Future Mrs. Kardashian’s Empire: How Blac Chyna Built Her Brand

Rob Kardashian’s baby mama and future wife, Blac Chyna, has quickly become a household name over the course of 2016. The future Mrs. Kardashian seems to have a Kardashian empire of her own in mind once she ties the knot with Rob.

In a matter of months, Blac Chyna, aka Angela White, went from a former stripper and music video model to one of the most talked-about celebrities. It wasn’t long after she began dating Rob Kardashian that Chyna announced she was engaged and expecting a child with him.

All the while, Chyna has been working on building her own brand. If and when she becomes Mrs. Angela Kardashian, her brand will be taken to a whole new level.

Even if Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe Kardashian succeed in preventing Blac Chyna from trademarking her married Kardashian name, it is not likely that Chyna’s name will just fall by the wayside.

The Kardashian sisters recently filed paperwork to stop Chyna from profiting off of their famous name, according to E! News.

Blac Chyna has spent the last six years building a powerhouse of a one-woman business and a brand of her own. Her future sister-in-law Kim Kardashian should be proud of the independent success her former friend has achieved.

Chyna, aka Angela White, began her journey at a strip club when she was 18-years-old. Back then, she was going by the name Dora Renee.

At Old Diamonds in Miami during college, she danced and went by the name Cream. That gig led her to the famed King of Diamonds club, which ended up getting Blac Chyna a cameo in Drake’s “Miss Me,” as well as songs by Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Nelly, and more.

By then, she had decided to go by the name Blac Chyna, which was said to have been inspired by one of her clients she danced for who said his name was Black China. She asked if she could borrow his moniker, according to E! News.

Chyna used her resemblance to rapper Nicki Minaj to get her the gig as her body double in Kanye West’s “Monster” video.

This led her to become the video muse and model she made her name from. Chyna went on to do “Rack City” with Tyga in 2011 after the two met at King of Diamonds.

Chyna and Tyga ended up dating and having a child together.

Chyna appeared on the covers of Dimepiece, Black Men, Urban Ink, and Smooth Girl, and XXL declared her “Eye Candy of the Month” in February of 2012.

Blac Chyna also appeared in Nicki Minaj’s “Come on a Cone” music video, which premiered in October of that year.

XXL asked her whether she was bothered by being stereotyped as a stripper.

“It used to bother me but it doesn’t anymore. You learn to grow thick skin quick.”

Chyna’s mother, Tokyo Toni, was also a stripper, so she never worried about receiving backlash from her family.

After she had her son with rapper Tyga, Blac Chyna enrolled in JLS Professional Makeup Artist School in Los Angeles in 2013. By the end of the year, Chyna had launched her own online boutique, 88fin, and a line of false eyelashes.

In September of 2014, she opened Lashed salon in Encino, California. The store included a new makeup line, as well as the lash extensions, teeth whitening, and makeup application.

It was around that time when Chyna began hanging around Kim Kardashian. She and Tyga had settled down with their new son in Calabasas, California. Hanging around Kim Kardashian really put Chyna on the radar and took her brands to the next level.

By the end of 2014, Chyna and Tyga had split up, but she had already made an impression on the pop-culture world by then.

In 2015, it was rumored that she was dating another rapper by the name of Future when she appeared in his “Rich $ex” music video.

When Tyga began dating Kim Kardashian’s younger sister Kylie Jenner, Blac Chyna and Kim’s friendship suffered. Blac Chyna began buddying up with Kanye West’s infamous ex-girlfriend and fellow former stripper, Amber Rose.

The dynamic duo made a name for themselves in the headlines when they showed up to the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards with sexual slurs like “slut” written all over them. The message was intended to raise awareness about female empowerment and rejection of male domination over a woman’s sexuality.

Chyna and Amber really teamed up to support each other throughout their ridicule in the press. Blac Chyna joined Amber Rose for her 2016 edition of her annual “Slut Walk” in Los Angeles.

Amber Rose also competed on Dancing with the Stars this past season, and Chyna was front and center in the audience to cheer her friend on.

Chyna has also been credited for being supportive throughout her relationship with Rob Kardashian, motivating him to get back on the path to healthiness. The reality star has publicly struggled with his weight and diabetes over the past few years.

Since the birth of their daughter, Dream Kardashian, last month, Rob and Chyna’s fame has gone to exponential heights. It doesn’t look like Blac Chyna — or Angela White, or Angela Kardashian, or whatever her name ends up being — will be forgotten anytime soon.

Regardless of whether or not Chyna is able to trademark a Kardashian name of her own, she has already succeeded in building a successful business empire for herself.

[Featured Image by Jordan Strauss/AP Images]