The Kardashians: The Bradys Meet Reality TV

Nov. 20, 2007 — -- Here's the story of a lovely lady …

Who married a former Olympian, melded her family of four with his clan of kids, added two more children to the brood and is now helping her daughter turn a sex tape scandal into a shot at stardom.

Meet the Kardashian-Jenners -- the latest in a slew of celebrity families to invite cameras and the voyeuristic public into their homes.

At the helm of this Hollywood-blended family is Kris Jenner, who was the wife of former O.J. Simpson friend and lawyer Robert Kardashian. After they divorced 16 years ago, she married Olympic decathlete Bruce Jenner. Together they ride herd over Kim, 27; Khloe, 23; Kourtney, 28; and Rob Karadashian, 20 -- Kris' grown kids from her first marriage -- along with Kylie and Kendall Jenner, her 9- and 11-year-old daughters with Bruce.

The family's E! series, "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," is the "Brady Bunch" for this age of TMZ and reality TV. But the trials and tribulations of this blended family aren't at all like the spats between Jan and Marcia or Peter and Greg.

There's Kris and Kim (star of the aforementioned sex tape, made four years ago with a former boyfriend who released it publicly earlier this year) debating whether Kim should pose nude in Playboy, Bruce prying Kylie and Kendall off the stripper pole in his bedroom, and Khloe spending a night in jail for DUI.

"They're slightly unconventional as a family," said Ryan Seacrest, who pitched the show to E! and serves as its executive producer. "It's as if the Brady Bunch had no ceiling floor or walls -- kind of turned upside-down."

Take the Playboy shoot. Like a stage mom coaching a budding pageant queen, Kris pushed Kim to tone up and strip down for Playboy's annual celebrity issue. While some mothers might check themselves into the Britney Spears school of parenting before encouraging their daughter to pose nude, Kris said she advocated the Playboy shoot for business reasons -- not only is she Kim's mom, she's also her manager, or as she calls it, her "momager."