Lauren Conrad

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Lauren Conrad
Lauren Conrad 2009.jpg
Conrad at "The 6th Annual Hollywood Style Awards", October 2009.
Born Lauren Katherine Conrad
(1986-02-01) February 1, 1986 (age 27)
Laguna Beach, California, U.S.
Other names L.C.[1]
Education Laguna Beach High School
Alma mater Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
Occupation Television personality, fashion designer, author
Years active 2004–present
Television Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County (2004–06)
The Hills (2006–09)
Website
laurenconrad.com

Lauren Katherine Conrad (born February 1, 1986), also known by her nickname L.C., is an American television personality, fashion designer, and author. Born and raised in Laguna Beach, California, she attended Laguna Beach High School as a teenager. In 2004, Conrad came to prominence after being cast in the reality television series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, which documented the lives of her and her friends.

After moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the fashion industry in 2006, Conrad was commissioned her own spin-off series The Hills, which chronicled the personal and professional lives of her and friends Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge, and Whitney Port. During its production, she held positions with Teen Vogue and Kelly Cutrone's People's Revolution. Her endeavors earned her an estimated $1.5 million in 2008.[2] The following year, Conrad left the series after five seasons, and was replaced by former Laguna Beach cast member Kristin Cavallari.

Conrad launched the fashion lines "LC Lauren Conrad" and "Paper Crown" in 2009 and 2011, respectively. She released the L.A. Candy book trilogy in 2010 and the spin-off The Fame Game series in 2012.

Contents

Life and career [edit]

1986–2005: Early life and Laguna Beach [edit]

Lauren Katherine Conrad was born in Laguna Beach, California on February 1, 1986, to parents Kathy and Jim, who were both employed as architects.[3] She is the elder sibling of her sister Breanna, also a former television personality,[4] and brother Brandon.[5] Conrad first expressed an interest in a career in the fashion industry when she was in the sixth grade.[3]

Alongside eventual castmates Lo Bosworth, Kristin Cavallari, and Stephen Colletti, Conrad was educated at Laguna Beach High School. In 2004, they starred in Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, a former MTV reality television series which documented their lives during high school. The series proved successful for the network,[6] which Conrad described as being "definitely a different way to grow up".[7] The first season notably focused on the love triangle between Conrad, Cavallari, and Colletti, and the subsequent feud between the former two.[8] Upon the conclusion of the first season, Conrad appeared on an episode of MTV Cribs.[9]

Upon graduating high school in 2004, Conrad attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for one semester, where she met Heidi Montag.[10] Conrad left the series after the second season;[11] she later moved back home and transferred to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Irvine, California.[12]

2006–09: The Hills [edit]

Conrad at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.

After moving to Los Angeles in 2006, the spin-off series The Hills was developed to chronicle the lives of Conrad and friends Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge, and Whitney Port. During production of the first season, Conrad and Port held internships with Teen Vogue under the direction of West Coast Vogue editor Lisa Love; she stated that they had to interview successfully for the positions, "regardless of what the cameras wanted".[13] At the time, Conrad was also housemates with Montag.[14] By the second season, their friendship had deteriorated after Montag began dating Spencer Pratt.[15] After Montag moved in with Pratt, Patridge[16] and Lo Bosworth[17] later became roommates with Conrad.

During the third season, Conrad ended her friendship with Montag after she suspected that Pratt was responsible for rumors of a sex tape involving her and her former boyfriend Jason Wahler; the ensuing feud carried through each subsequent season.[18] Conrad briefly dated fellow castmate Brody Jenner, which she commented had been subject to "editing to drag it out" during the series.[19] In January 2007, Conrad was announced as the inaugural spokeswoman of Avon Products's "mark." line, marketed towards young women;[20] she was succeeded by actress Ashley Greene in June 2010.[21] Later in 2007, Conrad appeared as a satirical version of herself in the comedy film Epic Movie.[22] In 2008, Conrad and Port began employment with Kelly Cutrone's PR firm, People's Revolution.[23] Conrad later made a cameo appearance in an episode of Greek[24] and provided her voice for a cartoon version of herself in an episode of Family Guy.[25] In March, she premiered her first fashion line "The Lauren Conrad Collection". After underwhelming sales figures, Conrad ended the line the following year to further familiarize herself with the industry.[26]

Upon the conclusion of the fourth season of The Hills in December 2008, rumors were widespread that Conrad wanted to leave the series.[27] She made her final appearance on the series in May 2009, attending Montag and Pratt's wedding after much deliberation during the mid-season finale of the fifth season.[28] Conrad was replaced by former Laguna Beach castmate Kristin Cavallari[8] until the series' conclusion in July 2010.[29] In September, she confirmed that she had filmed an alternate ending with Jenner.[30]

2009–present: Fashion career and books [edit]

Conrad at the 2009 VH1 Divas concert.

