Reality TV star turned real estate agent Kendra Wilkinson is perhaps best known for the time she spent living in the infamous Playboy Mansion—but she's putting in the work to ensure her future success lies in the mansion she sells rather than those she's resided in.
Wilkinson, 40, who made a move into real estate in 2020 when she secured her license in California, is now staking her claim to Malibu's luxury market, where a chance encounter several years ago has now landed her with a "whole portfolio" of multimillion-dollar listings.
Interestingly, those properties are located just 20 miles away from the iconic dwelling where Wilkinson first found fame in 2005 as one of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends on the hit E! reality TV show “The Girls Next Door.”
When the hit show ended after six seasons, the San Diego native continued sharing her personal life with ex-husband Hank Baskett and their children, Hank Jr., 16, and Alijah, 11, on “Kendra” and “Kendra on Top.”
While the former model maintained a presence in the entertainment industry in the years that followed, she made a career pivot to real estate in June 2020. That move inspired another return to TV with the series “Kendra Sells Hollywood," which documented her new gig as a member of the Ernie Carswell & Associates team.
Now, after nearly six years of professional—and personal—highs and lows, including having to fend off critics of her appearance on social media recently, the Sotheby’s International Realty agent reveals to Realtor.com® she is feeling back on top as she sells homes, condominiums, and more in Hollywood and beyond.
“Things have definitely blossomed in my career as a [real estate agent],” reports Wilkinson. “I’m really excited, and I'm so happy that people are starting to trust me and they're really coming to me for real estate support.”
Wilkinson’s latest real estate win came to her unexpectedly.
She was hired to represent multiple properties in “the $6 million range to $20 million range” that were built by Amit Apel, the award-winning architect of the Apel Design Group architectural and development firm, thanks to a chance encounter with his son, Vittal Apel.
“One day I was in the mall, and I was just genuinely nice to someone,” Wilkinson recalls of their initial introduction. “We just started talking, and it was just such a nice talk, and next thing you know, he's like, ‘I’m the son of a huge developer.’
"Three years later, he called me and he's like, ‘We're ready to list with you,’ and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’
“He gave me his whole portfolio, which is a huge success in my business,” she adds, before reflecting on the values she brings to her business.
“I met him randomly at the mall, so it's all about timing. It's about networking, and it's about being nice to people, and being good. Ernie teaches me all that. He makes sure I stay grounded and I stay genuine.”
Wilkinson and the Ernie Carswell & Associates crew plan to launch two of the Apel-designed luxury Malibu estates this month: a $7.1 million Mediterranean-inspired residence called the Mintcello Villa and a $6.49 million architecturally innovative property known as The Aviator.
“I couldn't be more thrilled about this opportunity,” says Wilkinson. “These Malibu properties are extremely special, and they're very artistic and out of this world.
"You can call one of them modern. You can call one of them like an Italian villa, and then there's a couple other ones that are near the water that are going to be more modern. Two of them are built, and one of them is almost built.”
Farther north in Encino, CA, Wilkinson is also representing an off-market opportunity.
“It has gorgeous views, huge bedrooms, perfect for someone who wants to entertain outside,” says Wilkinson. “Our commission, we're giving 6% commission to the buyer's agent.”
Wilkinson sees her stacked roster of current listings as proof that learning the real estate ropes and sticking with it is finally paying off.
“It's been a really crazy, amazing five years of real estate,” she reflects. “It definitely was not an easy transition going from television [for] 20 years into a super-high-demand new career. The transition was pretty excruciating, to be honest, 'cause when you're used to something, doing another career, it's not easy just to reprogram your head overnight and enter a new career. It was harder than I thought it would be.
“It's basically building your own business from scratch,” she adds. “You don't just get to walk in as a celebrity and just become a star in real estate overnight. You have to start from scratch and work your way all the way up.
“I don't come from the riches of the world. I'm not a child of a wealthy Beverly Hills family. I’m here working from scratch, working my way up. ... Being a celebrity in this world means nothing.”
Even though Wilkinson counts her experiences with celebrity endorsements and brand deals as being in the business of sales, she found selling real estate to be a much more serious challenge.
