Lauren Kitt Carter
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Lauren Michelle Kitt was born in Southern California to her divorced parents, Robin and Larry Kitt. Her mother, who was adopted, is of Irish descent, and her father is Mexican and Native American. Carter's siblings are Alexandra and Danny?.
I had a very normal, American, Southern California childhood. Everyone in my family on my dad's side was tradesmen ... tough, leave-early-come-back-late, dirty workers with that mentality of working hard to provide for your family. The girls stayed home. We cooked, cleaned, and had to go to school and get good grades. My dad was very strict, so I didn't grow up watching MTV as it was forbidden in my house. I didn't even know who the Backstreet Boys were until I was in my early twenties. My mum was a stay-at-home mum, and she just focused on raising me and my sister. She was adopted from Ireland, and my dad's family is Mexican/Native American, so we're an eclectic group.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Carter began her career at a young age, when her father enrolled her in dance lessons in ballet, tap, jazz, and all styles when she was 2-3 and . As a kid,
Sadly, she, her brother, and her sister grew up in an unconventional, dysfunctional family. Like her husband, Nick, she also had a rough childhood due to her parents' divorce when she was nine and her mother being a con artist and in and out of jail throughout her childhood, so it was tough for her and her sister. She almost became a troubled kid, hanging with the wrong crowd, partying, and skipping school.
My parents divorced when I was nine, and I can remember from nine years old having a very tumultuous relationship with my mother. My mum had me when she was 18, and my dad was 20, so she's only 18 years older than me, and I can remember her celebrating her 30th birthday, and she wanted to be out with her friends and have a social life. It was difficult when she was trying to take care of the two girls. We fought a lot, and it was a lot of back-and-forth between my dad's and mum's house.
I also wasn't focused on school. I rebelled against my parents and looking back, I wish I would've listened to the adults in my life and stayed in school!
No, it backfired on my father. He was so strict that when my parents got divorced, it was like, "Oh, you can play one parent off the other!"
When I was with my mum, I could sneak out of the house and go hang out with my friends, party, and miss school, but when I was at my dad's, it was still very strict. It made me want to rebel.
Just when she was about to head down the wrong path, something made her change and reflect on her decisions. Pretty soon, she somehow attended and managed to graduate from high school, and she lived in Tokyo for three years after high school since she was 18 and then in Paris before moving back to the States to get a degree in nutrition.
She was between careers, starting as a veterinary technician specialist and working at animal hospitals for ten years.
After moving back to the States, Carter was overweight when she and her husband started dating and decided to change her life and get healthy by signing up for a fitness competition with a bodybuilding federation called WBFF (World Beauty Fashion Fitness), and has competed for several more years and won her pro card. Since then, she joined the industry In 2013 when She began posting on her YouTube channel called Kitt Fitt with her fitness mantras and tips on workouts. Her popularity rose to the next level when Nick Carter starred in the videos as a cameos. The Channel name is "Lauren Kitt." Although she stopped posting the following year, her fitness tips and workouts are still available to stream, and it does depict how Nick Carter's entry in the videos boosted the viewers.
She began the channel to make fitness accessible to everyone. "I'm very inspired by people who tell me their stories because that's why I put out the Kitt Fitt videos, and I do put my workouts on Instagram all the time, and tips and stuff for free," she told The Athens Banner-Herald. "I know how hard and expensive [fitness] can be. It does cost to be healthy and to be fit. I'm happy to do anything and everything and say, 'Hey, this is what works for me.' I love doing that. I love keeping my site free. I'll never charge for that. It's something I'm very passionate about, and it makes me feel good to help other people."
She has over 4,779 subscribers, totaling over 255,461 views as of November 2017. Her fitness video series "Kitt Fitt" received the most views on each of the six episodes, accounting for more than 1/3rd of the total views. The teaser alone has over 33K views, and the video showing Nick Carter titled 'Welcome to "Kitt Fit"!' has gained over 75K views.
If anything, I'll do a website for it. It costs money now to make the videos. We hire the studio, hire someone to edit and film it. It costs a lot to run it, so I feel like if I were to start a brand, I would need to start charging. I want to keep it small and keep it free and keep it out there for everybody to enjoy. If anything, I might put out workout DVDs in the future, but I haven't even thought about it.
Surprisingly, before meeting her husband, Kitt met his bandmate A.J. McLean, who was dating his ex-fiancee in 2001, at an animal clinic while the band was in Japan for the Black & Blue Tour, and she started working as a fitness model. The funny thing was when they reunited when Nick invited her to come on tour, they almost didn't recognize one another until they got on the bus, and Nick was freaked out, wondering if the two hooked up, but AJ cleared things up, thankfully.
Since returning to the US, Carter has never gotten into the entertainment industry before because she had no intention or desire to be involved in film and television until she met the sister of her husband, with whom she was hooked up. Two years after dating Nick, she appeared in the first film he directed and wrote, "The Pendant," in 2010. It was a short 15-minute film and can be purchased on his official website. The only public viewing of the film was at the Royal Theater in Toronto on August 13, 2010. Fans could see the movie by buying tickets through his official site. He also directed another film in 2012, but there is no word when that will be released.
Kitt was also on one episode of "One Life To Live" 2013 as a boot camp instructor. Her other appearances were in the TV show "The Real" in 2014, "Larry King Now" in 2014, and "Entertainment Tonight" in 2016.
Her wedding with Nick Carter can be seen on YouTube at VH1 titled "I Heart Nick Carter - Husband & Wife - VH1" alongside various stories, news, photos, etc., starring herself, Nick Carter, and their son, Odin Carter, for which the first look was uploaded by Entertainment Tonight.
