When she turned 40, Kim Kardashian got a gift that went above and beyond.

"A special surprise from heaven...It is so lifelike and we watched it over and over, filled with lots [of] tears and emotion," Kim wrote on Instagram in 2020, sharing a video featuring a hologram of her dad, Robert Kardashian Sr., a present from then-husband Kanye West. "I can't even describe what this meant to me and my sisters, my brother, my mom and closest friends to experience together."

Robert—dad to Kim, Kourtney Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian and Rob Kardashian with ex-wife Kris Jenner—died of esophageal cancer in 2003 at the age of 59, a tragic loss for his kids that drove the establishment in 2019 of UCLA's Robert G. Kardashian Center for Esophageal Health.

And fans of The Kardashians were reminded in a trailer for the Hulu series' eighth season that there's never a time to stop being vigilant about one's health or family history, as Kim shared that she'd been diagnosed with esophagitis—inflammation of the esophagus, according to UCLA Health, that, left untreated, could lead to developing Barrett’s esophagus, which can increase the risk of esophageal cancer.

But in addition to raising awareness about the disease that took her father's life when she was 22, Kim has honored Robert on a near daily basis with her decision to study law amid her pursuit of national criminal justice reform.

"He's still doing deals for controversial Black people from up in heaven," Kanye told Real 92.3 host Big Boy in 2020 of the father-in-law he never got to meet, a nod to the work for O.J. Simpson's murder trial defense "dream team" that made Robert the first famous Kardashian back in the mid-1990s.

Kim told Vogue in 2019, "My dad had a library, and when you pushed on this wall there was this whole hidden closet room, with all of his O.J. evidence books. On weekends I would always snoop and look through. I was really nosy about the forensics." 

"He once said to me," she said, recalling her dad's words, "'I think you'd be great at it. But I also think that it's super stressful and exhausting. So, if you want a stress-free life, maybe don't follow through with law school.' He would've loved it so much, though. He would've been my study partner."

Not a college graduate, Kim signed up for California’s Law Office Study Program in 2018 and subsequently began a four-year, minimum-18-hour-a-week program, overseen by practicing lawyers, to school her in legal studies.

But in addition to wanting to follow in his footsteps as an attorney, Kim has invoked her father often—more than you might remember over the years as she and her siblings went about building brands rooted in fashion, beauty and reality TV.

"Dad, without you, we know we would not be the women we are today," Kim, Kourtney and Khloe wrote in the dedication of their 2010 book Kardashian Konfidential. "We know that every blessing in our lives is because you are our angel watching over us. This book is just a glimpse of what you have blessed us with. We know your spirit has guided us through every challenge, highlight and memory we had. We miss you more than we did yesterday and less than we will tomorrow."

They concluded, "We are sisters because of you. We love you, Daddy."

The chapter "Robert George Kardashian" attributes many a family value to their late patriarch—who, they assure, did not leave his kids a fortune to rest easy on, but rather instilled in all of them the importance of hard work toward a non-material goal.

"He made us understand that the most important thing was to be a good person," recalled the sisters. "Our dad never talked down to people, no matter who they were or what they did for a living. He always treated people with respect."

Robert and their mom, Kris Jenner, divorced in 1991, but they remained close as co-parents—a relationship Kourtney has credited for helping her figure out a way forward with ex-partner Scott Disick, with whom she shares Mason, 16, Penelope, 14, and Reign, 11.

Kris called the hologram of her late ex-husband "one of the most incredible things I've ever seen," telling Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM show, "It started and we just all started to cry. It was just so intense. I must have watched it 20 times."

"Dad made us feel so loved, and set such high standards for us," the sisters wrote in their book. "Without his influence in our lives, we can't even imagine what they'd be like today."

He died only eight weeks after being diagnosed with stage four cancer, they recalled, "one of the worst times in our lives."

On her top 10 list of things her dad taught her, Kim wrote that No. 1 was "never forget your heritage," while close behind was, "Blood is thicker than water, family comes first."

Along with Kanye and daughter North West, she made her first trip to Armenia with Khloe in 2015. Kim returned with her whole family in 2019 and had daughter Chicago and sons Saint and Psalm baptized there, plus she and Kourtney dined at the presidential palace with Armenian leader Armen Sarkissian.

Psalm, Kim and Kanye's fourth child,  was born via surrogate on May 9, 2019. Kim later shared that "a blind medium" had gone up to her and Kanye while they were vacationing in Bali and told them that they would have another son and he would be Kim's father reincarnated.

"No one knew," she told E! News in February 2020, marveling at the memory. "No one on my crew knew that I had a surrogate that was pregnant with a boy."

And Kim said she had only become more sure that the medium got it right. 

The SKIMS founder explained that her nanny took Psalm with her to a baby shower while Kim was out of town, and a fellow guest asked the nanny if he was her son. When she said no, Kim recalled, the woman told her, "'Well, I just have to tell you, please tell their mom this is a family member of hers reincarnated.'"

"Multiple people that had no idea that was my nanny or anything have come up to my baby to say that he's a family member reincarnated," Kim said. "So my whole family, all the time, thinks it's my dad and is just so emotional and close to him."

Furthermore, Kim said, Psalm is left-handed like his grandpa. "So, all these things happen," she offered. "I don't even know if I believe in reincarnation, but I do now. But I want to believe it!"

And why wouldn't she? Especially when it comes to the man she has repeatedly remembered as "the best dad in the world." 

Psalm fittingly channeled his late grandfather at Kim's 2025 law school gradution in a beige suit, blue shirt and patterned tie—perfect for court in the morning and then lunch at Chin Chin circa 1994.

But Kim was tuned into those otherworldly signals since long before she had her own children, who more often than not carry an assortment of traits from higher up in the family tree.

"I believe there are signs from the spirit world all around us," she told CR Fashion Book in 2018. "When my dad was sick with cancer, we were laying out by his pool and I said, 'If you die, you have to come back in the form of a bird.' We were driving on the freeway right before his funeral and this huge flock of birds flew over the 101. Everyone stopped because it was so crazy looking. I was like, 'There you are.'"

But more than ever, Kim felt her father watching over her as she strived to become the next lawyer in the family.

And thanks to her 40th birthday gift, she can listen to her father tell her anytime, "Keep doing what you're doing Kimberly. You are a beautiful soul. Know that I am very proud of you and that I am always with you."

Read on to see how Kim has changed through the years:

This story was originally published on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020 at 7 a.m. PT.