing didn't really kick into high gear until a couple of years later.
In 2000, Kim was more of a spectator to the burgeoning "socialite" era. She was watching Paris become the most famous person in the world for... well, for being Paris. It’s clear she was taking notes. She saw how the paparazzi worked. She saw how a certain look (the velour suit, the oversized shades) could become a brand.
Why it matters now
Looking back at Kim Kardashian in the year 2000 helps humanize her. We see a teenager who made mistakes, got into a toxic relationship, and worked a 9-to-5 at a boutique. She wasn't born a mogul. She was a girl who was obsessed with clothes and trying to please a husband who, by her own account, didn't want her to have a life of her own.
It’s also a reminder of how much the "fame" blueprint has changed. In 2000, you needed a TV show or a movie to be known. Kim eventually used those things, but she started with nothing but a digital camera and an eBay account.
If you want to understand the "Kimberly" before the "Kim," you have to look at this year. It was the year she grew up, for better or worse.
How to apply the "2000 Kim" mindset today:
- Iterate your hustle: Kim didn't start Skims in a day. She started by selling old shoes. Start small with what you have.
- Learn from the toxic: Her first marriage was a disaster, but she used that experience to become fiercely independent.
- Network naturally: She didn't "climb" a social ladder; she stayed in the circles she grew up in and made herself indispensable.
- Master the platform: In 2000, it was eBay. In 2026, it might be something else. Use the tools of your era.
The takeaway? Nobody's "Year One" looks like their "Year Twenty." Even for a Kardashian.
Next Steps for You:
If you're researching the evolution of celebrity branding, you should look into the specific court filings from Kim's 2003 divorce. They offer a rare, unfiltered look at her life before the "momager" took over the narrative. You might also want to compare her early eBay business model to how she structured the initial launch of Dash in 2006.