Whitney Eve Port was born on March 4, 1985 in Los Angeles, CA to Jeffery Port, owner of fashion company Swarm, and Vicki Lyn Woskoff. The second youngest of five children, Port attended Warner Avenue Elementary where she served as the school president in 5th grade. Her middle school and high school years were spent at Crossroads School for the Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, CA, where Port discovered an eye for high fashion. Though she could have applied to a fashion or design institution, Port chose University of Southern California and received a degree in Gender Studies.
While attending USC, Port took an internship at Women’s Wear Daily magazine for two summers. She then applied for a highly coveted internship at Teen Vogue, where she was one of two final candidates for the position. The other was Conrad, who at the same time, was starring in “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” (MTV, 2004-06). At the time of their interviews at the magazine, Conrad was in the middle of filming her “Laguna” spin-off called “The Hills.” Cameras were present as the two received internships, bonded, and became friends inside the offices of Teen Vogue. By the show’s third season, Port was hired by The People’s Revolution, a public relations firm that specialized in fashion. The producers felt the friendly rapport between Port and Conrad was essential to the show, and by the end of season three, Conrad was also offered a position at The People’s Revolution by owner Kelly Cutrone, so the two “Hills” stars could work side-by-side once again.
Hesitant to work the fashion runways at first, Port’s tall and lanky frame helped her land modeling jobs as well. She walked in a DKNY Jeans fashion show at LA Fashion Week and was handpicked by Vogue’s editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley to model Hilary Swank’s 2005 Academy Awards gown for a segment on “Good Morning America” (ABC, 1975- ). In perhaps her one and only notorious moment on “The Hills,” Port tripped while walking down the steps in the Guy Laroche creation during the segment. She kept her composure for the “GMA” cameras, but her mini-breakdown backstage was shown on “The Hills.”
Tears flowed like champagne at a Jay-Z party on “The Hills,” yet Port was able to keep her personal life away from the cameras, unlike her co-stars who seemed to revel in the notoriety. While Conrad duked it out on the show and on the cover of tabloids with her former roommate Heidi Montag and Montag’s sketchy boyfriend Spencer Pratt, Port stuck to appearing on the show simply as a listening ear for Conrad. Her scenes often consisted of segues into the L.A. fashion scene. When asked about the series’ most dramatic plotline, Port said, “It’s none of my business. I’ll be there to lend an ear to Lauren. Other than that, there’s no place for me in that situation.”
After years working behind-the-scenes for different magazines, Port found herself on the cover of none other than Rolling Stone in April 2008, along with her “Hills” castmates Conrad, Montag and Audrina Patridge. In March 2008, Port debuted her line of cocktail and party clothes called “Eve & A.” That same year, just as the fourth season of “The Hills” came to a close, MTV revealed that it was developing a spin-off series for Port called “The City” and that it would focus on her move to New York to work for designer Diane Von Furstenberg.