From being a charming little star to becoming a young lady of many trades, Kendra Kramer is ready to make her mark. Bearing youthful confidence and striking wit, the multifaceted teenager speaks about her big dreams, mental health, beauty, and taking responsibility.
Being thrust into the spotlight at a very young age is too risky an undertaking that most of the time entails leaving one’s childhood life and privacy open to public scrutiny. At such a vulnerable period, the limelight can make or break one’s aspirations and dreams. Especially in today’s age where a saturated online world becomes at once an expanse filled with colorful opportunities and riddled with hatred and insecurities. Yet brave and passionate enough to tackle these challenges is Clair Kendra Kramer, a young digital darling who is able to build and wield an influence with grace and faith.
We have witnessed her stunning metamorphosis from being a charismatic child to being a gorgeous teenager whose beauty, in and out, has earned her hundreds of thousands of supporters. A rightful torchbearer of this generation, Kendra Kramer is more than ready to make her mark, leading with a refreshing voice that strives and needs to be heard.
THE MULTIFACETED KENDRA KRAMER
Born to Cheska Garcia-Kramer, a celebrity model-actress, and Doug Kramer, a former basketball champion, Kendra Kramer seems destined to be a star of her own. At five years old, she has charmed us with her unforgettable television commercials (you might recall her from those endearing and LSS-inducing juice ads), which in itself have become time capsules of her promising career. Now thirteen years young, Kendra has been in countless age-appropriate endorsements, a model of her own brands, has appeared in fashion editorials, and is one-fifth of her influencer-family Team Kramer, who has become both a model and an aspiration to millions of Filipino families.
However, apart from achieving these triumphs so far, the teenage star is also currently carving her own path in school, balancing work and being an eighth grade student. “I think the best thing to do is just time management,” says Kendra who also plays arnis, does ballet, and takes singing and drum lessons. “Sometimes I do have to sacrifice some of my free time in order to do everything that I like, like my work, my school, and my hobbies. And for me, that’s okay. Because I know that there’s always another day and I can always do that again.”
Not only that, the young influencer also excels in sports as a competitive swimmer. “My mom used to be a swimmer before and I tried swimming for a while and they saw that I had potential in it,” recalls Kendra. “So, they decided to let me pursue swimming. And soon, swimming started to grow on me more and more, especially after the pandemic, because I got to finally have a team and my new school, and it’s so fun because I train with them every day.” Her passion for swimming is palpable during this conversation, radiating on screen with childlike wonder and optimism. “Swimming is really fun for me,” adds Kendra who sees herself pursuing swimming until college, “and I will continue to grow in that sport.”
And speaking of college, while Kendra Kramer views herself as too young to think about it, she is also admirably aware of her big goals and ambitions. “I’m planning to probably take a business course, because I want to start maybe a beauty business of my own when I’m older,” intimates Kendra, who has been fast becoming a fashion icon of her own, exuding easy elegance in her stylish offerings online. “And at the same time, I also kind of want to be like a pediatrician,” she continues, overflowing with enthusiasm. “It’s also really interesting. So, maybe I will take a doctor’s course. I’m not very sure yet.”
Asked if she wants to pursue a career in showbiz like her mom or in sports like her dad, Kendra makes it clear that she does not want to be confined by these choices. “Well, I don’t really limit myself to the jobs of my parents,” she asserts in an assured and decisive tone. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be like, I just want to do showbiz, or I just want to be an athlete or both. Because I also want to be a doctor. Part of me also wants to become a fashion designer. Another part of me wants to become a businesswoman. Another part of me wants to be a model.”
FAMILY AS HER HEARTH AND HOME
While openly expressing her thoughts, Kendra Kramer never fails to go back to her core and constant that is her family. As evinced in their Team Kramer episodes, it is in her tight-knit family where Kendra has rightfully found the bedrock of her values and character. Every word she utters glimmers with familial joy and inspiration, always appreciative of her parents and her siblings who are also her biggest fans.
As the eldest child, Kendra understands her duty to be a good influence and role model as Ate Kenken to Scarlett and Gavin. “I don’t really want to impose so much [on Scarlett and Gavin], because they might find it kind of annoying, if I always tell them,” relates Kendra. “So, I don’t use words, but I do use my actions as an example for them, so that they will see my example and they will follow what I’m doing. By showing them a proper example, they will do the same also.”
And always helping her become a good example and reach her fullest potential are her parents who also double as her and her siblings’ managers. “I find it very nice, because Mommy and Daddy make a lot of time for me and they make sure I get the best projects,” shares Kendra with her mommy Cheska beside her, subtly beaming with pride. “And I’m very glad that they’re my managers because I trust them a lot. It’s really convenient also and at the same time, they make sure that my work isn’t too long so I still have time to do other things I want to do.”
