More than 1,000 people lined up in Petaluma on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of celebutante Lauren Conrad, who parlayed a role on an MTV reality series to become a fashion designer and best-selling author.
The crowd, mostly pre-teen girls and young women in their early 20s, waited more than two hours to spend just a few moments with the former star of the TV series “The Hills” at a book-signing appearance at Copperfield's in downtown Petaluma.
“It was well worth it to meet her for 30 seconds,” said Tiffany Holbrook, 22, of Windsor.
“It's a fantasy,” Holbrook said, explaining the attraction. “Everyone wants to be rich and famous and live in LA.”
Conrad was the biggest star to hit the Petaluma bookstore since the late George Carlin, and rivaled that for any of the releases of the Harry Potter books, said bookstore manager Matt Brown.
“We expected 300 to 600 or 700,” Brown said. “It is definitely the biggest book-signing at this store. It's wild.”
No one said they were disappointed.
“You meet someone famous, it's an amazing moment, it is such a cool thing,” said Rosemary Dodd, 13, of Petaluma. “And she was nice. She asked me how my day was and thanked me for coming.”
Conrad, 24, rose to fame in her senior year of high school in the MTV series “Laguna Beach,” which spawned a spinoff, “The Hills.”
A fashion designer, she has written two books, “LA Candy,” a semi-autobiographical book about a 19-year-old who moves to LA and becomes a reality series star, and “Sweet Little Lies: An LA Candy Novel.”
“They are really good, I don't really read anything else,” said Finan Mehari, 22, of Santa Rosa.
Debbie McCulloch brought a group of 10 Petaluma girls ages from 11 to 13, who expressed their delight in a chorus.
“She's like amazing,” said Megan McCulloch.
The chorus went: “She's so nice.” “She's so down to earth.” “Role model.” “I like her fashion.”
McCulloch admitted that she had to be talked into bringing the group, but was happy how it all turned out.
“They are so excited that someone this famous is in Petaluma,” she said.
By Bob Norberg @ pressdemocrat.com via tfs
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