In 2014, Carter and her husband (then fiancé at the time), Nick, starred in their VH1 reality show, I Heart Nick Carter, which followed their engagement and planning of their April 2014 wedding day and premiered on September 10, 2014, on VH1. The show only had eight episodes. It documented her life and her now-husband Nick's life as he prepares to marry, which included Nick trying to set the wedding date in between the Backstreet Boys tour As well as footage of Nick working, Recording a new album with New Kids on the Block member Jordan Knight, various events such as a book signing, charity event, touring with Backstreet Boys in Europe (other members of the group also appeared on the show), his bachelor party, and much more. The wedding aired in a one-hour season finale. Nick announced on Twitter that VH1 didn't renew the show for a second season. In September 2014, Lauren spoke to The Athens Banner-Herald about her experience as a reality TV star. "I definitely was scared [to be on the show]," she said. "I am private, and I have a very small, close-knit group of family and friends. I call them my tribe. I'm very sensitive and protective over them, and so my worst fear was becoming vulnerable and exposing any of my family and friends to what I've experienced."
Kitt has since appeared in several TV and film projects. In July 2013, Nick launched a campaign on Indiegogo.com, a crowdfunding site, to raise money for his movie "Evil Blessings." The goal was to raise $85,000; instead, the campaign raised $156,214. Nick has said he'll use his money and the money raised to fund the movie. In return for the donations, multiple perks depended on how much you donated. They included chats with Nick on Skype, your name in the movie credits and/or website, movie merchandise (t-shirt, poster, DVD, etc.), acting roles, premiere tickets, BSB concerts, an online concert, and more. Nick wrote the screenplay himself for the film. Due to a few setbacks, the film was delayed and put on hold. In July 2013, the director of the film had passed away. The film was said to start filming in June 2014, but the success of the Backstreet Boys' "In a World Like This" tour delayed filming and was pushed back to January 2015. That gave Nick some more time to rework the screenplay. In October 2014, Nick announced that this film would be put on hold due to the director's death. Instead, he'll film a new movie called "Dead West" in January 2015. The money donated for "Evil Blessings" will be used for this film. Nick hired the production company The Asylum (the company that produced Sharknado) to help. In July 2015, At Comic-Con 2015 in San Diego, Carter revealed his plans to film a movie he had written that was renamed "Dead 7" to give it a more global appeal and would be directing and starring in. "Dead 7" includes various members of different boy bands.
In 2016, she starred alongside her husband in the SyFy film Dead 7, which focuses on a ragtag band of gunslingers operating during a post-apocalyptic zombie plague. The film also stars Carter's bandmates Howie D. and AJ McLean. Besides *NSYNC's Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick, O-Town's Erik-Michael Estrada, Jacob Underwood, Trevor Penick, and 98 Degrees' Jeff Timmons will also star in the movie. The film also includes Jon Secada, Gerardo (who you may remember for the song Rico Suave), Art Alexakis (Everclear), and Debra Wilson (MadTV cast member), plus many more. The movie was filmed in Butte, Montana, in August 2015 and finished in early September. The movie aired on the SyFy network on April 1, 2016.
"She blows me away as an actress," the singer told PEOPLE at the movie's premiere. "I'm trying to learn from her. I enjoy our time together. Acting is not easy. It is very challenging, and the one thing about her that I recognized was that she was really good at it."
Over the years, Kitt had never starred in a handful of music videos or worked on them before she started dating Nick, and in 2011, she became a Producer for her husband's solo music videos, including Just One Kiss and Burning Up Feat. Britton 'Briddy' Shaw. She later appeared in Florida Georgia Line feat Backstreet Boys's music video for God, Your Mama and Me in February 2017 with her son Odin. Then, on January 4, 2019, she would appear in No Place with her boys (husband and son). Next, in February 2022, She again appeared in her husband's collab video featuring Jimmie Allen, Easy, this time with her three children, and on August 18, 2023, she could be heard in Superman.
On November 30, 2022, Kitt, her husband, and their three children, together with the other Backstreet families, would later appear in the filming for the Boys' holiday special "A Very Backstreet Holiday" in Los Angeles, scheduled to air for December 14, 2022.
Sometime in 2018, Kitt became the co-founder of her cosmetic dermatologist, ProDerm Image, the same place she went to a while and was seen on I Heart Nick Carter, where she went with her husband.
In February 2023, Lauren launched Crypto Cafe - a learning community that breaks down the crypto industry. Crypto Cafe has a weekly e-newsletter and a presence on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
Before that, Lauren was deeply committed to environmental issues and animal rights and is the proud co-parent (with Nick) of two dogs, Igby and Nacho, and a bambino cat named Mulder.
I'm really passionate about the environment. I try to make our tour buses water bottle-free. Our households, our cars. I have an electric car. I try to use energy-efficient things. Everything down to what we pack our lunches in. I'm passionate about beach cleanup, volunteering to clean up neighborhoods, and planting trees. I don't really post it, and I do it privately because it's something I'm passionate about. I don't want to do it as a publicity stunt. I do it because I feel strongly about it. We do a lot with our local ASPCA, whether in Key West, L.A., or Tennessee. We donate a lot of our time and raise money for local food charities.
On February 1st, 2022, Kitt lost her grandfather. She described him as someone who taught her the game of poker, life, love, and family.
I didn't have many long-lasting relationships. I was never married, I don't have any children, I was just dating. Then, I moved to Japan when I was 21 and lived in Tokyo for three years. I'm six feet tall, and I couldn't find any tall Japanese guys! And I was working so much that I was kinda celibate for those years and found myself, which was a good thing.
Since returning to the States, Kitt has only been in two relationships and only got engaged once to rock musician Tommy Vext in 2007 before breaking it off in October 2008.
On October 20, 2008, Kitt was introduced to Nick Carter, who never had to wonder what his family would think of her, through his sister, Angel Carter, and brother, Aaron Carter, who were friends with Lauren and knew their brother would get along with her. The couple was introduced during a movie night at Nick's house, where a sign from the heavens seemed to approve of the match, and a relationship eventually blossomed. As it grew more serious, Lauren recalled that she had to decide between continuing her career and giving the romance a chance.
