Is Lo Bosworth really the best person to be writing a book for teens on dating and relationships? Bosworth – a.k.a. Lauren Bosworth of MTV fame – is due to release her first book in January of 2011. The Lo-Down, published by Simon and Schuster’s Books for Young Readers, is a collection of stories about her dating exploits in Hollywood. When Bosworth became the poster girl for the popular oral contraceptive pill, Yaz –now under attack by Yaz attorneys for its misleading claims – the public wondered whether she was an appropriate representative because of her roles in MTV shows Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and its spin-off, The Hills. Her character in The Hills was introduced to create tension between the show’s best-friend pair, and through most of her time on the show, the actress kept her dating life out of the limelight. It was not until the sixth and final season, when she was billed as a main character, that she introduced her boyfriend, Scott.
Lo Bosworth became the spokesperson for Yaz, the most popular birth control pill on the market, during 2009. Many people wondered whether other cast members of The Hills might be better representatives of the drug based on their more public dating lives. When initially offered the job, Bosworth decided to look into the birth control pill to see whether it was effective. She decided that it was and took the job, touting Yaz’s positive side effects in a Canadian ad campaign. At this same time, Yaz attorneys were filing law suits against Bayer (Yaz’s parent company) alleging that the company had engaged in misleading advertising. Bosworth’s assertions that the drug can treat symptoms of PMS like bloating and headaches, and that Yaz is effective in resolving acne, turn out to be unfounded. The young star may be a graduate of UCLA, but she got this one wrong.
At age 23, Bosworth is a veteran of the Hollywood dating scene. Her roles in the MTV reality soaps brought her into the limelight in 2004 when she was only seventeen. The shows differed little from her ordinary life as she grew up in Laguna Beach alongside some of the show’s other actors – her real-life best friend, Lauren Conrad, as well as Stephen Collettie and Kristin Cavallari. No doubt the new book will share the juicy details of her Hollywood years alongside her friends, including the cast of The Hills.
Bosworth is no longer a representative for the birth control pill Yaz, which thanks to the work of Yaz attorneys and the FDA has been revealed to be ineffective at treating PMS and shown to in fact have a host of life-threatening health risks. Without a current television show, the young star is turning to a new career endeavor with the announcement of her book. However, she is not exactly striking out on her own – instead she’s following in the footsteps of her former co-star and close friend Lauren Conrad, who has written two New York Times bestselling novels, L.A. Candy and Sweet Little Lies. Only time will tell if Lo Bosworth also has it in her to write a successful book.