Beautiful People 2009: Whitney Port

Whitney Port, believe it or not, has ridden the subway -- more than once. "Yeah, it's been fine, no one bugs me," she says. Slightly shocking, as the 23-year-old star of MTV "reality" show The City seems to be floating in a very different orbit from the rest of us. With her flowing blond locks and perfectly startled eyes, the 5'10" Port seems to be living a charmed life of late. After appearing for two seasons on The Hills as Lauren Conrad's fashion-closet-mate at Teen Vogue and two at People's Revolution, she was offered her own series spinoff. The new show required her to move from L.A. to New York so that she could work in the PR department of Diane Von Furstenberg and traipse around town with an attractive bevy of friends, including a hunky Australian beau named Jay.

But there is something slightly un-deliberate about Port's tale -- she landed on The Hills sort of by accident, and Port, initially a side character, ended up garnering a cult following. All this makes Port the poster child for a less desperate-seeming brand of reality star (if such a thing is possible). "I always consider myself a pretty private person -- I've always had a few good friends, and have been more than happy being at home with my parents and family, living a simple life," she says -- and you kind of believe her. That said, Port acknowledges there are certain perks to having her personal life documented on national television. She recently launched a fashion line, and she earns quite a pretty penny per episode. Furthermore, she likes the fact that her early twenties will always and forever be immortalized on screen. "I don't even take pictures anymore -- what do I need them for?”
ALEXIS SWERDLOFF

Whitney wears a jacket by Barbara Bui, tunic by Jean Paul Gaultier, leggings by Whyred and ring and bracelet by XIV KARATS. · Hair: Sebastian Professional Whipped Crème · Foundation: Estée Lauder Double Wear Light · Blush: Yves Saint Laurent Touche Blush in Apricot

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