Heidi Montag Biography

Heidi Blair Pratt (née Montag; born September 15, 1986) is an American television personality, singer, fashion designer, and author. Born and raised in Crested Butte, Colorado, she befriended Lauren Conrad in 2005. In 2006, Montag came to prominence after being cast in the reality television series The Hills, which chronicled the personal and professional lives of Conrad, Montag, and friends Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port. During its production, she briefly attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and was employed by event planning company Bolthouse Productions. As the series progressed, Montag began dating fellow cast member Spencer Pratt, which ultimately ended her friendship with Conrad. Their ensuing feud became the central focus of the series, and was carried through each subsequent season.

The couple, collectively nicknamed "Speidi", married in April 2009. Later that year, they made controversial appearances on the second season of the American version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. In January 2010, Montag released her debut studio album Superficial; it was critically panned and commercially unsuccessful, failing to earn back the money spent making it. She also received widespread criticism after undergoing ten cosmetic surgery procedures in one day. In 2011, Montag was featured on the television series Famous Food, where she and several celebrities competed for a restaurant partnership. Two years later, she and Pratt competed as a single entity on the eleventh series of the British version of Celebrity Big Brother, eventually becoming the runners-up.

Life and career

1986-2005: Early life and Laguna Beach

Heidi Blair Montag was born on September 15, 1986 in Crested Butte, Colorado to parents Darlene and Bill Montag. After divorcing, Darlene married Tim Egelhoff; they owned the restaurant Timberlines for twenty-one years until its closing in 2010. Montag has an older sister Holly, also a reality television personality, and a younger brother Sky. Their father later married Terri O'Hara; their step-brother Eric O'Hara died in 2008 after an accidental fall from an icy roof.

After graduating high school, Montag moved to California and attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for one semester. During freshman orientation, she befriended Lauren Conrad, who at the time was a primary cast member of the MTV reality television series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. After both transferred to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Irvine, California, Montag was subsequently featured in four episodes during the series' second season. However, after failing to find the school "challenging", she dropped out and received employment from Bolthouse Productions as an assistant. Within two years, she was promoted as an event planner.

2006-10: The Hills and Superficial

After moving to Los Angeles in 2006, the spin-off series The Hills was developed to chronicle the lives of now-housemates Conrad and Montag and friends Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port. That year, she began a short-lived relationship with Jordan Eubanks; she described its end as "the best decision of [her] life". By the second season, Montag and Conrad's friendship had deteriorated after the former began dating and later moved in with Spencer Pratt. During the third season, Conrad ended her friendship with Montag after she suspected that Pratt was responsible for rumors of a sex tape involving her and her former boyfriend Jason Wahler; the ensuing feud carried through each subsequent season.

In May 2007, Montag and Pratt announced their engagement. In August, she entered the music industry and began recording her debut studio album. Later that month, the song "Body Language" was leaked on the internet, and featured a rapped verse from Pratt. The following month, she confirmed to Us Weekly that she had undergone a breast augmentation and rhinoplasty five months prior. Montag's first promotional single and its accompanying music video "Higher" were released in February 2008 to an overwhelmingly negative response. Later that month, she appeared on the cover of Maxim. Montag collaborated with Anchor Blue to launch her first clothing line "Heidiwood" in April. Her contract was not renewed the following year after the company decided against featuring celebrity endorsements in future advertising.

During the fourth season of The Hills, Montag and Pratt eloped in Mexico on November 20, 2008. As the couple decides to officially marry in the fifth season, Conrad made her final appearance on the series during the mid-season finale, where she attended the wedding after much deliberation and made peace with Montag. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2009 in Pasadena, California. Subsequently, Conrad was replaced by her former Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County cast member Kristin Cavallari, who had previously introduced Montag and Pratt.

After several additional leaks, Montag enlisted songwriter Cathy Dennis to continue work on her album. She released her first two extended plays Wherever I Am and Here She Is... in 2009. The former included the song "More Is More"; debuting at number 50 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, it became her first and only song to chart in the country. Later that year, she and Pratt appeared on the second season of the American version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in support of the "Feed the Children" foundation. They quit after Montag was hospitalized with a gastric ulcer and later created controversy after alleging that they were subject to torture during production. After leaving the series, Montag and Pratt became notorious for their antics and antagonistic roles, notably during an interview with Al Roker of Today, and were described as "everything that's wrong with America". In August, she performed her first official single, the finished version of "Body Language", at the Miss Universe 2009; her appearance was met with a negative critical response, who criticized its overall production. The following month, she appeared on the cover of Playboy. In November, Montag and Pratt released the book "How to Be Famous: Our Guide to Looking the Part, Playing the Press, and Becoming a Tabloid Fixture".

In January 2010, Montag revealed to People that she had undergone ten cosmetic surgery procedures in a single day two months prior, performed by Frank Ryan. Among the procedures were brow-lifts, ear-pinnings, a chin reduction, as well as a second rhinoplasty and second breast augmentation. She commented that she almost died from too much Demerol, reducing her breath rate to five breaths per minute. Her debut studio album Superficial was digitally released later that month to an overwhelmingly negative critical response. The self-funded record cost nearly $2 million and sold approximately 1,000 copies in first-week downloads, failing to earn back the money spent making it. In May, she and Pratt made their final appearance on The Hills halfway through the sixth and final season; Pratt was to return after completing anger management classes after threatening to kill a series producer, but both were completely removed from the cast after his behavior worsened. Afterwards, Montag filed charges against series creator Adam DiVello, claiming sexual harassment, though the charges were later dropped.

2010-present: Famous Food and Celebrity Big Brother

After her exit from The Hills, Montag auditioned for the replacement of Megan Fox in the third installment of the Transformers series, but was ultimately not featured in the film. In June 2010, she and producer Steve Morales commenced work on her second studio album. The following month, Montag filed for divorce from Pratt, citing irreconcilable differences in the petition. However, they called it off in September after confessing that the action was intended to boost Montag's ailing career. In November, they renewed their vows in Carpinteria, California. In February 2011, Montag made her feature film debut as Kimberly in Just Go with It. Later that year, she appeared on the VH1 reality television series Famous Food, where she competed against other celebrities for a partnership stake in a restaurant in which they worked to open. In October, Montag began writing a memoir. The following year, she released her third extended play Dreams Come True.

In January 2013, Montag and Pratt (as a single entity) competed as housemates on the eleventh series of the British version of Celebrity Big Brother, where they notably developed a minor feud with singer and television personality Rylan Clark. They were named the runner-ups, losing to Clark. On February 18, Channel 5 aired a one-off television special discussing Montag and Pratt's rise to prominence, titled Speidi: Scandal, Secrets & Surgery!.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
Television
2005	Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County	Herself	Recurring cast member (season 2)
2006-10	The Hills		Main cast member (seasons 1-6)
2009	How I Met Your Mother		Guest appearance alongside Spencer Pratt
2009	I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!		Contestant alongside Spencer Pratt (season 2)
2011	Famous Food		Contestant
2013	Celebrity Big Brother		Contestant alongside Spencer Pratt (series 11)
2013	Speidi: Scandals, Secrets and Surgery		Documentary
Film
2011	Just Go with It	Kimberly	Cameo appearance

Discography

Studio albums

• Superficial (2010)

Extended plays

• Wherever I Am (2009)
• Here She Is... (2009)
• Dreams Come True (2012)