In an effort to protect their daughter North West from the paparazzi and individuals with possible malicious intent toward her, reality star Kim Kardashian and husband, rapper Kanye West, hired a body double for the 13-month old infant.

"There were auditions held in LA at a specialist agency and in the end they found a child who is the spitting image of their daughter." a source said.

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Kardashian and West were said to have paid $500,000 for the body double.

The couple also hired a body double for the child's nanny.

Unlike sister Kourtney Kardashian's children, Penelope and Mason, Kim and Kanye have not allowed the cameras to film North for the family's reality show, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians". The couple are said to be very protective of the child and are trying their best to protect her privacy.

"As of now, North will not appear at all on this season of KUWTK," an insider stated.

The drastic measure taken by the West couple was an original strategy once implemented by Tom Cruise and his now ex-wife Katie Holmes. Their daughter Suri Cruise also had a decoy to veer paparazzi off of their tracks.

If not for both girls being photographed minutes apart wearing the same outfit, paparazzi would have been unaware of the existence of Suri's body double.

It was revealed that Cruise consulted with security and abduction experts to prevent threats to his daughter's safety and well-being.

"These guys deal with kidnap threats of families and children for super rich people and corporations. They work in high risk territories and targets around the world. They advise on how to best prevent subjects being placed in compromising situations, while offering protection solutions, too." A source connected to the Cruises at that time commented regarding security experts.

TagsKim Kardashian, Kanye West, North West, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kourtney Kardashian, Penelope Disick, Mason Disick, Tom Cruise, Suri Cruise, Katie Holmes