Plenty of fans tune into Chrisley Knows Best to find out just what dad Todd Chrisley and
his family are up to.
But before she ever appeared on TV, daughter Savannah was living life under the radar.
We're dishing on her stunning transformation from little girl to full-blown reality TV
star.
In order to understand where Savannah Chrisley's story begins, you have to rewind all the way
back to August 1997 in Atlanta, Georgia.
That's when she made her entrance into the world as the second child of Todd and Julie
Chrisley.
And by all accounts, her childhood was idyllic and full of love, with Savannah revealing
to BuzzFeed,
"When I was little, my grandfather and I always used to ride around and listen to old music
and I loved Loretta Lynn and George Jones."
While Savannah remains close to her family, the one person who made a serious impact on
her when she was a child was her grandfather.
Sadly, he passed away from cancer when Savannah was 15 years old.
"My grandfather passed July 11, 2012.
His name was Gene, and he was one of my best friends.
He worked every day of his life."
Savannah shared on Instagram in 2019,
"Gene was my BIGGEST supporter and fan.
We were inseparable."
"Savannah, honey, this horse farted."
"Ugh!"
One thing that regular viewers know about Savannah is that she's got a huge equestrian
side.
She was skillfully riding a horse in one particular segment, during which she tried to pass on
some sage advice to her young niece Chloe.
"I'm not having fun.
Can we please just go home now?"
As it turns out, Savannah has been polishing those skills since she was a little girl,
going competitive with horseback riding at an early age.
And, of course, her grandfather was there to support her all the way.
She posted on Instagram,
"I remember always looking at him during my horse shows just to see his facial expressions
because I wanted to make him proud and to no surprise every time I looked he was grinning
ear to ear!"
"Isn't it fun, Daddy?"
"No, it hurts my balls."
The reality TV star continues to ride as an adult, a hobby she now refers to as her therapy.
While Savannah might often appear super at ease with the cameras on Chrisley Knows Best,
when the show started filming, she experienced a pretty steep learning curve.
Which is understandable, since she was still a teenager when the series debuted.
"You look like Pamela Anderson."
"Well, that's who I'm striving to be."
Savannah revealed to USA Today,
"[Fifteen is] the age when you start trying to figure who you are.
So it was a lot of change at once and that was really difficult."
While the entire family had to adjust to the sudden fame and media scrutiny, Savannah admitted
that becoming well-known so young had a significant impact on her.
She added,
"It's caused me to grow up a lot faster, which has its pros and cons.
I've come a long way since the show started."
She claimed that when the series first started rolling, she was very shy.
But it turns out that Savannah bearing her vulnerabilities to millions of fans has helped
some people face their own struggles, as well.
"What's your greatest accomplishment?"
"I dunno."
"Wrong answer"
In the early seasons of Chrisley Knows Best, Savannah was often shown prepping for and
competing in the pageant circuit.
In one of her proudest moments, she scored a pretty significant win - taking home top
honors at the 2016 Miss Tennessee Teen USA pageant.
"Greater national Savannah Chrisley you are Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2016!"
After snagging the crown, Savannah posted on Instagram,
"It was such a blessing to be able to compete with such amazing girls this weekend.
Any one of these girls could have won the crown!"
Of course, Savannah made sure to thank all of the people who supported her during the
competition, as any pageant queen worth her salt would do.
She added,
"Thank you to my parents and friends for helping me prepare for this weekend.
But MOST IMPORTANTLY thank you God for allowing me to live such a blessed life."
"Savannah Chrisley, Tennessee."
Chrisley later went on to compete in the 2016 Miss Teen USA pageant, where she made it to
the semi-finals, according to E! News.
One thing that Savannah takes very seriously is her education.
But predictably, college was an adjustment for her, something she anticipated as she
prepared for her freshman year at Lipscomb University in Nashville.
"I'm gonna give you $100."
"For the day!"
"No, honey, for the week."
Savannah explained to Hola! magazine in 2015,
"I'm excited to have a routine of my own, though having quietness when I come home will
be so weird.
Honestly, I don't think I'm ready for it!"
"This whole life skills crap is ridiculous."
