After appearing on the first two seasons of the hit reality teen soap "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" (MTV, 2004-06), Cavallari attempted to transform herself into a Hollywood "It girl" by quickly becoming a ubiquitous presence at various star-studded events and picking up the usual tabloid ink that came with sudden fame. In a bold move, the neophyte celeb bolted from "Laguna Beach" to host her own series, "Get This Party Started" (UPN, 2006). Canceled after a mere two episodes, Cavallari kept busy with work in the indie horror movie "Fingerprints" (2006) and guest turns on shows like "CSI: NY" (CBS, 2004- ) until she was brought back into the fold for the final two seasons of "The Hills" (MTV, 2006-2010), another popular reality series starring her old Laguna Beach High classmate, Lauren Conrad. Although still at the beginning of her nebulous career, Cavallari remained positioned to either step into legitimacy as an actress, or fade away, as had so many reality stars before her.
Kristin Elizabeth Cavallari was born on Jan.14, 1987. Contrary to popular belief, the actress was not born in Orange County, CA. She grew up in Denver, CO until her parents divorced, then relocated to Illinois with her mother. A few years later, she joined her father in Laguna Beach in the "O.C." She attended a private Catholic school until transferring to Laguna Beach High her sophomore year of high school. It was while attending this school that Cavallari and several schoolmates were chosen by producers to be in a reality show for MTV that documented Orange County teens' everyday lives, not unlike "The O.C." (Fox, 2003-07), a fictionalized drama series that had enjoyed a tremendous following and made stars of its cast, including Mischa Barton and Rachel Bilson. The music-themed network may have marketed "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" (MTV, 2004-06) as a reality series where the characters and situations were real, but some critics and audiences wondered whether plotlines and conversations were actually scripted.
Cavallari was in her junior year of high school when the first season of "Laguna Beach" taped. At the time, she had a romantic interest in Stephen Coletti, a senior at Laguna Beach High, and a rivalry with an archetypical Southern California senior, Lauren Conrad. The love triangle became the show's central plotline, and moving forward, the second season showed a more mature and confident Cavallari. The bubbly blonde flirted her way into everyone's hearts on and off the show and seemed poised for reality TV icon status. When the second season of "Laguna Beach" wrapped, Cavallari was offered a hosting stint on the short-lived makeover show, "Get This Party Started" (UPN, 2006). When initial ratings placed it firmly in the Nielsen basement, the series was cancelled after only two episodes, but Cavallari sought out numerous projects and made her presence in Hollywood known. She appeared that same year in the music video for singer Teddy Geiger's song "For You I Will (Confidence)," and also guested on the teen-angst mystery/drama series, "Veronica Mars" (UPN, 2004-06/The CW, 2006-07) in 2006, starring as high school student Kylie Marker.
Encouraged by her stint on "Veronica Mars," Cavallari made a concerted attempt to transition out of her reality star status with roles in the low-budget horror feature "Fingerprints" (2006) and the made-for-TV comedy "Cheerleader Camp" (MTV, 2007). Other acting gigs came in the form of guest turns on such series as the short-lived Latino-themed "Cane" (CBS, 2007) and the popular forensic crime procedural "CSI: NY" (CBS, 2004- ). Cavallari returned to reality TV when she joined her old rival, Conrad, and the cast of "The Hills" (MTV, 2006-2010) for its final two seasons in 2009. Keeping busy, she also appeared in a trio of little-seen sex comedy features, "Spring Breakdown" (2009), "Wild Cherry" (2009) and the direct-to-DVD sequel "Van Wilder: Freshman Year" (2009). As she geared up for the new decade, Cavallari picked up a brief guest turn as a beautiful, yet clueless, high school teacher in a 2011 episode of the Patricia Heaton family sitcom "The Middle" (ABC, 2009- ). In August of that year, it was announced the starlet would be joining the season 13 cast of "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC, 2005- ).