Heidi Montag

Heidi Montag

Montag attending an OK! signing in London, United Kingdom, February 2013.
Born Heidi Blair Montag
September 15, 1986
Crested Butte, Colorado, U.S.
Other names Heidi Pratt
Alma mater Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
Occupation
  • Television personality
  • singer
  • fashion designer
  • author
Years active 2005–present
Television
Spouse(s) Spencer Pratt (m. 2009)
Relatives

Heidi Blair Pratt (née Montag; born September 15, 1986)[1][2] 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 MTV 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 she 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.[1] After divorcing, Darlene married Tim Egelhoff; they owned The Timberline restaurant for twenty-one years until its closing in 2010.[3] Montag has an older sister Holly, also a reality television personality, and a younger brother Sky.[4] Their father later married Terri O'Hara; their step-brother Eric O'Hara died in 2008 after an accidental fall from an icy roof.[5]

After graduating from 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 Los Angeles, California, Montag was subsequently featured in four episodes during the series' second season.[1] However, after failing to find the school "challenging", she dropped out and received employment from Bolthouse Productions as an assistant.[6][7] Within two years, she was promoted as an event planner.[8]

2006–10: The Hills and Superficial

Montag attending the second issue release of "Girls Gone Wild Magazine" Party at Les Deux, Hollywood, June 4, 2008

After moving to Los Angeles in 2006, the Laguna Beach spin-off series The Hills was developed to chronicle the lives of now-housemates Conrad and Montag and friends Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port.[9] That year, she began a short-lived relationship with Jordan Eubanks; she described its end as "the best decision of [her] life".[10] By the second season, Montag and Conrad's friendship had deteriorated after the former began dating and later moved in with Spencer Pratt.[11][12] 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.[13]

In May 2007, Montag and Pratt announced their engagement.[14] 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 an uncredited rap verse from Pratt.[15] The following month, she confirmed to Us Weekly that she had undergone a breast augmentation and rhinoplasty five months prior.[16] Montag's first promotional single and its accompanying music video "Higher" were released in February 2008 to an overwhelmingly negative response.[17] Later that month, she appeared on the cover of Maxim.[8] Montag collaborated with Anchor Blue to launch her first clothing line "Heidiwood" in April.[18] Her contract was not renewed the following year after the company decided against featuring celebrity endorsements in future advertising.[19]

During the fourth season of The Hills, Montag and Pratt eloped in Mexico on November 20, 2008.[20][21] 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.[22] The ceremony was held on April 25, 2009 in Pasadena, California.[23] Subsequently, Conrad was replaced by her former Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County cast member Kristin Cavallari, who had previously introduced Montag and Pratt.[24]

After several additional unauthorized leaks, Montag enlisted songwriter Cathy Dennis to continue work on her album.[25] She released her first two extended plays Wherever I Am and Here She Is... in 2009.[26][27] 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.[28] 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.[29] They quit after Montag was hospitalized with a gastric ulcer[30] and later created controversy after alleging that they were subject to torture during production.[31] After leaving the series, Montag and Pratt became notorious for their antics and antagonistic roles, notably during an interview with Al Roker of Today,[32] and were described as "everything that's wrong with America".[33] 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.[34][35] The following month, she appeared on the cover of Playboy.[36] 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".[37]

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.[38] Her debut studio album Superficial was digitally released later that month to an overwhelmingly negative critical response from critics.[39] 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.[40] 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.[41] Afterwards, Montag filed charges against series creator Adam DiVello, claiming sexual harassment,[42] though the charges were later dropped.[43] In December 2013, Montag stated that she and Conrad have "talked a few times" since the series' conclusion, elaborating that "it's unfortunate things happened the way that it did, but we're both different people now, older and more mature."[44]

2010–present: Famous Food, Celebrity Big Brother, Marriage Boot Camp Reality Stars and other projects

Montag at Spike Las Vegas in August 2010

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.[45] In June 2010, she and producer Steve Morales commenced work on her unreleased second studio album.[46] The following month, Montag filed for divorce from Pratt, citing irreconcilable differences in the petition.[47] However, they called it off in September after confessing that the action was intended to boost Montag's ailing career.[48] In November, they renewed their vows in Carpinteria, California.[49] In February 2011, Montag made her feature film debut as Kimberly in Just Go with It.[50] 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.[51] In October, Montag began writing a memoir.[52] The following year, she released her third extended play Dreams Come True.[53][54]

