Kendall Jenner

You know Kendall Jenner, right? She has those sisters on that show on which she sometimes appears, riding horses or attending parties. Her mother is Kris Jenner, and her dad is legendary Olympian Bruce Jenner. She’s 18 years old, 5’10”, a Scorpio, and has more than 9.5 million followers on Instagram. But despite a very public childhood, Jenner sort of came into her own early this year on the runways of New York, London, and Paris, in a debutante season that included appearances for Marc Jacobs, Giles, Chanel, and Givenchy—a maison under the creative direction of her family friend Riccardo Tisci. She was, in the words of stylist Katie Grand, “definitely the girl of the season.”

I met Jenner at the Society Management offices in New York while she was visiting from her home in Los Angeles. In person, the girl of the season is lithe and long-limbed, with the high, wide cheekbones of a mountain cat. As we talked, she pushed her T-shirt sleeves up, tomboy style, laughing easily.

CHRIS WALLACE: As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

KENDALL JENNER: To be honest, this is exactly what I wanted to be. I was always looking up to supermodels. They were, like, my superheroes.

WALLACE: Did you want to have a superpower?

JENNER: I wanted to fly when I was little. I still want to fly.

WALLACE: That’s useful. Who do you think you were in a past life?

JENNER: Maybe a horse.

WALLACE: Do you have any pet peeves?

JENNER: These are the easiest questions, but it’s something you really don’t think of when you’re on the spot.

WALLACE: I’ll go first: my pet peeve is people walking slowly on the sidewalk.

JENNER: Okay, I hate that. I’m the fastest walker, and everyone makes fun of me for it. I hate when people are chomping their gum, even though I do it. I hate that.

WALLACE: That’s the thing about a pet peeve—you’re allowed to do it, but other people can’t. What’s your favorite place on Earth?

JENNER: I truly enjoyed Greece—Santorini. That’s somewhere that I always want to be.

WALLACE: Have you ever been starstruck?

JENNER: Of course I have! By Beyoncé. Queen Bey.

WALLACE: What is your worst nightmare?

JENNER: I used to have the craziest fear of losing teeth. I would have nightmares about that all the time. But it’s the craziest thing, because I feel like that’s one of the easiest things to fix. You just get veneers or something. [laughs]

WALLACE: Who is your role model?

JENNER: My dad is my everything. He always had the craziest speeches for Kylie [Kendall’s younger sister] and me growing up, good words to live by.

WALLACE: What was the best advice he gave you?

JENNER: “Dream big, work hard.” My parents brought up Kylie and me to be workaholics. That’s something I really appreciate.

WALLACE: Who would you most like to meet, living or dead?

JENNER: Martin Luther King Jr.

WALLACE: Do you have a secret talent?

JENNER’S AGENT: She can high jump.

WALLACE: Really? What’s your high-jump personal record?

JENNER: I don’t really remember, but my friend just showed me this video of when I was on the track team. I got the school record for high jump. My dad was so proud of me.

WALLACE: I bet. Do you ever lie?

JENNER: You know what? No. Because when I was little, I would always lie about the stupidest things. In kindergarten or first grade, I would tell people I had tigers living in my attic and a room full of gold.

WALLACE: And you don’t?

JENNER: No, but I would tell people that all the time. I would tell people I was from Hawaii, but I had a Southern accent. I was the biggest liar for no reason, and then as I got older, I thought, “Why am I lying to everybody?” I would hear other people lie and be like, “You sound so stupid.” So then I would just change my lies. The only person I lie to is my little sister, when I steal her clothes.

WALLACE: Who was your first crush?

JENNER: My first crush was this kid in kindergarten who told me he had tigers in his attic as well.

WALLACE: [laughs] Oh my God.

JENNER: I’m not even kidding. I was like, “We have something in common!” We were hitting it off.

WALLACE: Well, that’s how relationships are born. Did you have an imaginary friend?

JENNER: No. I don’t think I did.

WALLACE: What’s your favorite word?

JENNER: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

WALLACE: What trait do you most admire in a man or a woman?

JENNER: Beautiful eyes. Any time I see beautiful eyes, they’re always, like, blue …

WALLACE: What would be your death row meal?

JENNER: Apple pie. That’s not a meal.

WALLACE: Is there a particular recipe you like?

JENNER: No, I like almost every apple pie. It’s bad.

WALLACE: What would I be surprised to know about you?

JENNER: I don’t have tigers in my attic. [laughs] I don’t know—I feel like someone would think of me, or anyone in my family, as unappreciative of a moment, and I’ve really learned to appreciate a moment. I take things in a lot. I’m kind of weird like that. I like to go outside at night by myself and look at the sky and just appreciate it. I’m not that big of a weirdo, but—occasionally.

CHRISTOPHER WALLACE IS INTERVIEW‘S SENIOR EDITOR.