(1987-)
Who Is Kristin Cavallari?
Born in Denver, Colorado, in 1987, Kristin Cavallari first found fame as a teenage cast member of MTV's Laguna Beach, before returning to reality TV drama with The Hills. While other efforts to establish herself as a TV host and actress fizzled, she became a best-selling author with the publication of Balancing in Heels and True Roots, and launched successful shoe and jewelry lines. In 2018, she began starring in her new E! reality series Very Cavallari, which focuses on her business interests and family life.
'Laguna Beach'
In 2004, Cavallari, a junior at Laguna Beach High School in Southern California, was tapped for the cast of MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. The show boasted the hallmarks of reality programming, with its teen stars engulfed in the drama of social cliques and peer pressure, and the spotlight on the Cavallari-Stephen Colletti-Lauren Conrad love triangle. The following year, Cavallari continued to cultivate her bad-girl image while taking over narrating duties from Conrad.
'The Hills'
In 2009, Cavallari again replaced her former rival as narrator of the Laguna Beach spinoff The Hills, which had previously followed Conrad as she pursued a fashion career in Los Angeles. Riding with the "bitch is back" promo used to mark her entrance to the show, Cavallari fit right in with a new cast of characters that included the headline-making couple of Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, and rekindled a romance with an old flame, Brody Jenner.
After The Hills wrapped in 2010, Cavallari dished on the behind-the-scenes craziness of both reality shows: She said producers on Laguna Beach would push the teens into situations likely to cause trouble, later editing scenes to get the desired effect, while those on The Hills would simply text lines for cast members to read to ensure maximum drama.
While MTV announced in August 2018 that it was rebooting the reality favorite with The Hills: New Beginnings, Cavallari revealed that she would not be joining the cast due to conflicts with her Very Cavallari show on E!
'Very Cavallari'
In early 2018, E! announced that Cavallari would be making her reality TV comeback that summer with the July 15 premiere of Very Cavallari. Far removed from the catty culture of her previous efforts, the show aimed to focus on the star as she juggled her burgeoning business interests with the demands of keeping up a happy home.
"I think Very Cavallari is the first time people will get to see the real Kristin," she told People. "It’s me as a wife, it’s me as a best friend, and it’s me as a boss, as a businesswoman. So the 'bitch' persona — I think I’ve been able to kind of channel into being the boss and owning my own company, and then you get to just see who I am with the people that I love the most."
Cavallari live tweeted the season finale of her show while attending the August 2018 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards, an event marked by the wardrobe malfunction that stemmed from the plunging neckline of her wrap dress. By then, she already knew that Very Cavallari had been renewed for another run.
In May 2019, just before the conclusion of the show's 10-episode sophomore season, Very Cavallari got the green light to return for season 3 in 2020.
Marriage and Children with Jay Cutler
In 2010, Cavallari began dating NFL quarterback Jay Cutler. Engaged in April 2011, they abruptly called things off three months later, before resuming their relationship at the end of the year. In April 2012, Cavallari gave birth to son Camden Jack, who served as a ring bearer for mom and dad's June 2013 wedding in Nashville, Tennessee. The Cutlers followed with son Jaxon Wyatt in May 2014 and daughter Saylor James in November 2015.
In 2014, while pregnant with her second son, Cavallari found herself in the spotlight for revealing that she was against vaccinating her children. Admitting that she never intended to become a public advocate on the issue, she nevertheless defended her stance, citing statistics that linked vaccination to autism.
In April 2020, Cavallari and Cutler announced that they were getting a divorce, noting that they had "nothing but love and respect for one another" but had grown apart over the years.
Instagram and Twitter
Like many celebrities, Cavallari regularly engages her combined 5 million fans on Instagram and Twitter, using the platforms to promote her businesses, give shout-outs to friends and clap back at critics. While not shy about posting cheeky photos, including a famous pic of her naked hubby from behind, she has mostly refrained from featuring her children, as part of overall efforts to keep them out of the spotlight. However, attempts to guard her carefully cultivated image on social media haven't always worked; in September 2019, Cavallari reportedly dismissed an employee who posted an "insensitive" photo of the TV star in a revealing dress in New York City on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Books: 'Balancing in Heels' and 'True Roots'
In March 2016, Cavallari published her first book, Balancing in Heels: My Journey to Health, Happiness, and Making It All Work. While rehashing her rise to fame on television and the years afterward, the book also shared some of her favorite recipes and workout tips, a package that propelled it to a spot on The New York Times' best-seller list.