"Before I knew him, I was friends with his (Nick's) sister. She and another friend of ours had been trying to get us together for a long time, and one day, they set us up on a blind date. I met Nick at his house in Santa Monica, he was living with Aaron then. Nick and I met, and We were introduced, and we were on his balcony overlooking the ocean, and we ended up just talking, talked for hours and hours, and eventually fell in love. Then we realized what time it was and went inside and watched a movie. We fell in love during that time, just talking alone and getting to know each other. There was a point where there was shooting star after shooting star, and we looked over at each other like, 'Oh crap, this is intense!'"
Nick: My sister and family had been trying to introduce me to her. They knew Lauren before I did, and they all hung out. Lauren always said, "No, I don't like the Backstreet Boys and pop stars."
One time, it came to fruition because she was like, "Fine, I'll meet him. Now leave me alone!" When Nick "grew up," he met Lauren Kitt on a blind date in 2008, and everything turned around for him. "So I invited Lauren over, and we all hung out." Angel introduced the two at a movie night at Nick's house, where a sign from the heavens seemed to approve of the match. "We went out on the balcony, and all of a sudden, Three hours into conversing on my balcony overlooking the beach, these shooting stars came across the sky, and we saw shooting star after star," Nick remembers. "We were both looking at them simultaneously like, "That's trippy!" We both looked at each other, and it got quiet. The next day, I had to sing the national anthem for the baseball World Series with the Backstreet Boys, and I didn't want to leave her."
"When I first met Lauren, I was in a place where I wanted to stop any drinking and drugs," said Nick. (Nick realized he needed to change his life after being diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition called cardiomyopathy, which caused the early deaths of Andy Gibb and Chris Penn.) "I wanted to adopt a whole new lifestyle of fitness and health. And at the time - and they say this happens all the time - I didn't want a relationship. I didn't want to be in a relationship, and then suddenly... smacked right in my face."
Lauren: I had a tough shell when I met Nick. I'm not open with strangers, I don't lay it all out there, and I have a small group of people I allow into my life, so I was shocked at how open and vulnerable he was. He had a power of vulnerability that was astonishing and admirable.
Nick: She was different, but you could tell she had gone through a lot in life, and that's what I shared with her. I've experienced so many other things, and she has had a tough life, too, with her family and upbringing. So it was like we spoke the same language.
It was always difficult for people to relate to me because I had been through so much, and whenever I met a girl before, I didn't have things to discuss because my life had been pretty extreme. But we shared a lot of similarities.
Kitt sometimes had it challenging. Like Carter, she had a rough past with her family, as her mother was in and out of jail. She was also overweight when she met Carter but figured out a great fitness routine that works for her, and she maintains a fantastic figure.
"And six years later, now I have someone I truly love and care about, want to be the best for, that I want to be alive for. I want to be healthy. I want to be there for (Lauren) and be accountable to her, so she has been my rock. We do fitness together, eat healthily, and play video games together. She's my best friend, so it's nice to have a best friend that is positive and a great influence."
What were your first impressions of each other? Lauren: Initially, not knowing him, I thought he was arrogant. Come to find out, he was just shy. Because he didn't stand up to greet me, he was like, "Hey, what's up?" I needed to get to know him better. Once that happened, he was very loving, warm, vulnerable, and sweet. Nick: I thought she was... Lauren: Tall. [Laughs] Nick: I thought she was tall and stunning, but she needed someone like me to come in, love, protect, and hold her. I just felt like she needed me.
What was your first date? Nick: That was the first date - a cute little date night with my whole family. We watched the movie Big with Tom Hanks.
Nick was in the early stages of sobriety when you started dating. Did you see his struggle? Lauren: Definitely. He was very steadfast in wanting to be sober. But, the people he'd surrounded himself with were hard for him to deal with because they were freeloaders and enablers. They were there to use and feed off him, which was the biggest struggle I saw.
Nick, since you were still battling addiction when you started dating, how much did Lauren help you? Nick: She helped support my sobriety and my well-being from that point. I had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and was trying to change my life. I had been sober for six months and told my brother and my sister, "I don't want to meet anyone because I'm trying to focus on changing my life right now, working out, and eating better." So that's why I didn't want to meet her.
Did you have a moment where you were like, 'She's the one'? Nick: I loved being around her, didn't want to be away from her, and enjoyed our fun and bad times. They're the right one when you want to spend every waking minute with them.
When did you know the other person was the one? Nick: I thought she was the one the minute I met her. It was bizarre because ... Lauren: Really? I never knew that. Nick: Yeah, you were different. I don't know; I just felt an instant connection. I can't... It's like I just wanted to be around her. I liked her energy. I felt like she was powerful the minute I met her. Lauren: It took me about three months to know he was the one, and once I had that epiphany... He was out on tour. So I took my best friend to a tattoo shop and got his initials on my neck. And it was a surprise. Do you remember that? And you were freaking out ... because you couldn't find me, and I was getting a tattoo. It says NGC on the back of my neck.
What's the biggest thing you've learned from Lauren about love? Nick: That true, real love is unconditional. I had always been searching for that real love, and it's hard to find in this business because many people will put on a face and tell you what you want to hear.
What are your favorite qualities about Lauren? Nick: She's stubborn but very protective and has the biggest heart. She's a softie on the inside, and she loves immensely. But she's an extremist - when she loves something, she LOVES it to the point she's hard to be around! And I'm an attention seeker, so she gives me all the attention I need!
What I liked about her was that she had a powerful personality. I could be accountable to her and hide within one another. I felt protected, which was important because I was alone and had run with so many bad people ... it had been challenging for me. I had to make a choice the minute I met her and say, "This is the person that I want to spend my life with, and I feel safe with her."
