I actually like Lauren Conrad and her brand. Whenever I’m in Kohl’s, I’m drawn to her stuff and it’s genuinely very cute. Basic? For sure. But a lot of people have made a lot of money off of being pretty, basic and uncomplicated. That’s LC and her brand in a nutshell. So, Heidi Montag – LC’s old costar/frenemy on The Hills – shared some thoughts about LC, her brand and where Montag thinks she should be. And weirdly, I kind of ended up agreeing with Heidi Montag? What in the world? Montag was being interviewed on the Call Her Daddy podcast and here’s some of what she said:
Heidi Montag thinks that Lauren Conrad, 35, should have gone on to become the most successful “Hills” alum, but “she is not where she should” be “at all” these days.
“Kristin [Cavallari], let’s be honest, is the most successful,” Montag told host Alex Cooper on Tuesday’s episode. While Conrad’s net worth is reportedly valued at $40 million thanks to multiple fashion lines, a beauty brand and nine books, Montag believes her former co-star should have been as successful as billionaire Kylie Jenner.
“I feel like Lauren didn’t make it like she should have,” Montag said. “She should be Kylie. She was so good at makeup. She should have done tutorials. If she had a good team, she’d be a billionaire, she’d be a hundred millionaire. She is not where she should have been at all… She has a Kohl’s line — great, whatever. But she should be a hundred millionaire. Are you kidding me? Who gets that big promotion, that big fame, that big engine behind her, the loved one, the this-and-that, the narrator? No one even gets the narrator show. Kylie didn’t get a narrator show. She should be so rich.”
Montag added that she looks at Conrad as the “Mary Tyler Moore” of their time, explaining that MTV wanted her to be “vanilla.”
“Everyone [had] drama around her and she’s like the sacred one,” she said.
I don’t think Kristin Cavallari is more successful, at least not when it comes to brand-awareness and how much their brands are actually worth. I think Cavallari and LC are probably close to equally successful in their own ways. But Montag is right – LC’s empire should be bigger, all things considered. Lauren had great people around her, she had her father managing much of her business in the early days, and as I said, I actually think she has a nice, comfortable, vanilla brand. Her brand is basically a “Live Laugh Love” sign, but with lifestyle, clothing, jewelry & all forms of home decor. Why isn’t LC a bigger deal?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Lauren Conrad Co. IG.
She’s rich enough to stay away from reality TV by choice so who’s really winning Heidi? Not you and not Kristin and her cancelled show which chronicled her maybe cheating husband right before their divorce.
See that’s my response too, why is Heidi who is less successful than Lauren saying Lauren isn’t successful enough? Why is Heidi in a position to say that? And maybe Lauren doesn’t want to be as known as a Kylie Jenner? I remember an old tmz video of her at a khols promoting her clothing like with fans on site and she was awkward as hell trying to talk to them. Maybe that isn’t Laurens thing and she’s as successful as she wants to be?
I think Lauren Conrad’s brand is by far the best celebrity brand. Maybe she should be richer but I also think that her numbers are real and not inflated like Kylie J’s seem to be.
Agreed. I rarely hit up a Kohl’s anymore (borders still closed and they don’t exist in Canada) but I remember really being drawn to her stuff and feeling slightly shameful about liking a reality star’s discount clothing line. Her designs are cute and flattering on a variety of bodies… but I’m a basic b!tch, so there’s that 🙂
I feel like Lauren’s personality is that she is happy with what she has, a modest (by celebrity) life. Maybe she could have but also maybe she didn’t want to.
Heidi seems like she ties worth and happiness to the amount of money or fame someone has which is just sad and very telling about the type of person she is.
Agree with all of this.
@annie
Hence Lauren always being more low key than the others seems like she has the life she wants more quiet
Disagree, Heidi. I believe LC made choices and stepping away from reality TV, while undoubtedly resulting in less star power and no billionaire status, is what makes her a winner, IMO.
Honestly, seems like she didn’t/doesn’t want more. Not everyone wants Kylie fame. Lauren has plenty of money, has a successful business, etc. She seems happy and doesn’t have a slew of bad press/drama. Why are we judging her for this?
I wouldn’t want Kylie Jenner’s life for anything. Sitting 3.5 hours for makeup on a face that’s no longer your own while you create content because the world demands it and surrounded only by people you pay all day. No thank you!
I hope Lauren has exactly the life, family, and privacy she wants.
This is all about heidi’s wistful sad envious acknowledgment that she’s not successful at all and can’t understand someone who wants to live a private happy family. Disturbing commentary on what’s important for so many people right now.
1st off… it’s always the frenemy that will speak poorly of you in that way. “Such a shame she never reached her full potential.”
2nd… Kristen had more hustle in all directions and used her relationship to profit with reality tv. She ended up with labor scandals, a serious drug dependency and an allegedly abusive marriage that ended.
LC lives quietly with a steady stream of Good income. Heidi misses attention.
Agree with all of this.
I didn’t remember that Kristin had a serious drug dependency?
Maybe….just maybe….LC has aspirations in life that go beyond money? The idea that women should have it all, or they are failures, is such bs & we make choices. Heidi is more shallow than a mud puddle & her jealousy is still bubbling up.
This was what I was thinking too, like, define success Heidi, is it just money? Lauren always seemed smart, grounded and funny w a healthy perspective, even when she got herself in binds. And not taken in by the whole celebrity thing. She actually reminded me of a Jane Austen character, in the best sense of that.
Well Heidi, I have no idea what LC’s kids look like. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen them on a step-and-repeat at an event.
That’s one measure of success. Secure enough and thoughtful enough to not continually have your kids be part of your brand.