The reason for that anxiety was - you guessed it - being so far away from her parents and
siblings.
She said,
"I'm a huge family person so leaving them makes me so nervous.
I never do anything without them."
"I'll go around and meet all of your teachers."
"Daddy, this is not kindergarten."
Later, Savannah told People magazine that the college experience had actually helped
her grow into her own, revealing,
"It's just given me a chance to come into who I truly am."
Regular viewers of Chrisley Knows Best know that Savannah isn't exactly the world's best
driver.
"How many accidents have you had, Miss Chrisley?"
"Two."
"I'm sorry?"
"Three."
"How many?"
"It's been three."
"This is four."
"Okay, yeah."
"Correct?"
"Yeah."
Unfortunately, that led to quite the scare in January of 2017, when she got into a serious
car accident after briefly taking her eyes off of the road.
She revealed on Instagram,
"As soon as I hit the guardrail my airbags came out and because of the airbags and seatbelt
the injuries weren't near as bad as they could have been.
But what I do remember is going in and out of consciousness screaming for help and cars
just continued to pass."
Fortunately a Good Samaritan stopped and helped her, and the police and paramedics stepped
in.
She added,
"The next month or so I will be recovering from a broken vertebrae which has caused numbness
in my hands and fingers and pain all throughout my neck, back, and shoulders."
"I do apologize.
And I do need to pay more attention.
I do need to be more aware of what's around me."
Savannah also shared that she planned to spend her recovery time reflecting on her spirituality,
revealing that she felt the accident was a wake-up call from God.
While pageants were Savannah's main thing growing up, she eventually redirected her
attention to fashion design.
She launched her own clothing line in 2017, calling it Faith Over Fear, and telling People
magazine,
"I feel like so many people, especially my generation and younger, we let our fear consume
us so much that we just don't pursue our dreams."
"With my line Faith Over Fear, I was very particular on fabrics and fit, because I wanted
clothing that would fit every body type and every age."
But Savannah definitely wasn't going to let any fear stop her from taking the plunge with
the brand.
It turns out, the name of the line is super personal for her - and she's called upon the
phrase many times to get through the rough chapters in her life.
She said,
"Little words can truly change your day so that's how I incorporated it.
I'm saying this because I'm speaking from experience."
While Savannah was super excited to debut her line, she also said that her dad had been
super supportive, and she thanked him for his help and enthusiasm.
"I'm proud of you."
"I feel good."
"Now we need to tell you that we're the ones who bought everything."
On Christmas Eve in 2018, Savannah's boyfriend - NHL winger Nic Kerdiles - popped the question.
Of course, she said yes, and the couple became officially engaged.
"Will you marry me?"
"Oh my gosh.
Yes."
As for the wedding itself, Savannah wanted to make sure that everything was kosher before
making things legal.
She told People magazine,
"We're taking our time when it comes to the wedding.
Obviously, it's an engagement for a reason.
You can figure things out and work together, get to know each other better."
"Lord, please protect my daughter from all d-------s."
As for whether or not things could get dramatic in the interim, Savannah says the future looks
bright.
She added,
"I don't think I would be a bridezilla, but I probably will.
I have my wedding dress picked out, I want a huge cake - there's so many different things
that I want."
"I think we should turn that whole back into a flower wall.
Like literally the entire wall."
Fortunately she and her father are seeing eye-to-eye with just about everything, so
Savannah predicts it will all work out fine.
The Chrisley clan found themselves in a bit of hot water, in 2019, for two reasons.
For one, Todd and Julie Chrisley were indicted by a grand jury for tax evasion and wire fraud,
according to Entertainment Tonight.
In response, Todd proclaimed their innocence on Instagram, blaming a former employee instead.
Then Todd's eldest child, Lindsie, whom he had with his first wife, claimed that her
father and her brother Chase were blackmailing her and had threatened to release an alleged
illicit video of her that they had reportedly obtained.
"I said, 'But while we're on the topic of lies, let's talk about the social media stuff
that I've endured from you and your two minion children.'"
But when it comes to how Savannah felt about the issue, her support for her parents was
unwavering.
She said via E.T.,
"I stand behind my mom and dad.
I know how they've raised us and the values they taught us.