Conrad's first novel L.A. Candy was released in June 2009, and became a New York Times bestseller.[31] It was inspired by her life, focusing on a woman named Jane Roberts who moves to Los Angeles.[32] It was followed by sequels Sweet Little Lies[33] and Sugar and Spice[34] in 2010, also releasing the fashion guide Lauren Conrad Style.[35] She later made appearances on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, playing for her charity "m.powerment by mark"[36] and Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List,[37] and also served as a guest judge on Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model.[38]

In fall 2009, Conrad collaborated with Kohl's to launch her second fashion line "LC Lauren Conrad" in the United States.[39] In September 2010, Conrad was to star in an MTV series that would have focused on her career endeavors, though the network chose not to pick up the program after Conrad preferred not to film her private life.[40] In April 2011, Conrad launched "The Beauty Department" with her hairstylist, Kristin Ess, and her makeup artist, Amy Nadine;[41] she later announced plans to expand the brand to include a line of cosmetics.[42]

Conrad released her fourth novel The Fame Game as a spin-off to the L.A. Candy series in April 2012.[43] It was followed by Starstruck in October,[44] at which time she released the style guide Lauren Conrad Beauty,[45] with the final novel Infamous due for release in June 2013.[46]

In 2008, Conrad began dating actor Kyle Howard. Howard expressed concern that appearing on reality television would interfere with his acting career; consequentially, their relationship was not documented on The Hills. After three years together, Conrad and Howard ended their relationship in 2011.[47][48] The following year, she began dating former Something Corporate guitarist William Tell.[49]

Filmography [edit]

Year Title Role Notes
Television
2004–05 Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County Herself Narrator (season 1) and main cast member (seasons 1–2)
2006–09 The Hills Narrator and main cast member (seasons 1–5)
2008 Greek Cameo appearance
Privileged Cameo appearance[50]
2009 Bromance Guest appearance[51]
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Celebrity guest contestant
America's Next Top Model Guest judge
Family Guy Guest appearance, "We Love You, Conrad" episode
2010 Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List Guest appearance
2012 Punk'd Guest appearance
Film
2007 Epic Movie Herself Cameo appearance
2012 BFF & Baby Guest appearance[52]

Published works [edit]

Awards and nominations [edit]

Year Award Category Series Result
2006[53] Teen Choice Awards Choice Female Reality TV The Hills Won
2007[53]
2008[54]
2009[55]
2010[56] Nominated

