


2004–2006: Laguna Beach
During Conrad's senior year of high school, she appeared in the MTV reality series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. Upon graduation in 2004, she attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for one semester where she first met Heidi Montag. During the second season of Laguna Beach, she returned home and began taking classes at a local college before subsequently transferring to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.

The first season of The Hills premiered on MTV in May 31, 2006. The series documents Conrad's move to Los Angeles, her work at Teen Vogue, and her personal life and the lives of her friends, including then-roommate Heidi Montag. MTV renewed The Hills for a second season, which filmed from late summer 2006 through February 2007. The premiere episode of season 2 aired January 15, 2007. During that time, the friendship between Conrad and Montag deteriorated as Montag increasingly spent her time with her new boyfriend, Spencer Pratt. By February 2007, Audrina Patridge replaced Montag as Conrad's roommate after Montag moved into a separate apartment with Pratt.



Conrad landed an internship at Teen Vogue while filming season one of The Hills. Conrad and her reality show appearances have been credited with improving sales of Teen Vogue. It was reported in March 2007 that since the second season of The Hills began airing in mid-January, newsstand sales for the magazine increased by double digits over 2006 sales. According to Lisa Love, the West Coast editor of Vogue who evaluated Conrad for the internship position, Conrad had to interview successfully in order to get the job, "regardless of what the cameras wanted".


Endorsements :
In January 2007, Conrad was named the first official spokesperson of "mark.", a line created by Avon and marketed toward young women. She will partner with "mark." and collaborate in both beauty and fashion initiatives. She will be featured in the brand’s magalog (reaching over six million customers every month), and in the "mark." online community. A line of exclusive co-branded items are part of future plans and will be available on the website and through "mark." representatives.
As of April 24, 2008, Conrad is also the national spokesperson for College Tonight.

In 2008, Conrad made a cameo appearance in an episode of Greek. In May 2009, Conrad appeared as an animated version of herself in an episode of Family Guy.
Conrad will appear as a guest judge during Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model.

In June 2009, Conrad released her first novel, LA Candy. Based on Conrad's personal life, L.A. Candy is a semi-autobiographical novel about a 19-year-old girl who moves to Los Angeles and becomes the star of a reality TV show.
Conrad's second novel, Sweet Little Lies: An L.A. Candy Novel, will be released in February 2010.