So, if they taught us those values, it means they have them themselves."
As for how she feels about the accusations leveled by her sister, she added,
"It's extremely sad that someone is using [an illicit video] tape that doesn't even
exist in order to get five more minutes of fame."
Not all of 2019 was a bust for team Chrisley.
That year Savannah and her brother Chase debuted their spin-off reality show Growing Up Chrisley
on the USA network.
The show featured the brother-sister duo moving to southern California for three months, in
order to prove that they could make it in the city of angels.
"I mean, what could they get into?"
"Jail."
During their stay, Chase aimed to focus on his new acting career, and Savannah planned
to hustle on her brand.
"I'm gonna focus on my brand.
I'm gonna go out there and focus on acting.
I look forward to eating at the restaurant that Chase is gonna be working in."
But while the siblings had fun during taping, when it came time to head back east, they
were more than ready.
"We absolutely love living here."
"She has the best roommate."
"No.
He is the worst roommate."
Savannah confessed to People magazine,
"Living in L.A. was great, it was just a lot.
I like it for a couple of weeks, but then I start missing home."
Savannah topped off 2019 in a big way when she launched a collaboration with fashion
brand Rampage.
As the creative director for the capsule, Savannah was able to helm the line, crafting
it into exactly what she wanted.
She revealed in an interview with WWD,
"It's bold and it's feminine, and that's who I am.
I like to make a statement but at the same time, I like to keep it cozy and fun, and
that's possible to do."
"I got to pick my wardrobe this time."
"That must be why we got things hanging out that shouldn't be."
Savannah also said that being fashion-forward is important to her, especially in the age
of social media.
Although this wasn't her first rodeo with designing, she said the experience this time
around was much more positive.
She said of her previous collaboration,
"It was fun, not everything turned out how I wanted it to.
It wasn't the best partnership."
Fortunately, collaborating with Rampage allowed her to truly blossom and to create the looks
that she'd hoped for.
She said,
"I feel like we did a great job with this line."
"I loved playing football when I was a kid, but of course you pushed me into pageants."
While you might not know it by looking at her, Savannah has had her struggles with body
image over the years.
She confessed to Fox News,
"Being on TV since I was 15, you have all these people on the outside giving you their
opinions on what they think you look like or you need to eat or you don't need to eat
and it truly wears on you."
So when she was able to shed 20 pounds, something she credits to the South Beach Diet, she felt
more at home in her own skin.
She said,
"It's hard, but if you feel good about yourself, then no one else's opinion matters."
"Savannah, don't you eat a pizza at a time?"
"Well yeah, but that's why I have a trainer.
I work out to eat, not to look good."
Chrisley was also able to put on ten pounds of muscle, something that she accomplished
by lifting weights.
But regardless of all her success in her wellness journey, Chrisley allows herself to be a work
in progress.
She says,
"It's about progress, not perfection."
Being a reality TV star hasn't always been easy for Savannah or her family.
But there are also good things that came along with reality stardom.
She revealed that overall it's been a positive experience, telling WKRN-TV in Nashville,
"We're an open book, so, if anything, it's made us more honest.
Sometimes that can be a negative thing.
Because okay, you need to watch what you say.
You can't say everything, you know?"
Chrisley has also enjoyed meeting fans of the show - another perk that comes with the
territory.
She says she enjoys getting to know the people who already know something about her, admitting,
"Like, when we're out, it's always so much fun because you never know who you're going
to encounter.
And you never know the stories that you're gonna hear."
In 2020, Savannah went through quite the ordeal when her father was hospitalized for three
days after catching a nasty case of coronavirus.
She explained to fans on Instagram,
"Those were the hardest 3 days I think I've ever endured.
My dad was sitting in a hospital room by himself and I had no idea how he was."
Fortunately the Chrisley family patriarch was able to beat the virus, something that
Savannah was clearly beyond grateful for.
She added,
"At one point I fell on my hands and knees and begged God to not take him…to not take
my [best friend].
I would give everything I had if it meant keeping my daddy."
It looks like that no matter where life takes this reality TV star, she'll always be devoted
to her family - especially her dad.
"At the end of the day, we come back together."
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