Mary Jo "MJ" Shannon, the mother of media personality and businesswoman Kris Jenner, has died at the age of 91, Jenner announced on Instagram Thursday.
Shannon is survived by her daughter Kris Jenner, as well as Jenner's children Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, and Rob Kardashian and Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
Beyond her role as a mother and grandmother, Shannon was an entrepreneur. She founded Shannon & Co., a children's boutique located in San Diego, in 1980. The store played a formative role in the lives of her grandchildren, including Kim Kardashian, who recalled her earliest lessons in business taking place within its walls.
Shannon was also a recurring presence on the family's long-running reality television series, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”
Kardashian described her grandmother as her closest confidante. "My sweet Grandma MJ, my best friend, my gossip buddy, my forever twin," she wrote, adding that Shannon "truly were the matriarch of our family." Kardashian also noted Shannon's lesser-known digital presence with characteristic warmth: "I know you are up in heaven, looking at all of our Instagram posts of you from your sneaky finsta account you would always use lol."
For Kris Jenner, the loss was deeply personal. "There is not a part of me that isn't shaped by you," Jenner wrote. "And if I have done anything right in this world, it's because I spent my life trying to live in a way that would make you proud."
Jenner closed her tribute with a reflection on her mother's legacy. "Every memory, every moment, every blessing, it was all because of you," she wrote.