How THE HILLS' Lauren Conrad Became The World's Most Powerful & Successful Reality TV Alumna

I am not a huge fan of serial television, which is why I have little interest in the latest TV fad, whether it be MAD MEN or Game Of Thrones or Homeland. Having said that, there was a point in my life in 2007 and 2008 when I was beyond obsessed with the kids of MTV’s THE HILLS and their sunny, salacious SoCal adventures. The show’s cast members have each since faded into their own individual realities, learning that life in the reality TV spotlight doesn’t last much more than 15 minutes. But there’s one huge exception to this rule, and her name is Lauren Conrad.

It’s been four years since Conrad appeared on a reality television series, yet in a remarkable feat of business acumen, talent, and hard work, Lauren Conrad has become an icon, having built herself an empire. When it comes to the incredibly complex art and business of self-branding, Conrad could teach a master class at Harvard. In a recent feature profile for The Daily Beast, Misty White Sidell takes a look at Conrad’s remarkable success. The following is a brief excerpt:

“Last week also marked the release of Conrad’s eighth book, ‘Infamous’. And that’s not to mention the sustainable e-commerce site on its way, which will add to her already-successful fashion and beauty lines. All this makes Conrad something of a reality-star anomaly … ‘Lauren Conrad markets herself almost as a Martha Stewart,’ Katherine Riley, a Los Angeles-based Lauren Conrad fan, told The Daily Beast. With her arsenal of online media channels that span the mediums of beauty, crafts, fashion, and more, the flouncy, dress-loving Conrad has become an all-service lifestyle provider to what Riley calls ‘an amazing audience of teenagers to women in their late 30s’ — better known as a demographic with a wad of disposable income. And who better to trust than a girl they have grown up with on television—a person whose career, relationships, and perhaps most important, sense of style, has evolved along with their own? Conrad’s idyllic how-to’s have caught fire—women are really listening. With a 3 million-strong Twitter following, 2 million Instagram fans, approximately 480,000 Pinterest followers, seven New York Times bestselling books, GLAMOUR magazine’s No. 1 selling issue in 2012, a beauty brand, and two clothing lines, you can’t exactly say that Conrad is skimming the surface of reality-TV fame. On the contrary, she’s using her on-screen persona, (one that women tend to identify as a cute and kind soul) as a means to become a generational stalwart to an audience that averaged around 3 million in each of her shows’ heydays. But Conrad’s real key to success is her approachability. “

You can read the entire profile of Lauren Conrad by visiting TheDailyBeast.com. To enter the mother ship be sure to visit LaurenConrad.com, and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.