It is also appropriate that Kendra Kramer has her parents, who know her best and have also been in the limelight for a long time, to guide her and give her insightful advice in dealing with fame. “They give me a lot of advice,” relays Kendra, whose most of childhood has been spent in the public eye. “And all of their advice is relevant to when I grow older, and even now, so I just keep everything that they tell me.” Talking about the best advice she has received from her parents so far, the young artist articulates, “Like to always be kind and that kindness and goodness are unconditional. So, you need to be kind to everyone even though they don’t like you or even though you don’t like them. Kindness is not conditional. You need to be kind to everyone.”
If you have been following Team Kramer’s videos, you would know that the family is also passionate about their Christian faith. On Kendra Kramer’s Instagram page, for example, you’ll see that she describes herself in her bio as “God-fearing” first and foremost, with even a collection of stories dedicated to her bible study journey. And when asked about the biggest life lesson she’s learned so far, the teenager’s spirituality shines. “I have learned many lessons so far even though I’m very young because my Mommy and my Daddy teach me so many things every day. Especially our golden rule: don’t do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you.”
In one precious daughter-mother moment during the Zoom interview, Kendra has shared a heartwarming message to her mom whom she considers as her best example. “I think that my Mom is the best example because I see her actions every day and they’re always equal to the words that she says in social media,” Kendra proudly says of her Mommy Cheska who is visibly touched. “And so I really liked that about her. I just want to follow her example and her example is really great. Her example has taught me so many wonderful things. And so I just want to follow my Mom.” Kendra points to her obviously delighted mother who thanks her back.
THIS GENERATION’S VOICE
With almost nine hundred thousand followers online, Kendra Kramer’s impact is indubitably immense and far-reaching. For a young girl like her, having this amount of clout might be too great a responsibility. But Kendra is disarmingly aware of this fact, acknowledging the power that her platform holds and her voice’s potential to inspire young people like her. “Having the influence I have right now and breaking into showbiz, it requires a lot of responsibility,” says Kendra with stunning eloquence and self-awareness you’ll forget she’s just in her early adolescence.
“I take great responsibility for [my followers] and I try my best to influence them the best way I can with a platform that God has given me. I want to just say to all the girls that if you want to pursue a job in showbiz or you want to be like an influencer too, it requires a lot of responsibility and that you should share godly content, that you should be a good example to everyone else, and that you should only take what you can handle. So, if you think you can handle it then that’s fine.”
And about being able to handle the heft of being in the spotlight, earlier this year, Kendra made rounds online when her daddy Doug posted a photo of one of her fashion editorials. In the photograph shot by Jerick Sanchez for MEGA’s 30th anniversary issue, Kendra looked every inch like our next queen to be crowned, with most of the netizens noticing her resemblance to Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray.
“Our little Catriona,” so they say, with sweet praises turning to strong expectations. But Kendra takes it gracefully, grateful for the admiration yet also cognizant of her own passions and interests. “I think beauty is diverse. And everybody’s beautiful in their own way,” she says like a true born queen. “I actually want to join not necessarily beauty pageants, but I want to join fashion shows. Beauty pageants are interesting to me. But I’d rather walk in, you know, like runway shows or fashion shows.”
Furthermore, as a representative of Generation Z, Kendra Kramer is notably in touch with the issues that concern her and her peers who are living in a world that’s increasingly becoming more digitized. “Social media is a big responsibility,” she propounds with commendable maturity. “And so when you use it, you want to make sure that you’re responsible with the content you share and the content you see as well. You can have social media, there’s nothing wrong with it, but you should be very responsible with everything.”
And just like most young people today, Kendra Kramer also recognizes the mental and emotional toll of being too dependent on social media especially with her generation. “Sometimes my negative and intrusive thoughts get the best of me, but that’s why I have my family,” she shares. “If I have negative thoughts or intrusive thoughts, I tell my parents about how I can deal with it and how I can turn my negative thoughts into positive ones. So as teenagers my age, girls and boys, if you have any negative or intrusive thoughts getting the best of you, you can always confide in your family, they’ll always help you,” she continues with a cadence so discerning and perceptive for a teenager like her.
With her plethora of skills and talent, an ever-supportive family, an influential voice, which is becoming more resonant than ever, and a fresh perspective weighted by youthful confidence, self-awareness, and remarkable maturity, Kendra Kramer has an undeniably lustrous future ahead of her. But amid all these successes and great ambitions, Kendra knows, as the intelligent young lady that she is, to take it one step at a time, chasing her dreams while cherishing moments, minute and major, in the present. “I want to achieve many things. But right now all I’m really thinking about is school and friends and just enjoying my childhood. So, I don’t really think about my future as much but if I were to achieve something, it would probably just be like having good grades until the end, you know, and making as many good friends as I can. And also, yeah, just enjoying life.”
Photographer Jerick Sanchez
Creative Direction Lyn Alumno
Sittings Editor Angelo Ramirez de Cartagena
Styling Team Rain x Em
Makeup Justine Navato
Hair Raymond Ko
Production Designer Migs Alcid of Studio Tatin
Video Direction Kenneth Dimaano
Videographer Heidi Bayani
Shoot coordination Nicole Barnedo
CONTINUE READING: 6 Times Kendra Kramer Was One Of The Luckiest 13-Year-Old K-Pop Fangirls In The World
