It's a name everyone knows from Laguna Beach and The Hills, but who is Kristin Cavallari behind the scenes? Everyone knows about her intense reputation from the days of being the biggest witch-with-a-B to ever step foot on the set of both shows but in reality, she's not really what many perceived her to be. Cavallari is one tough girl that's for sure, but there's plenty about her that she keeps off-screen and it's these things that show a new and unique side to someone who was once fully in the reality-star light.

Since the premiere of Very Cavallari, not only has Kristin revealed that she's an incredibly successful businesswoman, an outrageous cook, and a fairly down-to-earth person. What she also revealed is that she has some of her own fears and insecurities that most people wouldn't guess simply by watching reality shows. The more fans learned about her the more they liked about her, and not only has she become a solid role model, but she's just a fun person, period. Granted she has her standards, but doesn't everyone? We'd imagine it's pretty challenging not to, especially having a Cali reputation like that. Regardless of whether readers are Team LC or Team Kristin, everyone will appreciate these little-known facts.

20 She Owns Her (Very Successful) Business

Uncommon James is her very own brand that she began after leaving a previous jewelry line that she had partnered with her friend, Chelsea Bulte. Uncommon James is still relatively new on the fashion scene and it was revealed in Very Cavallari that Cavallari was taking on the task of simultaneously launching home goods online while also opening a storefront in her (now) hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. She describes her personal jewelry line as being "easy" and something containing pieces that can simply be thrown on in a pinch without much effort when it comes to matching. Each ring, earring, necklace, and bracelet has been designed in an elegant yet understated way -- Just enough to make a statement without being too bold. Her home goods line, as well as the most recent addition of children's clothing, is created in very much the same notion.

19 Being Fangirled Isn't Something She Enjoys

While Laguna Beach and The Hills certainly brought her fame and put her on the map, it's not something that she enjoys dealing with now that it's been eight years. Cavallari will be the first to admit that those days are long behind her and she has grown up tremendously since then if her family and lifestyle wasn't indicative of that already. When opening the Uncommon James store, she sought out employees that saw past her prior fame and drama and truly wanted to work in the store because they believed in the products and the line... Not because they were overcome with emotion from seeing a Hills star right in front of their eyes.

18 Cooking Isn't Just A Hobby

If you were thinking that Cavallari was just a reality TV star, you're wrong -- In addition to being an entrepreneur, she's also a published author. Her autobiography, Balancing in Heels, was published in 2016. Since then, she has also published a cookbook which came out this year called True Roots: A Mindful Kitchen with More Than 100 Recipes Free of Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar. It made the New York Times bestseller list and within its pages, you can really get a feel for how important health and nutrition is to the author. Healthy cooking isn't just a hobby for Cavallari, it's a lifestyle for both she and her family. Occasionally, you can even find her working on her own recipes via her Instagram stories -- Even her kids help out!

17 Her Husband Is A Former NFL Star

That's right, she's married to former Chicago Cubs quarterback Jay Culter. While many of The Hills stars are now new parents and/or married, Cavallari managed to keep much of her personal life out of the tabloids and aside from a brief pause in their relationship after getting engaged, she and Jay have enjoyed eight years of being together. Cutler appears in every episode of Very Cavallari and is seemingly a huge part of Cavallari's life without being involved to the point of controlling her business, but he definitely likes to ensure that everyone is on their toes and working hard.

16 Nashville Living Is A Way Of Life

The Cutler/Cavallari family has officially made Nashville their home and have lived there for some time now. Both Cavallari and Cutler enjoy southern city living although it was more Cutler's home than Cavallari's, and neither of them seems too anxious to move anywhere else, anytime soon. Cavallari is so content with her life there that she even recently opened up a storefront in town, but not first without expressing how nervous she was to get the reaction from her "hometown". They've built a life and a friendly support system there, not to mention recently sold their prior Nashville home to purchase an even more "in the deep country"-style home, complete with goats and chickens.