“Being a public figure, I've always sold,” explains Wilkinson. “I’ve always been out there selling something, whether it's myself as a celebrity—I used to get paid $50,000 just for stepping one foot into a nightclub—people used to pay me $100,000 for a story about me, to brand deals.
"I used [to] sell products, teas, makeup, hair products, so I've always had a sense of what it's like to sell and be in the sales world, but not homes. Selling homes is a whole different ball game, and you have to bring something to the table.”
In Wilkinson’s case, her competitive edge comes from her massive fan community and the wide marketing reach she has because of them on social media.
“My strongest quality is having millions and millions of followers,” she says of her 3.1 million Instagram followers. “A lot of people are excited to work with me, not just because I know what I'm doing and because of the great team that I'm on. It’s because I have a huge following, and I can show properties to all these millions of followers a little bit more than someone else.”
Wilkinson has also been successful generating new business with clients she reached out to on her social media platforms. She tells Realtor.com that her digital door-knocking strategy recently resulted in finding a home for a “huge” celebrity.
“I can't name names, but I worked with my biggest celebrity yet, so I'm really excited about that,” she shares.
“Instagram can be your best friend as a Realtor®,” she adds. “I reach out to my favorite stars, my favorite celebrities, and I go, ‘It's Kendra. I'm in real estate now. If you need anything, please let me know,’ and then I [got] a response right back from this big celebrity, and it was so cool.
“You should have seen me, I was hustling and hustling for them,” she recounts about finding her famous client a home to purchase. “I did everything, and they were just the coolest people to work with, and I'm so excited I had that opportunity.”
Just as Wilkinson was thrilled to work with a celebrity client, it stands to reason buyers and sellers who’ve followed her career before real estate might be dazzled by her star power when they arrive at open houses she’s hosting. However, the working mother of two insists she is never the main attraction.
“People that are looking for a property or going to sell a property, starstruck is the last thing they are,” she clarifies. “When they truly want to find something that'll set their whole lives up for the rest of their lives, they're not really thinking, ‘Ooh, it's Kendra Wilkinson.’ They’re more looking at it, like, ‘How am I going to be happy the rest of my life?’
“It's funny, 'cause I've had people recognize me, but majority of the time, their mindsets are on real estate.”
As for her own mindset, Wilkinson has moved on from her Playboy days and is committed to her work in real estate so that others will do the same.
“Doing Playboy, it could be a stain on my new job, [but] I’m a new person,” she says. “It's a new day. I'm moving forward. I am dressing appropriately. I'm doing my job. I’m going to my office. I have literally the best partner who accepts me for everything about me. I can't beat myself up anymore than I have. I can't regret what I did because at that time, I chose to do it to survive my life.”
Life for Wilkinson today is firmly focused on elevating her professional career and protecting her personal life at home with her children.
“I'm very, very shy about my life now,” she admits. “I live a very simple life now. It's just me and my two kids. That's all it is. ... I have no housekeepers, no nannies, no help. ... No one pays my bills.
“I live in a small home,” she adds. “I have an Ikea table that I built myself. I have a fridge that will just feed the three of us. I have three plates, three forks, three knives. It's a very, very intimate, smaller home, and I'm very proud of it. It's not like the big mansion I used to live in before, when I was married and had TV shows and everything like that.”
These days, when Wilkinson looks back on her past, she sees it for what it’s worth—in terms of lessons learned and, of course, market value.
“I tried to get a hold of the new owner of the [Playboy] Mansion because I really, really want to take a tour, and I really want to see what it looks like now,” she says. "The land is beautiful. You can't buy that kind of land anywhere. The land itself is worth it, but the property was just a mess, an absolute mess.
“I lived there for five years of my life, and it'd be cool to walk the grounds, see it, and to reminisce," she adds. "I have nothing but good memories there. I'm one who holds positive thoughts on my past there. It will always be a special place for me and in my heart. It taught me a lot.
“My kids keep me grounded. They keep me pushing forward. I want to show my kids that you can change the paths in your life if you choose, if you want to. It's not going to be easy, but you can do it.”