Lauren, what's the most significant thing Nick has instilled in you? Lauren: That's easy - he has taught me how to be vulnerable. Funnily enough, he has gotten me in touch with my feminine side!
How? Lauren: Our relationship dynamic is funny. In many ways, he's the female, and I'm the male - he's very emotional and wants to talk about his feelings. He can't move on from certain things until his feelings have been addressed. I'm more of a male counterpart - I'm black-and-white; if the problem's over, let's move on. Nick's taught me to open up, be vulnerable, take chances, and be emotional.
What's the most surprising thing about Nick? Lauren: Going back to him being vulnerable and emotional ... he's the most loving person I've met, and to me, that was odd because he didn't come from a background of lots of love, attention, support, and protection. So what he gives me sometimes surprises me and makes me think, "Wow, I'm the luckiest girl in the world."
As it grew more serious, Lauren recalled on the show's first episode that she had to decide between continuing her career and giving the romance a chance.
"Nick is on tour. He's gone 300 days out of the year, and to have a relationship and make it work, I had to quit my job and be with him," said Lauren, now 31. "Now, all of a sudden, I depend on this man to care for and provide for me."
After realizing the situation wasn't good, Lauren started working as a fitness specialist and posting her "Kitt Fit" videos.
Just like her best friend and fellow wife, Rochelle McLean, helping her husband with his addiction, Lauren has helped Nick avoid alcoholism. Along with her best friend and the other wives, Kristin Richardson, Leighanne Littrell, and Leigh Dorough, Kitt has also been the target of bullying cyber-bullying and even death threats by fans online who believe her husband should be with them, not her, and doesn't understand how other women and girls fans were attacking her or even downgrade and attack other girls because she believes women should be supportive of one another and help and uplift one another. Still, luckily, Nick is quick to come to her defense against haters.
While on tour in Australia, separated from his love for the longest time since they met, Nick realized he couldn't live without her. After obtaining permission to propose from Lauren's father, Nick set off on a mission to design the perfect engagement ring. He sent Lauren to look at jewelry for her birthday with his business manager at XIV KARATS. A diamond on one necklace captivated Lauren, so Nick had the stone removed and set into a ring. "I love it because it looks like a Star Wars battleship," he explains. On February 20, 2013, Carter and Kitt, some friends, and family members were in Florida on a private island, which they now affectionately call "Engagement Island," in the Florida Keys. Lauren's father and Nick's best friend were on hand to witness the shirtless boyband member popped the question when he got down on one knee and revealed the seven-carat gigantic pear-shaped diamond ring set on a thick band from XIV KARATS from his swim trunks and asked his then-girlfriend, who was wearing a red bikini, to be his wife With the ocean in the background and their dog at their feet.
"She said, 'Yes,' and I'm, like, 'I don't know what to do," Carter tells PEOPLE of the proposal. "She said, 'You're supposed to put it on my finger.' So, I did. I was in shock." Kitt gave her future husband a big hug after accepting his proposal. Lauren was also surprised. "I wasn't expecting it. It just felt very surreal," she added. "We both are so happy in love right now and on cloud nine." On April 12, 2014, They were married in Santa Barbara, California. Many guests, including members of the Backstreet Boys, have said it was a very emotional and beautiful wedding. The wedding was featured in In Touch Weekly Magazine's May 5, 2014 issue. The wedding was also filmed for Nick's reality show "I Heart Nick Carter."
Before their first child, The couple also revealed that they were expecting a child earlier in the year, but they had recently lost the baby from a miscarriage. On October 27, 2015, it was revealed by multiple sources that Nick and his wife Lauren were expecting their first child together. On November 2, the couple discovered live on Dancing with the Stars that they were expecting a baby boy. On April 19, 2016, after a successful all-natural water home birth, the two welcomed their son, Odin Reign Carter, after 30 hours of labor. In September 2018, Carter revealed that Lauren miscarried their daughter. On May 24, 2019, Carter announced they were expecting their third child in October. On October 2, 2019, their second child and daughter, Saoirse Reign Carter, was born. On January 13th, 2021, Carter announced on his Instagram that he and his wife were expecting their third child, who is set to arrive in April. On April 22, 2021, their third child and daughter, Pearl Carter, was born after experiencing minor complications.
After her husband was falsely accuse of SA by former Dream member, Melissa Schuman, fake fan, Shannon Ruth, who claimed to have autism and cerebral palsy, and onetime criminal offender, Ashley repp, known as AR, causing ABC and Hulu and Disney+ to canceled A Very Backstreet Holiday, a television holiday special featuring the Backstreet Boys that was scheduled to air the following week on December 14, 2022 as well as having their holiday promotion for MeUndies and endorsement deals such as Tonies, that he signed on, and Roblox drop, their JingleBall performance never live-streamed or aired on CW and appearances on GMA and the pretapings on the Kelly Clarkson Show and La semaine des 4 Julie and the Album signing at the Edge NYC with a special sky-high "Christmas in New York" meet and greet with the band canceled, which led to fans boycotting ABC and the Kelly Clarkson Show for what they called "cancel culture", Kitt stayed by his side as he since filed a defamation counter lawsuit against all 3 accusers and is continue to win due to sufficient evidence he presented supporting his counterclaims, especially since after Schuman's first lawsuit was drop in 2017 because statute of limitations in the case had expired in 2013, and continues supporting him through the whole process.
Carter has acknowledged ongoing struggles with drugs and alcohol abuse like Nick. She revealed to Larry King that she started as a minor.
I also wasn't focused on school. I rebelled against my parents and looking back, I wish I would've listened to the adults in my life and stayed in school!
No, it backfired on my father. He was so strict that when my parents got divorced, it was like, "Oh, you can play one parent off the other!"
When I was with my mum, I could sneak out of the house and go hang out with my friends, party, and miss school, but when I was at my dad's, it was still very strict. It made me want to rebel.