15 Once A Party Girl, Always A Party Girl

It's no secret that Cavallari always enjoyed a good party and while that seems to have wound down quite a bit since her days on The Hills, the old Kristin still pushes back occasionally. On an episode of Very Cavallari, the boss takes her staff on a trip to Florida as a "bonding" trip prior to the opening of Uncommon James. On their first night out, Cavallari makes the decision that begins many a downfall and orders shots that seemingly have no end. After a (slightly) embarrassing night, Cavallari FaceTimes Cutler the next morning in a world of pain from her previous nights' work at the bar. Hey, work hard, play hard, right?

14 Her Kids Are Her Life And Her Balance

It's quite obvious to see how much Cavallari truly loves her children as well as her family as a whole. While many other reality stars put everything out there and find no limits as to what's personal and what's not, Cavallari seems to find a balance between her work life, her TV star life, and her personal life. She confesses that acting is much like a switch to her and it has always been relatively easy for her to turn it on and off, which is why thing are so black and white when it comes to what gets aired and what doesn't. Her kids are everything to her and family time comes before anything else. Talk about growing up!

13 There Are Boundaries When Filming

Speaking of her kids, she has three: Two sons Camden and Jaxon and daughter, Saylor, who is the youngest of the trio. Cavallari has no qualms about being on-camera herself or having her husband, friends, or employees filmed, but she draws the line when it comes to her own children. Unlike many other stars out there, Cavallari refuses to put her children in the spotlight and keeps them off-camera as much as possible, except for her own personal social media accounts. Even then, the photos of her children are far and few between. She knows how to be personal but not personal enough to incite realty TV riots, which is something we have to respect her for.

12 Laguna Beach And The Hills Are In The Distant Past

We touched on this before but now we're talking the nitty-gritty of her past life in California. It came out long after the show had already concluded that much of it was staged and many of the stars were put into various scenarios to make the show more interesting; many of these situations were a result of producer-induced drama. While Cavallari didn't have an issue playing the part that she was assigned, you can never really be sure of what was real and what wasn't, since many of the stars are still friends with Cavallari to this day (aside from Lauren Conrad, of course).

11 Boss Is A Title, But She's Quite Down-To-Earth

As the CEO description that sits on her desk at Uncommon James points out, Cavallari definitely views herself as the girl in charge. It's certainly not a bad thing as she firmly believes in female empowerment and has a drive and a passion for running her own business. When it comes down to it, she knows what needs to be done and also knows how to do it, without creating unnecessary drama. Surprisingly, much of the drama that occurred on her own reality show came from her employees -- Who wanted nothing more than to help her succeed and were somewhat wary when it came to disappointing her.

10 Her Marriage Is An Interesting Love Story

For starters, Cavallari admits in an interview with Life & Style that she "wasn't even initially interested" in her now-husband. The two were first made aware of the other when Cavallari was finishing up filming on The Hills and she admits that she wasn't looking for anything serious at the time. On a later trip to Chicago where her mother happens to live, she ended up going to a Cubs game and meeting the famous Jay Cutler afterward. It was history from that point forward and aside from their three-week split during July of 2011, they've been together ever since. Their personalities are seemingly competitive with one another but with the same ambitious goals in mind, it seems that these two truly are strong team players for Cavallari/Cutler... Despite all of Cutler's hilarious sarcasm toward his wife.

9 Speaking In Front Of Crowds Is Surprisingly Nerve-Wracking

Something you definitely wouldn't expect is Cavallari's fear of speaking in front of large crowds. While she admits there's no problem being in front of a camera and acting, when it comes to making personal speeches, her nerves tend to get the best of her. In one of the final episodes in season one of Very Cavallari, the entrepreneur is shown behind the scenes at the grand opening of her storefront, getting a pep talk from her husband on giving her "thank you" speech. While it seemed that she was one step away from hyperventilating, she did end up going out and providing a great (albeit short) inspirational talk and almost ended up in tears afterward.

