Mary Jo ‘MJ’ Shannon, Kris Jenner’s Mother, Dead at 91

Photo: krisjenner/Instagram

Mary Jo “MJ” Shannon, the OG matriarch of the Kardashian family, has died at the age of 91, Kris Jenner confirmed in an Instagram statement. “There are no words that could ever capture what she has meant to me or the heartbreak of having to say goodbye,” Jenner began. “My mom was the heart of our family. She taught me everything that truly matters … to love your family fiercely, to be kind, to show up for the people you love, and to never take a single moment together for granted.” Shannon made appearances on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, The Kardashians, and Celebrity Family Feud. Throughout her time on the shows, she made the family and audiences laugh with her dry sense of humor, which was passed down to her grandchildren. She once took edibles with her daughter and teased Kim Kardashian about her 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries when she shared that her first marriage was “less than Kimmy’s.” Before her family’s rise to fame, Shannon owned a children’s-clothing store in San Diego.

Kim Kardashian remembered her grandmother in a sweet post. “My sweet Grandma MJ, 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!!!!!” Kardashian wrote alongside a photo of her and MJ. “You were the woman who showed me what it meant to be a hardworking businesswoman. You gave me my very first job at your store in San Diego and taught me lessons about work ethic, strength, and confidence that I’ve carried with me ever since.” She ended the note by teasing MJ for having a “finsta” to look at her grandchildren’s social media.

Read on for tributes from the Kardashian-Jenner family.