It's unknown how she became sober, but it's primarily likely she chose to do volunteer service to escape that path at 15 years old.
I had a very normal, American, Southern California childhood. Everyone in my family on my dad's side was tradesmen ... tough, leave-early-come-back-late, dirty workers with that mentality of working hard to provide for your family. The girls stayed home. We cooked, cleaned, and had to go to school and get good grades. My dad was very strict, so I didn't grow up watching MTV as it was forbidden in my house. I didn't even know who the Backstreet Boys were until I was in my early twenties. My mum was a stay-at-home mum, and she just focused on raising me and my sister. She was adopted from Ireland, and my dad's family is Mexican/Native American, so we're an eclectic group.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Carter began her career at a young age, when her father enrolled her in dance lessons in ballet, tap, jazz, and all styles when she was 2-3 and . As a kid,
Sadly, she, her brother, and her sister grew up in an unconventional, dysfunctional family. Like her husband, Nick, she also had a rough childhood due to her parents' divorce when she was nine and her mother being a con artist and in and out of jail throughout her childhood, so it was tough for her and her sister. She almost became a troubled kid, hanging with the wrong crowd, partying, and skipping school.
My parents divorced when I was nine, and I can remember from nine years old having a very tumultuous relationship with my mother. My mum had me when she was 18, and my dad was 20, so she's only 18 years older than me, and I can remember her celebrating her 30th birthday, and she wanted to be out with her friends and have a social life. It was difficult when she was trying to take care of the two girls. We fought a lot, and it was a lot of back-and-forth between my dad's and mum's house.
I also wasn't focused on school. I rebelled against my parents and looking back, I wish I would've listened to the adults in my life and stayed in school!
No, it backfired on my father. He was so strict that when my parents got divorced, it was like, "Oh, you can play one parent off the other!"
When I was with my mum, I could sneak out of the house and go hang out with my friends, party, and miss school, but when I was at my dad's, it was still very strict. It made me want to rebel.
Just when she was about to head down the wrong path, something made her change and reflect on her decisions. Pretty soon, she somehow attended and managed to graduate from high school, and she lived in Tokyo for three years after high school since she was 18 and then in Paris before moving back to the States to get a degree in nutrition.
She was between careers, starting as a veterinary technician specialist and working at animal hospitals for ten years.
After moving back to the States, Carter was overweight when she and her husband started dating and decided to change her life and get healthy by signing up for a fitness competition with a bodybuilding federation called WBFF (World Beauty Fashion Fitness), and has competed for several more years and won her pro card. Since then, she joined the industry In 2013 when She began posting on her YouTube channel called Kitt Fitt with her fitness mantras and tips on workouts. Her popularity rose to the next level when Nick Carter starred in the videos as a cameos. The Channel name is "Lauren Kitt." Although she stopped posting the following year, her fitness tips and workouts are still available to stream, and it does depict how Nick Carter's entry in the videos boosted the viewers.
She began the channel to make fitness accessible to everyone. "I'm very inspired by people who tell me their stories because that's why I put out the Kitt Fitt videos, and I do put my workouts on Instagram all the time, and tips and stuff for free," she told The Athens Banner-Herald. "I know how hard and expensive [fitness] can be. It does cost to be healthy and to be fit. I'm happy to do anything and everything and say, 'Hey, this is what works for me.' I love doing that. I love keeping my site free. I'll never charge for that. It's something I'm very passionate about, and it makes me feel good to help other people."
She has over 4,779 subscribers, totaling over 255,461 views as of November 2017. Her fitness video series "Kitt Fitt" received the most views on each of the six episodes, accounting for more than 1/3rd of the total views. The teaser alone has over 33K views, and the video showing Nick Carter titled 'Welcome to "Kitt Fit"!' has gained over 75K views.
If anything, I'll do a website for it. It costs money now to make the videos. We hire the studio, hire someone to edit and film it. It costs a lot to run it, so I feel like if I were to start a brand, I would need to start charging. I want to keep it small and keep it free and keep it out there for everybody to enjoy. If anything, I might put out workout DVDs in the future, but I haven't even thought about it.
Surprisingly, before meeting her husband, Kitt met his bandmate A.J. McLean, who was dating his ex-fiancee in 2001, at an animal clinic while the band was in Japan for the Black & Blue Tour, and she started working as a fitness model. The funny thing was when they reunited when Nick invited her to come on tour, they almost didn't recognize one another until they got on the bus, and Nick was freaked out, wondering if the two hooked up, but AJ cleared things up, thankfully.
Since returning to the US, Carter has never gotten into the entertainment industry before because she had no intention or desire to be involved in film and television until she met the sister of her husband, with whom she was hooked up. Two years after dating Nick, she appeared in the first film he directed and wrote, "The Pendant," in 2010. It was a short 15-minute film and can be purchased on his official website. The only public viewing of the film was at the Royal Theater in Toronto on August 13, 2010. Fans could see the movie by buying tickets through his official site. He also directed another film in 2012, but there is no word when that will be released.
Kitt was also on one episode of "One Life To Live" 2013 as a boot camp instructor. Her other appearances were in the TV show "The Real" in 2014, "Larry King Now" in 2014, and "Entertainment Tonight" in 2016.
Her wedding with Nick Carter can be seen on YouTube at VH1 titled "I Heart Nick Carter - Husband & Wife - VH1" alongside various stories, news, photos, etc., starring herself, Nick Carter, and their son, Odin Carter, for which the first look was uploaded by Entertainment Tonight.
