Lauren Conrad's passion for fashion is stronger than her claim to fame.

The fetching reality-TV star -- who looks like a cross between Carmen Electra and Marcia Brady -- is enjoying the A-list celebrity status she has acquired as the main face of MTV's The Hills.

When this crazy roller-coaster ride stops, Conrad insists she won't miss it.

"Basically, when I'm done with entertainment, I just want to design," Conrad said yesterday in Toronto, where she was on a promotional blitz both for The Hills and her own clothing line at Holt Renfrew. She'll make a public appearance this afternoon at Holt Renfrew's Yorkdale location.

"Eventually I want to have all of my time to design and kind of enjoy my own privacy," she said.

But fame is a narcotic, Lauren. Many believe that once you ride in the back of a stretch limousine, you're never the same person.

"Really," said the 22-year-old Conrad, taking a moment truly to ponder the theory. "I can see that. But I just ... I really don't think I'll have any issue parting with it. Because I'm happiest when I'm out of the public eye. Not that this has been a horrible adjustment. I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining at all. But knowing that it's temporary is what makes it bearable."

If you never have seen The Hills, it follows the life of Conrad and several other young, good-looking people as they make their way through the trials and tribulations of romantic relationships and the professional challenges of the fashion industry. It isn't for everyone, obviously, but through three seasons since it spun off from Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, The Hills has become a powerful buzz show among teens and young adults.

"When I signed up to do reality I was 17 years old and I was doing it for fun," said Conrad, who actually is a native of Laguna Beach, Calif. "And it was before reality TV had become what it is today, so I had no idea what I was getting into. We had no expectations."

Now, Conrad finds herself on the cutting edge of a generation that seems to be completely comfortable having all aspects of their lives on camera.

"Whereas (most people) walk downstairs in the morning and say good morning to one of their kids, I walk down and say good morning to my producer, my director, my cameramen and my sound guy," Conrad said. "They bring me coffee."

As Conrad's fame has grown, she has been dealing with an odd situation lately, since her life is on a four- or five-month reality-TV delay.

Like any young person, sometimes friends become ex-friends. But when the paparazzi spots Conrad at a restaurant with someone new, she can't really talk about it because what led her to that point might not have aired on the show yet.

"The episode that was on (last Monday), for example, really was last Thanksgiving for me," Conrad said. "But everybody reacts like it just happened, and you're so over it.

"The issue we've encountered recently is that because we've gotten more attention, storylines are starting to be revealed well ahead of time. If we break up with a boyfriend, everyone knows months before it happens on the show. Our lives are the show, but the media covers our lives. And then when it happens on the show, sometimes the reaction is, 'Oh, we already knew that.' "

It's a problem unique to reality TV, for sure. But Lauren Conrad doesn't want to be dealing with it forever.

After all, clothes are her first love, not fame.

"Fashion design is what I've always wanted to do, so when I get to do it every day, it's fun, I get excited," Conrad said. "My hobby is my life. Hopefully it continues."

- torontosun.com

posted by Lysandra @ 6:08 PM