Heidi Montag

Blonde haired, blue-eyed and willing to go to any length to achieve celebrity status, Heidi Montag was just what reality show producers were looking for in 2005. A complete unknown just one year prior, Montag quickly became a reality star sensation, first as the best friend then arch-rival of series star Lauren Conrad on "The Hills" (MTV, 2006-10). A guilty pleasure that pushed the boundaries of just what constituted "reality television," it also introduced the world to Montag's boyfriend and eventual husband, the mercurial, attention-starved bad boy, Spencer Pratt. As Montag and her beau quickly became the couple audiences loved to hate, she attempted to move beyond "The Hills" with a long-gestating dance album and a clothing line, neither of which proved successful. Of more interest as a tabloid fixture, Montag grabbed headlines for her turbulent relationship with Pratt, a Playboy pictorial, and a self-described obsession with plastic surgery. Still seeking the spotlight and needing a source of income post-"Hills," Montag attempted to keep the reality train rolling - both with and without Pratt - by taking part in such projects as "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" (ABC, 2003/NBC, 2009), "Famous Food" (VH1, 2011) and the 11th season of Britain's popular "Celebrity Big Brother" (Channel 4, 2001-2010/Channel 5, 2011- ). For better or worse, Montag was the ultimate personification of America's obsession with celebrity culture in the early 21st century.