8 She Has Lived In Several States And Isn't A Cali Native

Surprise! Although her attitude totally matches that of California royalty, Cavallari was actually born in Denver, Colorado. She wasn't familiar with the west coast until she moved in high school and found her way on the set of Laguna Beach. After spending the first part of her life in Denver, Cavallari moved to Illinois where she attended middle school and her first year of high school, before eventually making the move to California to attend Laguna Beach High School. It was here that she became the Kristin Cavallari, forever to be known as the enemy of Lauren Conrad and the party girl of the west coast.

Surprisingly, Cavallari didn't immediately give up acting after her initial fame. She tried to pursue it post-Laguna Beach and did land some small roles on major television shows, many of which you've probably heard of. Her list of credits include Veronica Mars, CSI: NY, and she was even cast in a role for National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year. While these roles haven't been huge, she does perfectly well acting as herself as well, ending up on television shows such as Dancing with the Stars, Cupcake Wars, America's Next Top Model, and RuPaul's Drag Race.

6 Charity Work Is High On Her Personal List

Some more behind the scenes facts for you: Cavallari has been fairly heavily involved in charity work long before she became a business owner. She began working with PETA in 2006 which was followed shortly by her appearance with "We Are Ellis Island" as a spokesperson. Since then, she has also posed for the NOH8 campaign. Her charity work goes far beyond simply showing up, however; she has also traveled to El Salvador as well as Kenya to personally help with One Kid One World. Finally, she has also done with "Until There's A Cure", helping to spread awareness of HIV and AIDS.

5 Her Portrayal On Laguna Beach Was Not One She Was Happy With

Cavallari admits that her 17-year-old self was somewhat naive when it came to acting and what she was meant to be doing on the show Laguna Beach. The exact word she has used to describe her appearance after the show wrapped up was "devastated" because producers had painted a picture of she and her friends that simply was not accurate. In addition to the strange romance that seemed to be happening between her and Stephen, her boyfriend at the time, and co-star Lauren Conrad, she was portrayed as being an unkind and unfriendly person. She turned her back on reality TV until she was fully ready to be in the spotlight again and completely sure of who she was as a person, bringing her to appear in the final season of The Hills.

4 Chinese Laundry Currently Has Her Personal Shoe Brand

It seems like plenty of The Hills cast members went on to become designers and Cavallari is one of them who became very successful, especially when it comes to accessories and fashion. She'll be the first to admit that she loves the simple things and never puts an outrageous amount of time into deciding on her appearance. While she has used a stylist for her own outfits, she's beginning to do more and more herself and has finally found her own "style". This is evident in her evolution with the shoe line she's produced with Chinese Laundry as well as her own line, Uncommon James.

3 Working Out Is Part Of The Daily Routine

Being health-conscious food-wise usually goes hand-in-hand with being health-conscious as far as your body goes, too. Cavallari has her own workout routine (which is no surprise considering her husband is a former NFL player) which consists of weight-lifting. Her morning alarm goes off at 5:45 AM (yikes!) and the star begins her workout before beginning breakfast and continuing on with the rest of her day. While her lifts are only 30 to 40 minutes every morning, it's enough to get her warmed up and provide an adequate sense of accomplishment every week. Fitness and health are two things that are big in the Cavallari/Cutler household.

2 Animals Are Everything And She Even Owns Chickens

Again, if you've watched Very Cavallari, you'd know that both Cavallari and Cutler have an affinity for animals. The two have two dogs whom they love and with the recent purchase of their new home, have added some interesting characters to the mix. They are now the proud animal parents of chickens and goats, one of which, Pepper, is featured plenty of times on Cavallari's personal Instagram page. She openly admits to loving animals and seems to be loving her new home with all of its new "kids".

1 Beauty And Skincare Aren't Just Skin-Deep, She's Truly A Glam Minimalist

What's probably the most surprising of all is the fact that not only does Cavallari have a "so what" attitude about her overall appearance when it comes to makeup, but she actually spends very little time doing it. While she loves the glitz and glam every now and then, she claims that ever since she was a teenager, she just did her own thing and never spent too much time perfecting her face. What matters more to her is her skincare routine which she's rather vigilant about -- Other than that, she appreciates makeup that's easy, fast, and conducive to a completely natural look.

References: fashionista.comabcnews.go.combuzzfeed.compeople.com,

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