Lauren Katherine Conrad (born February 1, 1986) is an American television personality, celebutante, author and fashion designer. She is best known for being featured in the MTV reality series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and for her spin-off show, The Hills, which follows her personal and professional life as she pursues a career in the fashion industry.
Early life
Lauren Conrad was born in Laguna Beach, California, the eldest of three children of Jim and Kathy. Her younger siblings are Breanna and Brandon.2
Reality television
2004–2006: Laguna Beach
During Conrad's senior year of high school, she appeared in the MTV reality series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. Upon graduation in 2004, she attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for one semester where she first met Heidi Montag. During the second season of Laguna Beach, she returned home and began taking classes at a local college before subsequently transferring to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.2
2006–2009: The Hills
The first season of The Hills premiered on MTV in May 31, 2006. The series documents Conrad's move to Los Angeles, her work at Teen Vogue, and her personal life and the lives of her friends, including then-roommate Heidi Montag.3
MTV renewed The Hills for a second season, which filmed from late summer 2006 through February 2007. The premiere episode of season 2 aired January 15, 2007. During that time, the friendship between Conrad and Montag deteriorated as Montag increasingly spent her time with her new boyfriend, Spencer Pratt. By February 2007, Audrina Patridge replaced Montag as Conrad's roommate after Montag moved into a separate apartment with Pratt.4
Filming the third season of The Hills began in mid-summer 2007 and lasted through March 2008. The premiere episode of season 3 aired August 13, 2007. During that time, Conrad was able to revive her position at Teen Vogue and was offered a second trip to Paris alongside Whitney Port. By March 2008, Port had already left Teen Vogue for fashion PR firm People's Revolution, and after asking Conrad to assist at an event, Kelly Cutrone noticed her work ethic and invited her to work for her company.
Filming for the fourth season of The Hills began in mid-summer 2008 and lasted through November 2008. The premiere episode of Season 4 aired August 18, 2008. Filming for Season 5 began in January 2009, and the premiere episode aired April 6, 2009. Conrad has stated that Season 5 will be her last,5 even with her departure, the program is continuing without her. She was also a guest judge on America's Next Top Model.
Fashion career
Conrad landed an internship at Teen Vogue while filming season one of The Hills.2 Conrad and her reality show appearances have been credited with improving sales of Teen Vogue. It was reported in March 2007 that since the second season of The Hills began airing in mid-January, newsstand sales for the magazine increased by double digits over 2006 sales.6 According to Lisa Love, the West Coast editor of Vogue who evaluated Conrad for the internship position, Conrad had to interview successfully in order to get the job, "regardless of what the cameras wanted".7
Conrad developed a new fashion line, the Lauren Conrad Collection, that debuted at the Mercedes Benz LA Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in March 2008.8 In March 2009, Conrad announced that she would be taking a hiatus from the fashion line; the spring and summer 2009 lines have been canceled.9 She earns an estimated $1.5 million annually for her television appearances, fashion line, and product endorsements. In fall 2009, Conrad launched LC by Lauren Conrad in Kohl's stores nationwide.10
Other ventures
Endorsements
In January 2007, Conrad was named the first official spokesperson of "mark.", a line created by Avon and marketed toward young women. She will partner with "mark." and collaborate in both beauty and fashion initiatives. She will be featured in the brand’s magalog (reaching over six million customers every month), and in the "mark." online community. A line of exclusive co-branded items are part of future plans and will be available on the website and through "mark." representatives.11
As of April 24, 2008, Conrad is also the national spokesperson for College Tonight.12
Television
In 2008, Conrad made a cameo appearance in an episode of Greek. In May 2009, Conrad appeared as an animated version of herself in an episode of Family Guy.13
Conrad will appear as a guest judge during Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model.14 She also appear on television series Privileged as herself.
Books
In June 2009, Conrad released her first novel, LA Candy.1516 Based on Conrad's personal life, L.A. Candy is a semi-autobiographical novel about a 19-year-old girl who moves to Los Angeles and becomes the star of a reality TV show.17
Conrad's second novel, Sweet Little Lies: An L.A. Candy Novel, will be released in February 2010.1819
Personal life
Conrad has previously dated fellow Laguna Beach cast members Stephen Colletti and Jason Wahler. She also dated Brody Jenner and baseball player Doug Reinhardt. In 2008, Conrad began dating My Boys actor Kyle Howard.2
Awards
| Year |
Award |
Result |
Category |
Series |
| 2006 |
Teen Choice Awards |
Won |
Choice Female Reality TV Star |
The Hills |
| 2007 |
| 2008 |
| 2009 |
References
- ^ Lauren Conrad: Five Fun Facts "Conrad famously went by L.C. while on MTV's Laguna Beach, but has admitted she always disliked the nickname. She ditched the moniker when she starred on The Hills"
- ^ a b c d "Lauren Conrad Biography". people.com. http://www.people.com/people/lauren_conrad/biography. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ Heffernan, Virginia (2006-05-31). "'The Hills,' a Follow-Up to 'Laguna Beach,' Makes Its Premiere on MTV". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/31/arts/television/31heff.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
- ^ Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge, Whitney Port, et al.. The Hills (Season 2). [TV series]. Los Angeles, California: MTV.
- ^ Stack, Tim (2009-04-01). "Exclusive: 'The Hills' season 5 cast photo, plus Lauren Conrad on her future". ew.com. http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/04/exclusive-the-h.html.
- ^ Smith, Stephanie D. (2007-03-23). "Teen Beat". Memo Pad (Women's Wear Daily). http://www.wwd.com/article/print/114244. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
- ^ Ogunnaike, Lola (2006-06-11). "Blond Ambition Comes in Flats or Heels". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/fashion/sundaystyles/11hills.html?fta=y&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
- ^ Lang, Derrick J. (2008-03-12). "'Hills' Star Debuts at L.A. Fashion Week". abcnews.com. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=4434687. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
- ^ Lauren Conrad "Taking a Hiatus" from Her Fashion Line US Weekly, March 23, 2009
- ^ "The Celebrity 1000". Forbes. 2008-06-11. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/53/celebrities08_Lauren-Conrad_RU42.html. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ PRNewswire (2007-01-31). "mark. Forms Partnership with Reality TV Star Lauren Conrad". Yahoo! Finance. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070131/nyw030.html?.v=89. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
- ^ BusinessWire (2008-04-24). "Lauren Conrad Partners with College Tonight, Inc.". Yahoo! Finance. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080424/20080424005502.html?.v=1. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
- ^ Wang, Cynthia; Huver, Scott (2009-04-13). "First Look: Lauren Conrad Gets Animated for Family Guy". people.com. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20271993,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ Gina DiNunno (04 August 2009). "Lauren Conrad and Kim Kardashian to Guest Judge Top Model". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Lauren-Conrad-Kim-1008663.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
- ^ BusinessWire (2008-06-10-2009). "Lauren Conrad book signings.". Yahoo! Finance. http://hills2city.wordpress.com/2009/05/23/lauren-conrad-book-signing-dates/. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ^ Vena, Jocelyn (2009-05-19). "'Hills' Star Lauren Conrad's Novel, 'L.A. Candy,' Excerpted Online". mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1611710/20090519/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ Lauren Conrad's First Book L.A. Candy - An Exclusive Excerpt teenvogue.com
- ^ Youtube (08-12-2009). "Lauren Conrad on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire". ABC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oiQdTfMAmo.
- ^ Sweet Little Lies: An L.A. Candy Novel
External links
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