In 2014, Carter and her husband (then fiancé at the time), Nick, starred in their VH1 reality show, I Heart Nick Carter, which followed their engagement and planning of their April 2014 wedding day and premiered on September 10, 2014, on VH1. The show only had eight episodes. It documented her life and her now-husband Nick's life as he prepares to marry, which included Nick trying to set the wedding date in between the Backstreet Boys tour As well as footage of Nick working, Recording a new album with New Kids on the Block member Jordan Knight, various events such as a book signing, charity event, touring with Backstreet Boys in Europe (other members of the group also appeared on the show), his bachelor party, and much more. The wedding aired in a one-hour season finale. Nick announced on Twitter that VH1 didn't renew the show for a second season. In September 2014, Lauren spoke to The Athens Banner-Herald about her experience as a reality TV star. "I definitely was scared [to be on the show]," she said. "I am private, and I have a very small, close-knit group of family and friends. I call them my tribe. I'm very sensitive and protective over them, and so my worst fear was becoming vulnerable and exposing any of my family and friends to what I've experienced."
Kitt has since appeared in several TV and film projects. In July 2013, Nick launched a campaign on Indiegogo.com, a crowdfunding site, to raise money for his movie "Evil Blessings." The goal was to raise $85,000; instead, the campaign raised $156,214. Nick has said he'll use his money and the money raised to fund the movie. In return for the donations, multiple perks depended on how much you donated. They included chats with Nick on Skype, your name in the movie credits and/or website, movie merchandise (t-shirt, poster, DVD, etc.), acting roles, premiere tickets, BSB concerts, an online concert, and more. Nick wrote the screenplay himself for the film. Due to a few setbacks, the film was delayed and put on hold. In July 2013, the director of the film had passed away. The film was said to start filming in June 2014, but the success of the Backstreet Boys' "In a World Like This" tour delayed filming and was pushed back to January 2015. That gave Nick some more time to rework the screenplay. In October 2014, Nick announced that this film would be put on hold due to the director's death. Instead, he'll film a new movie called "Dead West" in January 2015. The money donated for "Evil Blessings" will be used for this film. Nick hired the production company The Asylum (the company that produced Sharknado) to help. In July 2015, At Comic-Con 2015 in San Diego, Carter revealed his plans to film a movie he had written that was renamed "Dead 7" to give it a more global appeal and would be directing and starring in. "Dead 7" includes various members of different boy bands.
In 2016, she starred alongside her husband in the SyFy film Dead 7, which focuses on a ragtag band of gunslingers operating during a post-apocalyptic zombie plague. The film also stars Carter's bandmates Howie D. and AJ McLean. Besides *NSYNC's Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick, O-Town's Erik-Michael Estrada, Jacob Underwood, Trevor Penick, and 98 Degrees' Jeff Timmons will also star in the movie. The film also includes Jon Secada, Gerardo (who you may remember for the song Rico Suave), Art Alexakis (Everclear), and Debra Wilson (MadTV cast member), plus many more. The movie was filmed in Butte, Montana, in August 2015 and finished in early September. The movie aired on the SyFy network on April 1, 2016.
"She blows me away as an actress," the singer told PEOPLE at the movie's premiere. "I'm trying to learn from her. I enjoy our time together. Acting is not easy. It is very challenging, and the one thing about her that I recognized was that she was really good at it."
Over the years, Kitt had never starred in a handful of music videos or worked on them before she started dating Nick, and in 2011, she became a Producer for her husband's solo music videos, including Just One Kiss and Burning Up Feat. Britton 'Briddy' Shaw. She later appeared in Florida Georgia Line feat Backstreet Boys's music video for God, Your Mama and Me in February 2017 with her son Odin. Then, on January 4, 2019, she would appear in No Place with her boys (husband and son). Next, in February 2022, She again appeared in her husband's collab video featuring Jimmie Allen, Easy, this time with her three children, and on August 18, 2023, she could be heard in Superman.
On November 30, 2022, Kitt, her husband, and their three children, together with the other Backstreet families, would later appear in the filming for the Boys' holiday special "A Very Backstreet Holiday" in Los Angeles, scheduled to air for December 14, 2022.
Sometime in 2018, Kitt became the co-founder of her cosmetic dermatologist, ProDerm Image, the same place she went to a while and was seen on I Heart Nick Carter, where she went with her husband.
In February 2023, Lauren launched Crypto Cafe - a learning community that breaks down the crypto industry. Crypto Cafe has a weekly e-newsletter and a presence on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
Before that, Lauren was deeply committed to environmental issues and animal rights and is the proud co-parent (with Nick) of two dogs, Igby and Nacho, and a bambino cat named Mulder.
I'm really passionate about the environment. I try to make our tour buses water bottle-free. Our households, our cars. I have an electric car. I try to use energy-efficient things. Everything down to what we pack our lunches in. I'm passionate about beach cleanup, volunteering to clean up neighborhoods, and planting trees. I don't really post it, and I do it privately because it's something I'm passionate about. I don't want to do it as a publicity stunt. I do it because I feel strongly about it. We do a lot with our local ASPCA, whether in Key West, L.A., or Tennessee. We donate a lot of our time and raise money for local food charities.
On February 1st, 2022, Kitt lost her grandfather. She described him as someone who taught her the game of poker, life, love, and family.
I didn't have many long-lasting relationships. I was never married, I don't have any children, I was just dating. Then, I moved to Japan when I was 21 and lived in Tokyo for three years. I'm six feet tall, and I couldn't find any tall Japanese guys! And I was working so much that I was kinda celibate for those years and found myself, which was a good thing.
Since returning to the States, Kitt has only been in two relationships and only got engaged once to rock musician Tommy Vext in 2007 before breaking it off in October 2008.
On October 20, 2008, Kitt was introduced to Nick Carter, who never had to wonder what his family would think of her, through his sister, Angel Carter, and brother, Aaron Carter, who were friends with Lauren and knew their brother would get along with her. The couple was introduced during a movie night at Nick's house, where a sign from the heavens seemed to approve of the match, and a relationship eventually blossomed. As it grew more serious, Lauren recalled that she had to decide between continuing her career and giving the romance a chance.