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,[55] where they notably developed a minor feud with singer and television personality Rylan Clark.[56] They were named the runner-ups, losing to Clark.[57] On February 18, Channel 5 aired a one-off television special discussing Montag and Pratt's rise to prominence, titled Speidi: Scandal, Secrets & Surgery!.[58] Later that year, they launched the Speidi Show, which was initially assumed to be a web series in which the couple used a different reality television format for each installment. However, the project was later revealed to be an example of networked improv narrative, where Montag and Pratt collaborated with Mark Marino and Rob Wittig to create a Twitter game in which players Live Tweet an imaginary show.[59] In October 2013, Montag revealed that her original F-cup breast implants resulted in severe health issues, and underwent a breast reduction surgery to replace them with D-cup implants.[60] She and Pratt appeared in the television special After Shock: Heidi & Spencer, which premiered on December 9, 2013, on E!, during which they admitted that many of the situations they were involved with in the various reality series they starred on were in fact made up by the shows producers.[61] Montag and Pratt later appeared on an episode of Celebrity Wife Swap in June 2014, for which they swapped with Olympic athlete Amanda Beard and her husband Sacha Brown.[62]

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[63]
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)
Speidi: Scandals, Secrets and Surgery Documentary[58]
After Shock: Heidi & Spencer Documentary
2014 Celebrity Wife Swap Appeared alongside Spencer Pratt (season 3)
2015 Marriage Boot Camp Appeared alongside Spencer Pratt (season 2)
Film
2011 Just Go with It Kimberly Cameo appearance

