By Wonderwall.com Editors
9:05am PDT, May 19, 2015
Against all odds, Lauren Conrad transformed herself from a reality TV star into a successful businesswoman. As a fresh-faced high school student, LC rose to fame when she was selected to star in the coming-of-age MTV reality drama "Laguna Beach." But after the show and its spinoff, "The Hills," came to an end, LC used her newfound fame to take the literary and fashion worlds by storm. In honor of her 31st birthday on Feb. 1, 2017, Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at how this bubbly blonde built her empire. Keep reading…
RELATED: "Laguna Beach" cast: Where are they now?
Lauren Conrad grew up in front of the cameras on "Laguna Beach" from 2004 to 2006. After the show ended, she moved to Los Angeles where she met onetime bestie Heidi Montag. Though the two are no longer pals, we did enjoy watching them rule Hollywood on "The Hills."
RELATED: Celeb feuds of 2016
Lauren Conrad's passion for fashion began to bloom while she was on "The Hills." LC enrolled at FIDM in Los Angeles to study product development and interned at Teen Vogue with castmate Whitney Port. "It was less about the work I was doing and more about being exposed to the industry and the inner workings of a magazine. I really loved the shoots," she said about her time at the publication. She was also eager to learn everything about the fashion business while on the show. She even worked with infamous fashion powerhouse Kelly Cutrone at PR firm People's Revolution.
RELATED: "The Hills" cast: Where are they now?
In 2009, Lauren Conrad released her first book, "L.A. Candy," which loosely paralleled her life on the small screen. The book became a big hit and even landed on the New York Times bestsellers list.
How do you follow up a bestseller? By writing another one! Lauren Conrad released "Sweet Little Lies" in February 2010 to much fanfare.
That was fast! Readers couldn't wait to get their sticky little fingers on Lauren Conrad's next book. So she whipped out "Sugar and Spice," which hit shelves in October 2010.
This girl was on fire in 2010! That October, Lauren Conrad dove deeper into fashion and released another book, "Style," which offered fashion tips, tricks and more. Needless to say, her fans gobbled it up.
Lauren Conrad decided to fly solo with another fashion line, Paper Crown, which she promoted at Nordstrom in 2011.
Laura Conrad got back in the book game in 2012 when she released "The Fame Game."
LC learned to piggyback off the success of a previous title to keep her empire rolling. Shortly after the release of "The Fame Game," Lauren Conrad debuted "Beauty."
By the end of 2012, Lauren Conrad released yet another novel, this one dubbed "Starstruck." Does this girl write in her sleep?!
Okay, seriously, when does Lauren Conrad find the time to write all these books? "Infamous" was released in 2013.
Lauren Conrad isn't just a workaholic — the lifestyle guru also made time to find love. In October 2013, she posted this pic on her website to announce her engagement to rock star-turned-lawyer William Tell.
LC's a married lady and mogul! Amid her hectic schedule, Lauren Conrad tied the knot with William Tell in a private ceremony in California on Sept. 13, 2014. Us Weekly had exclusive photos of the event.
There's no slowing down this business-savvy woman! The former "Laguna Beach" star continued to expand her empire, setting up a pop-up shop with Paper Crown + Rifle Paper Co. in Los Angeles in February 2015.
Lauren Conrad introduced the upscale version of her line during a Spring/Summer 2016 show at New York Fashion Week on Sept. 9, 2015.
