Background and career
Spencer William Pratt (born August 14, 1983) is an American reality television personality. In 2007, he began dating Heidi Montag, a primary cast member of the reality television series The Hills, became cast in the series himself. A feud between them and cast member Lauren Conrad became the central focus of the series. The couple married in April 2009, and later that year made controversial appearances on the second season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! In 2013, Montag and Pratt competed on the eleventh series of the British version of Celebrity Big Brother, and returned to compete on the nineteenth series in 2017. In 2026, he published a memoir entitled The Guy You Loved to Hate: Confessions from a Reality TV Villain. Pratt finished third in the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral primary election, receiving 25.5% of the vote, and did not advance to the general election.
Pratt was born on August 14, 1983, in Los Angeles. His father is William "Skip" Pratt, a dentist, and his mother is Janet Pratt. He attended the Crossroads School in Santa Monica. In December 2013, he completed his undergraduate degree in political science at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He dropped out of college to pursue acting on television but re-enrolled in 2011.
Spencer Pratt first appeared on television in 2005 in the short-lived show The Princes of Malibu. As creator and executive producer of the series, Pratt was "manager/publicist/agent/stylist" for series star Brody Jenner. In 2007, Pratt began dating and lived with Heidi Montag, a reality TV person who was in the cast of The Hills. During the third season of that show, fellow cast member Lauren Conrad ended her friendship with Montag after she suspected that Pratt was responsible for rumors of a sex tape involving her and her former boyfriend Jason Wahler. Pratt later admitted he was responsible for the rumors, but then said he was lying when he claimed responsibility for the rumor. The ensuing feud between the three carried through each subsequent season. A reboot of the show, The Hills: New Beginnings, featured Pratt, and was canceled after two seasons.
In August 2007, Montag entered the music industry and began recording her debut studio album. Later that month, the song "Body Language" was leaked on the internet, and featured a rap verse by Pratt. He later directed the music video for Montag's first promotional single "Higher". In 2009, Pratt released the song "I'm a Celebrity," in which he called himself "the white Jay-Z." Pratt created the song to be released in conjunction with his role on the 2009 season of NBC's reality television I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Pratt came up with the rap name "Great White" from fighter Kevin Cale Casey, a professional fighter, who apparently would refer to Pratt by this moniker. Pratt said that his biggest rap influences were Eminem and Asher Roth. In 2009, Montag and Pratt appeared on the second season of the American version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. They quit after Montag was hospitalized with a gastric ulcer and later created controversy after alleging that they were subject to torture during production. After leaving the series, Montag and Pratt became notorious for their antics and antagonistic roles, notably during an interview with Al Roker of Today, and were described as "everything that's wrong with America". In May 2010, Pratt and Montag made their final appearance on The Hills halfway through the sixth and final season. In 2009, Spencer and Heidi appeared on the How I Met Your Mother episode "Benefits" as themselves. They have been featured in documentary programs. In 2013, Channel 5 aired a one-off television special discussing Montag and Pratt's rise to prominence, titled Speidi: Scandal, Secrets & Surgery!. The couple appeared in the E! Documentary special After Shock: Heidi & Spencer. Pratt appeared on a 2025 episode of The Weakest Link, where he won $50,000 for the Palisades fire recovery efforts.
The couple have appeared on Big Brother. In January 2013, Montag and Pratt (as a single entity) competed as housemates on Celebrity Big Brother 11, where they notably developed a minor feud with singer and television personality Rylan Clark. They were named the runners-up, losing to Clark. In 2017, Pratt re-entered the Celebrity Big Brother 19 with his wife. On Day 18, the couple was eternally nominated by James Cosmo, to which they did not have a good reaction. They were saved in an eight-person eviction on Day 22. However, they were evicted on Day 25 against Kim Woodburn, Jessica Cunningham, Bianca Gascoigne, and Jedward; after finishing in 9th place. Pratt and Montag were reunited with their series 11 rival, Rylan Clark-Neal, on Big Brother's Bit on the Side that night. In 2015, Pratt and Montag were houseguests on We TV's Marriage Boot Camp, as they worked out their differences about having children. In 2026, when Montag competed in season fourteen of The Masked Singer as "Snow Cone", Pratt was in the background of the performances as a snow cone-headed character that was later named "Mr. Snow Cone". As Montag was eliminated on "Spice Girls Night", Pratt took over the unmasking duties of the Men in Black and then unmasked himself.
During the fourth season of The Hills, Montag and Pratt eloped to Mexico on November 20, 2008. A wedding ceremony was held on April 25, 2009, in Pasadena, California. In July 2010, Montag filed for divorce from Pratt, citing irreconcilable differences in the petition, but they called off the divorce in September after confessing that the action was intended to boost Montag's ailing career. In November, they renewed their vows in Carpinteria, California. They have two children. Pratt was arrested and jailed in Costa Rica on September 11, 2010, while attempting to board an aircraft with hunting weapons. He was released and banned from re-entering the country.