Discography

Studio albums
Extended plays

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Heidi Montag Biography". People. Time Inc. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ Daynah Burnett (September 18, 2012). "Heidi Montag Becomes Heidi Pratt, Calls Name Change "the Biggest Thing in My Life"". Wetpaint. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ Alford, Ryan (12 December 2011). "Crested Butte Nordic Features a New Season Of Fine Dining at Their Backcountry Yurt". Snowshoe Magazine (Denver CO). Retrieved 1 June 2013. Tim Egelhoff, formerly of Crested Butte’s Timberline restaurant... Returning to Crested Butte in 1989, Tim opened the Timberline Restaurant, and for 20 years he and wife Darlene served gourmet foods in a refined but comfortable atmosphere.
  4. ↑ Dahvi Shira (November 9, 2010). "Heidi Montag's Mom: I Can't Pay My Bills". People. Time Inc. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  5. ↑ Stephen M. Silverman (March 3, 2008). "Freak Accident Claims Heidi Montag's Stepbrother". People. Time Inc. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  6. ↑ Jacki Garfinkel (August 2, 2006). "Interview with Heidi of MTV's The Hills". Media Village. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  7. ↑ "The Hills (Season 1) Ep. 103: "An Unexpected Call"". MTV. Viacom. June 14, 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Heidi Montag". Maxim. Alpha Media Group. January 8, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  9. ↑ Virginia Heffernan (May 31, 2006). "'The Hills,' a Follow-Up to 'Laguna Beach,' Makes Its Premiere on MTV". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Heidi Montag Is on Top of the World". Stuff. Haymarket Publishing. February 7, 2007. Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  11. ↑ "The Hills (Season 2) Ep. 208: Enough Is Enough". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  12. ↑ "The Hills (Season 2) Ep. 212: Goodbye For Now". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  13. ↑ "The Hills (Season 3) Ep. 301: You Know What You Did". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  14. ↑ "The World Has Ended. Heidi and Spencer Are Engaged.". TMZ. Time Warner. May 23, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  15. ↑ Aaron Parsley (August 16, 2007). "Heidi Montag 'Upset' Over Leaked Song". People. Time Inc. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Hills Exclusive: Heidi Confirms Plastic Surgery, Says She "Hated" Her Body". Us Weekly. Wenner Media LLC. September 26, 2007. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Heidi Montag Hot? Did She Finally Pass Lauren on the Popularity Scale?". Yahoo! Voices. Yahoo!. February 6, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Heidi Montag Has a Fashion Show". Us Weekly. Northern & Shell. April 12, 2008. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Heidi Montag’s Clothing Line Finished At Anchor Blue". NBC Los Angeles. NBC. October 22, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  20. ↑ "The Hills (Season 4) Ep. 419: Mr. And Mrs. Pratt". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Heidi and Spencer get married". OK!. Northern & Shell. November 24, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  22. ↑ "The Hills (Season 5) Ep. 510: Something Old, Something New". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  23. ↑ Jocelyn Vena (April 25, 2009). "'Hills' Stars Heidi Montag And Spencer Pratt Get Married". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  24. ↑ Jocelyn Vena (May 14, 2009). "Spencer Pratt, Heidi Montag Welcome Kristin Cavallari To 'The Hills'". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Heidi Montag hires Cathy Dennis to make her a pop star". The Daily Telegraph. News Limited. March 18, 2009. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Wherever I Am EP". Amazon.com (US). April 28, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Here She Is... - Heidi Montag". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  28. ↑ Gary Trust (July 1, 2009). "Chart Beat: Dierks Bentley, Seether, Heidi Montag". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Charity Speaks Out About Speidi Possibly Quitting Reality Show". Radar Online. American Media, Inc. June 2, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  30. ↑ Jocelyn Vena (June 7, 2009). "'Hills' Star Heidi Montag Hospitalized". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  31. ↑ Linda Holmes (June 9, 2009). "Spencer, Heidi jeopardize their fragile ‘fame’". MSNBC. NBCUniversal. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  32. ↑ Mike Celizic (June 16, 2009). "Al Roker weighs in on Speidi ‘attack’". MSNBC. NBCUniversal. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  33. ↑ "NBC executive not happy with Heidi, Spencer". MSNBC. NBCUniversal. June 4, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  34. ↑ "Heidi Montag rips off Britney Spears at Miss Universe pageant". The Daily Telegraph. News Limited. August 25, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  35. ↑ "Heidi Montag Lets It All Hang Out in Miss Universe Performance". Fox News Channel. 21st Century Fox. August 24, 2009. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  36. ↑ Katy Hall (February 15, 2010). "Heidi Montag's Dirty Playboy Cover". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  37. ↑ Heidi Montag; Spencer Pratt (November 2009). How to Be Famous: Our Guide to Looking the Part, Playing the Press, and Becoming a Tabloid Fixture. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-0-446-55591-3. OCLC 318878730.
  38. ↑ Jennifer Garcia (January 25, 2010). "Heidi Montag Obsessed with Being "Perfect"". People. Time Inc. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Heidi Montag - Superficial". Sputnikmusic. Jeremy Ferwerda. February 1, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  40. ↑ "Heidi Montag's album an early flop". MSN. Microsoft. January 21, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  41. ↑ Kelly Maddern (May 28, 2010). "Heidi and Spencer's Downward Spiral, Before Our Very Eyes". Yahoo! Voices. Yahoo!. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  42. ↑ Cristina Everett (April 14, 2010). "Heidi Montag to sue 'The Hills' creator Adam DiVello for sexual harassment". Daily News. Daily News, L.P. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  43. ↑ Zack Mandell (April 22, 2010). "Heidi and Spencer Pratt Are Dropping the Sexual Harassment Charges Against MTV's Adam DiVello". Yahoo! Voices. Yahoo!. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  44. ↑ Marc Malkin (December 6, 2013). "Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag: Yup, They've Talked Since the End of The Hills!". E! Online. NBCUniversal. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  45. ↑ Soraya Roberts (May 27, 2010). "Heidi Montag's 'audition' video for Michael Bay's 'Transformers 3' has star at a shooting range". Daily News. Daily News, L.P. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  46. ↑ Amanda Cochran (June 25, 2010). "Heidi Montag Recording Her Second Album". CBS News. CBS Corporation. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  47. ↑ "Heidi Montag Files For Divorce From Spencer Pratt". MTV News. Viacom. July 30, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  48. ↑ "Couple faked divorce for TV deal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. November 5, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  49. ↑ Joyce Chen (November 16, 2010). "Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt renew wedding vows in private ceremony, celebrate themselves". Daily News. Daily News, L.P. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  50. ↑ "Heidi Montag Scores Big Screen Comedy Role; Hires Psychic For Manager & Fires Spencer". Access Hollywood. NBC. March 11, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  51. ↑ "Ashley Dupre, Heidi Montag to Star in VH1 Reality Show". Fox News Channel. 21st Century Fox. April 20, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  52. ↑ "Heidi Montag Today: 10 Things You Don’t Know About the Former 'Hills' Star". Celebuzz. SpinMedia. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  53. ↑ "iTunes Store - Music - Dream Come True - EP by Heidi Montag". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. June 15, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  54. ↑ Zach Johnson (April 17, 2012). "Heidi Montag Flashes Major Cleavage on "Dreams Come True" EP Cover". Us Weekly. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  55. ↑ "Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt Death Threats: 'Celebrity Big Brother' Stars Receive Nothing But Hatred". The Huffington Post. AOL. January 23, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  56. ↑ Rachael Wheeler (January 22, 2013). "Speidi's emotional apology to Rylan Clark ends the Celebrity Big Brother feud: "We didn't mean to clap"". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  57. ↑ "Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt Open Up About 'Celebrity Big Brother,' Death Threats And 'Feigned' Villainy". The Huffington Post. AOL. January 29, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 "Speidi: Scandal, Secrets & Surgery!". Channel 5. Northern & Shell. February 18, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  59. ↑ "Heidi Montag And Spencer Pratt Out-Clever Us All; Also, Humanity Might Be Coming To An End". The Huffington Post. AOL. October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  60. ↑ "Heidi Montag gets more plastic surgery, removes oversized implants". Fox News Channel. 21st Century Fox. November 1, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  61. ↑ Scott Collins (November 19, 2013). "Heidi Montag to talk plastic surgery in E! special with Spencer Pratt". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  62. ↑ Sierra Marquina (June 5, 2014). "Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt Pose on Beach With Four Dogs Before Celebrity Wife Swap Appearance: Picture". Us Weekly. Wenner Media, LLC. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  63. ↑ Chris Harris (November 11, 2008). "Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt Sign Up For 'How I Met Your Mother' Cameos". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved May 11, 2013.

External links

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