"Before I knew him, I was friends with his (Nick's) sister. She and another friend of ours had been trying to get us together for a long time, and one day, they set us up on a blind date. I met Nick at his house in Santa Monica, he was living with Aaron then. Nick and I met, and We were introduced, and we were on his balcony overlooking the ocean, and we ended up just talking, talked for hours and hours, and eventually fell in love. Then we realized what time it was and went inside and watched a movie. We fell in love during that time, just talking alone and getting to know each other. There was a point where there was shooting star after shooting star, and we looked over at each other like, 'Oh crap, this is intense!'"
Nick: My sister and family had been trying to introduce me to her. They knew Lauren before I did, and they all hung out. Lauren always said, "No, I don't like the Backstreet Boys and pop stars."
One time, it came to fruition because she was like, "Fine, I'll meet him. Now leave me alone!" When Nick "grew up," he met Lauren Kitt on a blind date in 2008, and everything turned around for him. "So I invited Lauren over, and we all hung out." Angel introduced the two at a movie night at Nick's house, where a sign from the heavens seemed to approve of the match. "We went out on the balcony, and all of a sudden, Three hours into conversing on my balcony overlooking the beach, these shooting stars came across the sky, and we saw shooting star after star," Nick remembers. "We were both looking at them simultaneously like, "That's trippy!" We both looked at each other, and it got quiet. The next day, I had to sing the national anthem for the baseball World Series with the Backstreet Boys, and I didn't want to leave her."
"When I first met Lauren, I was in a place where I wanted to stop any drinking and drugs," said Nick. (Nick realized he needed to change his life after being diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition called cardiomyopathy, which caused the early deaths of Andy Gibb and Chris Penn.) "I wanted to adopt a whole new lifestyle of fitness and health. And at the time - and they say this happens all the time - I didn't want a relationship. I didn't want to be in a relationship, and then suddenly... smacked right in my face."
Lauren: I had a tough shell when I met Nick. I'm not open with strangers, I don't lay it all out there, and I have a small group of people I allow into my life, so I was shocked at how open and vulnerable he was. He had a power of vulnerability that was astonishing and admirable.
Nick: She was different, but you could tell she had gone through a lot in life, and that's what I shared with her. I've experienced so many other things, and she has had a tough life, too, with her family and upbringing. So it was like we spoke the same language.
It was always difficult for people to relate to me because I had been through so much, and whenever I met a girl before, I didn't have things to discuss because my life had been pretty extreme. But we shared a lot of similarities.
Kitt sometimes had it challenging. Like Carter, she had a rough past with her family, as her mother was in and out of jail. She was also overweight when she met Carter but figured out a great fitness routine that works for her, and she maintains a fantastic figure.
"And six years later, now I have someone I truly love and care about, want to be the best for, that I want to be alive for. I want to be healthy. I want to be there for (Lauren) and be accountable to her, so she has been my rock. We do fitness together, eat healthily, and play video games together. She's my best friend, so it's nice to have a best friend that is positive and a great influence."
What were your first impressions of each other? Lauren: Initially, not knowing him, I thought he was arrogant. Come to find out, he was just shy. Because he didn't stand up to greet me, he was like, "Hey, what's up?" I needed to get to know him better. Once that happened, he was very loving, warm, vulnerable, and sweet. Nick: I thought she was... Lauren: Tall. [Laughs] Nick: I thought she was tall and stunning, but she needed someone like me to come in, love, protect, and hold her. I just felt like she needed me.
What was your first date? Nick: That was the first date - a cute little date night with my whole family. We watched the movie Big with Tom Hanks.
Nick was in the early stages of sobriety when you started dating. Did you see his struggle? Lauren: Definitely. He was very steadfast in wanting to be sober. But, the people he'd surrounded himself with were hard for him to deal with because they were freeloaders and enablers. They were there to use and feed off him, which was the biggest struggle I saw.
Nick, since you were still battling addiction when you started dating, how much did Lauren help you? Nick: She helped support my sobriety and my well-being from that point. I had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and was trying to change my life. I had been sober for six months and told my brother and my sister, "I don't want to meet anyone because I'm trying to focus on changing my life right now, working out, and eating better." So that's why I didn't want to meet her.
Did you have a moment where you were like, 'She's the one'? Nick: I loved being around her, didn't want to be away from her, and enjoyed our fun and bad times. They're the right one when you want to spend every waking minute with them.
When did you know the other person was the one? Nick: I thought she was the one the minute I met her. It was bizarre because ... Lauren: Really? I never knew that. Nick: Yeah, you were different. I don't know; I just felt an instant connection. I can't... It's like I just wanted to be around her. I liked her energy. I felt like she was powerful the minute I met her. Lauren: It took me about three months to know he was the one, and once I had that epiphany... He was out on tour. So I took my best friend to a tattoo shop and got his initials on my neck. And it was a surprise. Do you remember that? And you were freaking out ... because you couldn't find me, and I was getting a tattoo. It says NGC on the back of my neck.
What's the biggest thing you've learned from Lauren about love? Nick: That true, real love is unconditional. I had always been searching for that real love, and it's hard to find in this business because many people will put on a face and tell you what you want to hear.
What are your favorite qualities about Lauren? Nick: She's stubborn but very protective and has the biggest heart. She's a softie on the inside, and she loves immensely. But she's an extremist - when she loves something, she LOVES it to the point she's hard to be around! And I'm an attention seeker, so she gives me all the attention I need!
What I liked about her was that she had a powerful personality. I could be accountable to her and hide within one another. I felt protected, which was important because I was alone and had run with so many bad people ... it had been challenging for me. I had to make a choice the minute I met her and say, "This is the person that I want to spend my life with, and I feel safe with her."
Lauren, what's the most significant thing Nick has instilled in you? Lauren: That's easy - he has taught me how to be vulnerable. Funnily enough, he has gotten me in touch with my feminine side!