Cavallari followed in April 2018 with another best-seller, True Roots: A Mindful Kitchen with More Than 100 Recipes Free of Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar. As indicated by the title, the cookbook features a collection of healthy recipes, including such specialties as bison and veggie kabobs and zucchini almond butter blondies.
Cavallari's Shoes, Jewelry and Home Goods
After teaming with Los Angeles-based Chinese Laundry to launch a shoe line in 2012, Cavallari in 2017 created her own jewelry line, Uncommon James. Named after her daughter and sold online, the collection is described as "inspired with a sophisticated and polished look to be worn day to night" and "crafted to easily mix and match with jewelry already in your own closet, or layered and stacked to create a unique look."
The following year, Uncommon James opened its first brick-and-mortar store in its founder's hometown of Nashville. Additionally, Cavallari announced that the company was expanding into the home goods business with a collection of products that includes wine glasses, napkins, tongs and serving boards.
Kristin Cavallari's Net Worth
With her myriad business interests and continued involvement in television, the reality star/entrepreneur is worth an estimated $10 million.
Other TV and Movie Appearances
Following her run on Laguna Beach, Cavallari attempted to find her footing as co-host of the short-lived Get This Party Started. She landed starring roles in the 2006 horror flick Fingerprints and the 2009 straight-to-DVD comedy Van Wilder: Freshman Year, and also appeared in episodes of Veronica Mars and CSI: NY.
Her career revived by The Hills, Cavallari in 2011 competed on Season 13 of Dancing with the Stars, from which she was eliminated in Week 3, and surfaced on the reality shows RuPaul's Drag Race and America's Next Top Model. Two guest appearances on the fantasy football-themed comedy The League provided more exposure, but her next attempt at hosting, with The Fabulist on E!, also came and went quickly.
Childhood
Kristin Elizabeth Cavallari was born on January 5, 1987, in Denver, Colorado. Following her parents' divorce, she moved with her mother to Barrington, Illinois, where she attended junior high and her first year of high school, before joining her dad in California.
Although associated with the sunny So-Cal culture of Laguna Beach, Cavallari has fond memories of her time in the Midwest. "I had an amazing childhood in Barrington," she once told a regional publication, recalling summers spent swimming in lakes and her first "real boyfriend" in the town.
Parents and Brother
Kristin Cavallari is the daughter of Dennis Cavallari, a real estate developer, and Judith Effrig. Her older brother, Mike, reportedly was bipolar and found himself in trouble with the law before going missing in late 2015. He was found in a remote area of eastern Utah that December, after dying of hypothermia.
QUICK FACTS
- Birth Year: 1987
- Birth date: January 5, 1987
- Birth State: Colorado
- Birth City: Denver
- Gender: Female
- Best Known For: Kristin Cavallari rose to fame as a cast member of the MTV reality show 'Laguna Beach' and its spinoff 'The Hills.' She has since achieved success as a businesswoman and best-selling author.
- Industries
- Television
- Writing and Publishing
- Business and Industry
- Astrological Sign: Capricorn
- Schools
- Laguna Beach High School
- Loyola Marymount University
- Occupations
- Television Personality
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CITATION INFORMATION
- Article Title: Kristin Cavallari Biography
- Author: Biography.com Editors
- Website Name: The Biography.com website
- Url: https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/kristin-cavallari
- Access Date:
- Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
- Last Updated: February 17, 2022
- Original Published Date: June 25, 2018
QUOTES
- I'm pretty simple. I am a no-fuss, on-the-go kind of girl who knows exactly what she wants. I never settle. I always find a way to make things work, whatever those things are.
- I moved around so much when I was younger that I sort of had to have this type of exterior, you know, I was afraid of getting hurt.
- I feel like I have a real purpose here on life and it’s forced me to try to be the best version of myself that I can be for my kids. And I just feel like they completely opened up my whole life. It’s the best.