Lol, this third-tier personality thinks a second-tier personality could have done better?
Weird flex for someone who has essentially done nothing since the show except pull one failed PR stunt after another in order to get attention. Maybe she has a new book or something coming out?
Anyway, I’m pretty sure Lauren Conrad is doing just fine and believe it or not – not everyone needs or wants to have every second of their lives chronicled.
I was thinking this exactly. Heidi is still doing reality tv. As successful as she is, Kristen is MESSY – she and her ex-husband airing their dirty laundry though Instagram beef with cast members from Southern Charm?! Lauren managed to stay above the fray.
Lauren Conrad seems to have decided that she’d rather make her money from business than have her personal business open to the world via reality TV. I think she made the right choice.
Hard for me to see $40 million as an underachiever, no matter what. But add that Lauren lives a much more tasteful life – not pimping family pics ALL THE TIME like Heidi Montag – then LC is a winner in my book!!
And talk about vanilla!! Montag’s family pics always look like a very old Sears catalog.
Jesus, $40m and not having to be on reality TV?! On a tenth of that you could live very comfortably and never have to work again. If that’s doing badly, sign me up.
More money, more problems.
40 million and with her privacy intact seems successful enough to me!
Heidi Montag is not an intelligent life-form and that ridiculous boob job doesn’t help matters. I mean she married an idiot that said, “Her titties are too small and her nose is too big.” Well done, Heidi.
I see Lauren Conrad the same way I see Jessica Simpson: someone who was very astute about branding and licensing, who put their ‘small’ name in a big company and is letting the work create itself pretty much. No one falls over themselves for the Jessica Simpson brand, and yet she’s been in Macy’s FOREVER making BIG MONEY. So don’t worry that Lauren doesn’t have ‘enough’, she is obviously doing very well for herself
Jessica Simpson is PRINTING money tho. She is so rich! 😆😩
Jessica spent years in the throws of addiction and STILL made bank. And the only reason people knew about it was because SHE told us the details. That’s what happens when your personal life isn’t the brand. You don’t have the sell every sordid details of your struggles to stay afloat.
I always thought Olivia Palermo was the most successful one.
Olivia comes from deep pockets. That is how she is able to keep up that socialite image.
I think they all did, wasn’t that kind of the point in The Hills?
LC lived in a house that could have been on The OC. Her family is really well off. Not billionaires but not middle-class either.
Lauren Conrad is a different person, and she probably didn’t want extreme fame. Not everyone wants to be Kylie Jenner.
Now let’s talk about Heidi, who did try to be some version of what Kylie is and bombed spectacularly and could not manage the money she did earn and now has to take any job she can get. Maybe *Heidi* should have done better, and Heidi is projecting her own insecurities and fears onto someone she literally hasn’t spoken to in years.
The thing about fashion lines is that they lose money more time than they make it. Lauren had a couple of lines that were more unsuccessful than not.
Lauren was very smart to collaborate with Kohl’s on the middle of her career.
She has been steady for a minute now and she is smart want to know when to adjust in the future to keep a steady income stream.
Lauren admitted that she agreed to the first round of The Hills was to up her profile for where she is now. Sooooo…..she is doing something right.
Lauren came from a very wealthy family of origin and she’s been successful in her career.
I agree with Montag that she could have really taken it to the next level in a major way but she does seem to want to fly under the radar now.
I think Montag was giving one of those back-handed compliments but she’s not wrong, LC had it all right in front of her for the opportunistic taking.
Unpopular opinion: LC was not the sweetheart that she seemed. She was a controlling narcissist who loved to feign victimhood. Everything was ‘all about her’ – even trying to control who people dated, what they did – she was majorly gratified as a child. I don’t have the patience for it.
I never thought Lauren came off as the sweetheart. She was definitely opinionated, demanding and bratty but she used her notoriety to build a mini empire. Heidi was lazy and wanted that quick buck with her fame and here she is…talking about Lauren.
Eh, Lauren saw Spencer for what he was and wasn’t willing to lie about it. That caused friction with Heidi who wanted to pretend he wasn’t a gnome-faced narcissist. Years later, Lauren is successful and minding her own business, and Heidi is a plastic surgery disaster forced to talk about Lauren for attention. The winner here is obvious.
@ teecee says…. Mic drop!!!!!!!!
Why are Heidi and Spencer popping up all of a sudden again? Do they have something to sell?
They are both just so swarmy. In some ways, I can’t believe they are still married and on the other hand, they both deserve each other!
They sell crystals. I kid you not.
Crystals are extremely popular and practically sell themselves so they did get the zeitgeist right on this one.
I think the Hills was fairly damaging to LC, and she prefers to keep out of the spotlight. I would rather have $40 million and a quiet life rather than $500 million and tmz on my tail and posting selfies 3 times a day in different outfits. I wonder if lc can go to a park or out to eat without being recognized?
Lauren is 10000x more classy, successful and smart then Heidi and Spencer put together 🤷
I’ll take the $40 million fortune and staying out of the tabloids/living drama free. Who knows, she could be investing it wisely and not squandering it on a ton of plastic surgery. Heidi sounds like a class 1 A-hole
Per usual. Heidi is projecting. It’s not LC’s success she’s really concerned about, it’s her own. She wishes (and why not?) that she had the machine that LC had behind her, bc Heidi knows she would have tried for Kylie status. She still is.
LC seems like she’s really happy, and I hope she NEVER responds to this conversation about her
Looks like HM is trying to grab some attention for herself. Times for her to STFU. Her dou**ebag husband pulled the same crap last week or the week before. Hate them both. Please go away…….
I don’t think LC wanted to be bigger celebrity. I think she was much more comfortable with keeping a low profile