How? Lauren: Our relationship dynamic is funny. In many ways, he's the female, and I'm the male - he's very emotional and wants to talk about his feelings. He can't move on from certain things until his feelings have been addressed. I'm more of a male counterpart - I'm black-and-white; if the problem's over, let's move on. Nick's taught me to open up, be vulnerable, take chances, and be emotional.
What's the most surprising thing about Nick? Lauren: Going back to him being vulnerable and emotional ... he's the most loving person I've met, and to me, that was odd because he didn't come from a background of lots of love, attention, support, and protection. So what he gives me sometimes surprises me and makes me think, "Wow, I'm the luckiest girl in the world."
As it grew more serious, Lauren recalled on the show's first episode that she had to decide between continuing her career and giving the romance a chance.
"Nick is on tour. He's gone 300 days out of the year, and to have a relationship and make it work, I had to quit my job and be with him," said Lauren, now 31. "Now, all of a sudden, I depend on this man to care for and provide for me."
After realizing the situation wasn't good, Lauren started working as a fitness specialist and posting her "Kitt Fit" videos.
Just like her best friend and fellow wife, Rochelle McLean, helping her husband with his addiction, Lauren has helped Nick avoid alcoholism. Along with her best friend and the other wives, Kristin Richardson, Leighanne Littrell, and Leigh Dorough, Kitt has also been the target of bullying cyber-bullying and even death threats by fans online who believe her husband should be with them, not her, and doesn't understand how other women and girls fans were attacking her or even downgrade and attack other girls because she believes women should be supportive of one another and help and uplift one another. Still, luckily, Nick is quick to come to her defense against haters.
While on tour in Australia, separated from his love for the longest time since they met, Nick realized he couldn't live without her. After obtaining permission to propose from Lauren's father, Nick set off on a mission to design the perfect engagement ring. He sent Lauren to look at jewelry for her birthday with his business manager at XIV KARATS. A diamond on one necklace captivated Lauren, so Nick had the stone removed and set into a ring. "I love it because it looks like a Star Wars battleship," he explains. On February 20, 2013, Carter and Kitt, some friends, and family members were in Florida on a private island, which they now affectionately call "Engagement Island," in the Florida Keys. Lauren's father and Nick's best friend were on hand to witness the shirtless boyband member popped the question when he got down on one knee and revealed the seven-carat gigantic pear-shaped diamond ring set on a thick band from XIV KARATS from his swim trunks and asked his then-girlfriend, who was wearing a red bikini, to be his wife With the ocean in the background and their dog at their feet.
"She said, 'Yes,' and I'm, like, 'I don't know what to do," Carter tells PEOPLE of the proposal. "She said, 'You're supposed to put it on my finger.' So, I did. I was in shock." Kitt gave her future husband a big hug after accepting his proposal. Lauren was also surprised. "I wasn't expecting it. It just felt very surreal," she added. "We both are so happy in love right now and on cloud nine." On April 12, 2014, They were married in Santa Barbara, California. Many guests, including members of the Backstreet Boys, have said it was a very emotional and beautiful wedding. The wedding was featured in In Touch Weekly Magazine's May 5, 2014 issue. The wedding was also filmed for Nick's reality show "I Heart Nick Carter."
Before their first child, The couple also revealed that they were expecting a child earlier in the year, but they had recently lost the baby from a miscarriage. On October 27, 2015, it was revealed by multiple sources that Nick and his wife Lauren were expecting their first child together. On November 2, the couple discovered live on Dancing with the Stars that they were expecting a baby boy. On April 19, 2016, after a successful all-natural water home birth, the two welcomed their son, Odin Reign Carter, after 30 hours of labor. In September 2018, Carter revealed that Lauren miscarried their daughter. On May 24, 2019, Carter announced they were expecting their third child in October. On October 2, 2019, their second child and daughter, Saoirse Reign Carter, was born. On January 13th, 2021, Carter announced on his Instagram that he and his wife were expecting their third child, who is set to arrive in April. On April 22, 2021, their third child and daughter, Pearl Carter, was born after experiencing minor complications.
After her husband was falsely accuse of SA by former Dream member, Melissa Schuman, fake fan, Shannon Ruth, who claimed to have autism and cerebral palsy, and onetime criminal offender, Ashley repp, known as AR, causing ABC and Hulu and Disney+ to canceled A Very Backstreet Holiday, a television holiday special featuring the Backstreet Boys that was scheduled to air the following week on December 14, 2022 as well as having their holiday promotion for MeUndies and endorsement deals such as Tonies, that he signed on, and Roblox drop, their JingleBall performance never live-streamed or aired on CW and appearances on GMA and the pretapings on the Kelly Clarkson Show and La semaine des 4 Julie and the Album signing at the Edge NYC with a special sky-high "Christmas in New York" meet and greet with the band canceled, which led to fans boycotting ABC and the Kelly Clarkson Show for what they called "cancel culture", Kitt stayed by his side as he since filed a defamation counter lawsuit against all 3 accusers and is continue to win due to sufficient evidence he presented supporting his counterclaims, especially since after Schuman's first lawsuit was drop in 2017 because statute of limitations in the case had expired in 2013, and continues supporting him through the whole process.
Carter has acknowledged ongoing struggles with drugs and alcohol abuse like Nick. She revealed to Larry King that she started as a minor.
I also wasn't focused on school. I rebelled against my parents and looking back, I wish I would've listened to the adults in my life and stayed in school!
No, it backfired on my father. He was so strict that when my parents got divorced, it was like, "Oh, you can play one parent off the other!"
When I was with my mum, I could sneak out of the house and go hang out with my friends, party, and miss school, but when I was at my dad's, it was still very strict. It made me want to rebel.
It's unknown how she became sober, but it's primarily likely she chose to do volunteer service to escape that path at 15 years old.