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Lauren Conrad: Five Fun Facts". People. Time Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  2. ^ "The Celebrity 100 #97 Lauren Conrad". Forbes. Forbes, Inc. June 11, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  3. ^ a b "Lauren Conrad: Biography". People. Time Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  4. ^ Richard Chang (August 16, 2006). "Reality returns: 'Laguna Beach'". The Orange County Register. Freedom Communications. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  5. ^ Natasha Rigler (February 3, 2013). "This Hills' Lauren Conrad joined by siblings at Western birthday party". Reveal. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  6. ^ Margy Rochlin (August 30, 2005). "An MTV Coming of Age That Went Far on Charm". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  7. ^ Ann Oldsenburg (May 30, 2006). "MTV heads for 'The Hills' Wednesday". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  8. ^ a b Cavan Sieczkowski (December 6, 2013). "Kristin Cavallari Says 'The Hills' Was 'Fake,' But Lauren Conrad Feud Was Real". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  9. ^ "MTV Cribs - Lauren Conrad". YouTube. July 4, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  10. ^ "Heidi Montag Biography". People. Time Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  11. ^ Rachel McRady (November 25). "Then: Lauren Conrad (LC), Seasons 1-2". Wetpaint. Wetpaint, Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  12. ^ "FIDM on TV". Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  13. ^ Ogunnaike, Lola (June 11, 2006). "Blond Ambition Comes in Flats or Heels". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  14. ^ Virginia Heffernan (May 31, 2006). "'The Hills,' a Follow-Up to 'Laguna Beach,' Makes Its Premiere on MTV". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  15. ^ "The Hills (Season 2) Ep. 208: Enough Is Enough". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  16. ^ "The Hills (Season 2) Ep. 212: Goodbye For Now". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  17. ^ "The Hills (Season 3) Ep. 325: A New Roommate". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  18. ^ "The Hills (Season 3) Ep. 301: You Know What You Did". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  19. ^ Rebecca Macatee (October 16, 2012). "Lauren Conrad and Brody Jenner's Hills Hookup: How Real It Was". E! Online. NBCUniversal. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  20. ^ "mark. Forms Partnership with Reality TV Star Lauren Conrad". Yahoo! Business. Yahoo!. January 31, 2007. Archived from the original on March 8, 2007. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  21. ^ Joyann King (June 4, 2010). "Ashley Greene Named New Face of Mark". InStyle. Time Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  22. ^ Andy Dehnart (February 6, 2007). "Lauren Conrad: "I don’t want to act" because "I’m not that good at it"". Reality Blurred. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  23. ^ "Exclusive: ‘Hills’ Girls Lauren and Whitney Working for People's Revolution". NY Mag. New York Media, LLC. February 2, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  24. ^ Michael Ausiello (August 6, 2008). "Exclusive: Lauren Conrad Pledges 'Greek'". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  25. ^ Cynthia Wang; Scott Huver (April 13, 2009). "First Look: Lauren Conrad Gets Animated for Family Guy". People. Time Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  26. ^ Lara Martin (March 27, 2009). "Conrad denies poor sales for fashion line". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved May 3, 2013. 
  27. ^ Peter Gicas (October 14, 2008). "Is Lauren Conrad Leaving The Hills?!". E! Online. NBCUniversal. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  28. ^ "The Hills (Season 5) Ep. 510: Something Old, Something New". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  29. ^ Zach Johnson (December 4, 2012). "Kristin Cavallari: The Hills Was "Pretty Fake," Feud With Lauren Conrad Was Real". Us Weekly. Northern & Shell. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  30. ^ Marianne Garvey (September 24, 2010). "Lauren Conrad's Ready to Return to Reality". E! Online. NBCUniversal. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  31. ^ Jocelyn Vena (July 13, 2009). "Lauren Conrad's L.A. Candy Is A New York Times Best Seller". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  32. ^ Ellen Harris (June 24, 2009). "Book Review: Lauren Conrad’s L.A. Candy a candy-coated la-la land". The Daily Iowan. William Casey. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  33. ^ Lauren Conrad. "Sweet little lies : an L.A. Candy novel". WorldCat. Retrieved May 4, 2013. 
  34. ^ Lauren Conrad. "Sugar and spice : an L.A. candy novel". WorldCat. Retrieved May 4, 2013. 
  35. ^ Lauren Conrad; Elise Loehnen. "Lauren Conrad style". WorldCat. Retrieved May 4, 2013. 
  36. ^ "Lauren Conrad wins $50K on 'Millionaire'". USA Today (Gannett Company). August 13, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  37. ^ Verena von Pfetten (July 1, 2010). "Lauren Conrad Helps Kathy Griffin’s Mom Design A Muu-Muu". Styleite. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  38. ^ Gina DeNunno (August 4, 2009). "Lauren Conrad and Kim Kardashian to Guest Judge Top Model". TV Guide Network. CBS Corporation. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  39. ^ Jordan Ecarma (April 3, 2013). "Gwyneth Paltrow Cookbook: Celebs Are Taking On Drastically Different Projects". PolicyMic. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  40. ^ Tim Stack (February 4, 2011). "Lauren Conrad's MTV reality series is officially dead". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  41. ^ Molly Sullivan (April 20, 2011). "Lauren Conrad has launched a new beauty website". Hollywood News. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  42. ^ Meagan Morris (September 26, 2011). "Lauren Conrad announces a beauty line". She Knows. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  43. ^ "Exclusive: Lauren Conrad Lands Mega 3-Book Deal!". Us Weekly. Northern & Shell. April 5, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  44. ^ Lauren Conrad (October 26, 2011). "Chic Peek: The Fame Game Cover + Another Surprise!". LaurenConrad.com. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  45. ^ Lauren Conrad; Elise Loehnen; Kristin Ess; Amy Nadine. "Lauren Conrad beauty". WorldCat. Retrieved May 4, 2013. 
  46. ^ Lauren Conrad. "Infamous : a fame game novel.". Retrieved May 4, 2013. 
  47. ^ "Lauren Conrad and Kyle Howard split". Today. NBC. June 26, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2013. 
  48. ^ "What Drove Lauren Conrad and Kyle Howard Apart". Us Weekly. Northern & Shell. June 29, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2013. 
  49. ^ Zach Johnson (August 19, 2012). "Lauren Conrad Finally Opens Up About Kyle Howard Breakup". Us Weekly. Northern & Shell. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  50. ^ "Lauren Conrad's New Small-Screen Privilege". TV Guide Network. CBS Corporation. August 26, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  51. ^ "Bromance Ep. 103: Who's Got Game?". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  52. ^ "Lauren Conrad On The Set Filming of "BFF & Baby"". CBS Local. CBS Corporation. Retrieved May 4, 2013. 
  53. ^ a b "Lauren Conrad". Epic Reads. Retrieved May 7, 2013. 
  54. ^ Latoya West (June 17, 2008). "Reality TV Nominees Announced for Teen Choice Awards". About.com. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  55. ^ "Teen Choice Awards 2009 nominees". The Los Angeles Times. June 15, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 
  56. ^ Lindsay Soll (June 14, 2010). "Teen Choice Awards 2010: First Round Of Nominees Announced". MTV Hollywood Crush. Viacom. Retrieved April 21, 2013. 

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lauren Conrad
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Lauren Conrad
Television series
Fashion lines
  • The Lauren Conrad Collection
  • LC by Lauren Conrad
  • Paper Crown
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