Lauren Conrad: Fashion Designer, Author, Pop Innovator and More!

From teen TV star to fashion and beauty mogul, lifestyle expert L.C. does it all

By Alesandra Dubin Jul 11, 2013 5:00 PMTags
Lauren Conrad, Bridal HairFrazer Harrison/Getty Images for ARCADE

Think back to what you were doing as a teenager: maybe hitting the fast-food joint after school, crushing on cuties or dealing with prom drama.

You, us and everyone else, right? Well, almost everyone: At that time, Lauren Conrad was already in the process of launching her crazy successful career across multiple media and retail platforms. (Yeah, we're a little jealz.)

Where We First Met Her: TV career
In 2004, L.C. starred in MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, which chronicled the high-school lives of her and her cast mates. After graduation, she moved to San Francisco to attend art university, but soon moved back down south.

The move kept L.C.'s professional success rolling, with a major hit spin-off series, The Hills, that documented her life in L.A. with pals Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port. During that time, she held an internship with Teen Vogue—just one of the early steps that would launch her fashion career into outer space in the coming years.

Fashion Career:
In the early days, Lauren worked with Kelly Cutrone's PR firm, People's Revolution, and premiered her first fashion line, the Lauren Conrad Collection. It didn't take off, but she used it as a learning experience, going back to the drawing board to become more expert in the field. She left The Hills in 2009, when her multimedia empire was unfolding into tons of new categories.

Later, she collaborated with Kohl's to launch her line, LC Lauren Conrad—which now includes fashion and home items—and the beauty trends and tips website the Beauty Department with her hairstylist and makeup artist.

The 27-year-old is also working on a new project, slated to launch in the fall, according to an interview in Marie Claire. The Little Market, a partnership with Hannah Taylor Skvaria, will be an online shop that sells crafts made by women all over the world that allows them to support their families.

Her Writing:
As if making her mark in the worlds of TV, fashion and beauty weren't enough for most folks only a few years out of high school, Lauren took her empire in yet another direction in 2009, when she came out with her first book, L.A. Candy, which drew inspiration from her own experiences. It was a New York Times bestseller. Not bad for a debut!

And it was only the beginning. She's since followed it up with Sweet Little Lies, Sugar and Spice, The Fame Game, Starstruck and most recently Infamous. Plus, she's got two style and beauty manuals under her belt: Lauren Conrad Style and Lauren Conrad Beauty.

Why She's an Innovator:
We love L.C. for her ability to start so young and remain uncorrupted—learning from her early experiences to expand her personal brand across so many categories: TV star, fashion and beauty mogul, lifestyle expert and author. Not too shabby for her still-young age...and not too shabby for any age! You go, L.C. We can't wait to see what you do next.

For more on Lauren, tune in to E! News Thursday at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

The new original E! series Pop Innovators celebrating multifaceted musician, entertainer and imaginer will.i.am premieres Sunday, July 14 at 8 p.m. only on E!