It’s been a banner year for Lauren Conrad. The Hills’ star has become a prime paparazzi target, graced numerous magazine covers, designed her own collection of handbags for Linea Pelle and levied her fame as the protagonist of America’s most-watched reality soap into launching her own clothing line, Lauren Conrad Collection.

However, the jury is still out concerning Conrad’s position in the entertainment industry — she’s technically considered a “television personality” — yet she carries herself like a young Hollywood starlet. During press events she regularly enjoys typical celebrity perks such as gift suite freebies, primping by professionals and a team of seasoned handlers at her beck and call.

Of course, there could be a future for Conrad in show business. This year alone her rising star status and countless projects have garnered her one of the coveted spots on Forbes’ annual Celebrity 100 List. She skimmed in at number 97, sandwiched between Jennifer Love Hewitt and Vanessa Williams.

Quite impressive for a girl who shot to fame for deciding to allow MTV cameras access into her once private life during her senior year in high school. After four years on the air, Conrad’s personal drama continues to be endlessly fascinating for about 4 million MTV viewers a week. But the truth is the photogenic 22-year-old doesn’t act, sing, dance, model or engage in any of the traditional pursuits associated with being a major star.

Nevertheless, this young girl from the picturesque small-town of Laguna Beach has, in just a few short years, managed to infiltrate the fickle celebrity scene, and actually become one of Hollywood’s elite.

Conrad’s launch into the celebrity stratosphere has been both fascinating and perplexing. It can be argued that she fits in more with the “famous for being famous” types like Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and Kim Kardashian, than the actual stars who headline movies and release records. Yet Conrad feels she’s neither. “I always say this isn’t what I signed up for. I thought I signed up for a one-episode documentary,” she says.

When Conrad first captured the public’s attention she was an all-American teenager going through the trials and tribulations of high school life on MTV’s answer to the then-popular, The O.C., the aptly titled reality docudrama, Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. The series quickly took off, becoming one of the highest rated shows on MTV. The series was so successful that MTV created a spin-off for Conrad, The Hills, featuring Conrad and her move to Los Angeles. Fueled by dramatic feuds between her ex-BFF Heidi Montag and Montag’s boyfriend Spencer Pratt, the show has become a true pop-culture phenomenon, a guilty pleasure, a show that you hate to love or love to hate, or whatever.

What started out as a would-be one-episode documentary on teen life in Laguna Beach has amazingly morphed into a multi-episode reality series, and then into what many consider a scripted docudrama.

Conrad, however, denies any fakery. “All of it’s pretty much real,” she declares. “It’s just editing to give it more drama.” She does admit at times her representation on the show can be misleading, “I feel like [the show] makes me look like I sit around all day and feel sorry for myself, but I’m actually a very happy person. Sometimes I want to reach into the TV and smack myself, and say ‘get over it.’”

On the day we spent with Conrad, the on-going Hills drama reared its ugly head when Conrad’s publicist received a call informing her that Spencer had just called into KIIS-FM’s morning show with Ryan Seacrest and proceeded to spew his usual venom at guests Lauren “Lo” Bosworth (LC’s best friend from her Laguna days) and Stephen Colletti (LC’s friend/former love interest). The news of Spencer’s surprising call-in left the cover girl visibly distraught, and it took the arrival of her new puppy to ease the tension.

Conrad’s saving grace is her innate optimism and personal strength, which have enabled her to look past the rumors, the drama and the feuds, and to leverage all the media hype into a career as a clothing designer. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do since I was young,” she says. “I just had to find a relationship that was willing to let me do what I wanted to do.” As one can imagine, her own celebrity has proven to be great publicity for the collection, “It was easier to get started and use publicity to get it out there, but it’s hard because I feel like I’m constantly trying to prove myself.”

In spite of having worked in the fashion industry since she was 16 years old, Conrad still had a lot to learn when it came to creating her first fashion line. “I had an idea of what I was doing, but you can never really be prepared for it until you’ve actually done a line,” she says. She debuted Lauren Conrad Collection earlier this year in March during LA’s Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios to a packed house including close friends and co-stars Whitney Port, Audrina Patridge, Brody Jenner and former Laguna Beach rival, Kristin Cavallari.

The runway show was met with mixed reviews, and the collection has been criticized as being too basic and overpriced (a typical dress can retail for up to $180). Perhaps, somewhat unrealistic prices for most of Conrad’s younger fans. However, reports have shown that the line has been selling well. The collection is carried at trendy, high-priced boutiques like Kitson, Belle Gray and the recently opened Sienna Brown in Newport Beach, which proudly boasts Conrad’s collection as its bestselling line.

The budding designer advises young girls looking to break into the fashion business to get as much experience as they can, doing internships or working retail to become familiarized with the industry.

Though her celebrity status may be a point of contention among many, there’s no doubt Conrad has effectively parlayed her reality show fame into a legitimate and promising career in fashion. She has certainly been the most successful out of all of her former Laguna Beach co-stars, and her personal life drama continues to provide sensational fodder for The Hills.

As for the future of the show, Conrad is taking it day by day. She says, “It’s been a crazy four years, but they’ve been amazing. I got to travel all around the world. I’ve met so many cool people. I’ve had all these opportunities. I’m really lucky. You got to take the good with the bad.”

Source: ladirectmag.com