Lauren "Lo" Ridgemount is the heroine of The Hanging Ten Saga. She is the only daughter and middle child of the insanely rich owner of the Ridgemount hotel chain, including Surfer's Paradise Ridgemount Resort. She was usually able to get away with almost anything, with the main exception being after the wild party she threw at the hotel prior to the start of summer break. Enraged, Mr. Ridgemount decided to arrange for his daughter to move into the staff housing and work as a waitress in the dining room, in order to show him that she can be responsible. It was during this time she met Ben Tennyson. Despite sharing an initial mutual antipathy with him, they gradually became friends and ultimately became a couple at the end of Hanging Ten, with their relationship becoming public knowledge (and gaining acceptance) at the end of Hanging Ten: It Came From Room 1313.
Hanging Ten[]
Character name: Lo Ridgemount
Full name: Lauren "Lo" Joanna Ridgemount
Age: 15
Birthplace: Sunset Beach, British Columbia
Abilities: Above average gymnastic ability, skilled in cheerleading-based choreography, above average swimmer, highly skilled surfer
Relationships: James Ridgemount (father), Gloria Ridgemount (mother), Eleanor Ridgemount (paternal grandmother), Wallace Ridgemount (paternal grandfather, deceased), Tyler Ridgemount (elder brother), George Ridgemount (younger brother), Ben Tennyson (boyfriend), Emma Mackenzie (coworker and friend), Fin McCloud (friend), Reef Wilkerson (friend), Gwen Tennyson (acquaintance), Kevin Levin (acquaintance), Johnny St. James (friend)
Bio: From the time she was born, Lo had an extremely privileged upbringing. As the middle child – and only girl – of the obscenely wealthy hotel-chain magnate James Ridgemount, Lo wanted for nothing growing up…which went to her head in her early teenage years. By age 15, Lo had 4 primary interests – shopping, parties, cheerleading, and surfing, in that order. Following the end of her sophomore year, Lo threw an absolute rager of a party at her parents' penthouse suite in their absence…which trashed the penthouse, totaled the hotel, put her new Jeep in the pool, and drew the RCMP to the scene.
Upon learning of this, Mr. Ridgemount realized that his worst fears had come to pass: his daughter was near-incorrigibly spoiled and in dire need of corrective measures. To his credit, his first act on returning home was to confiscate Lo's credit and bank cards, move her into the staff house, and insist that she work for her spending money at the hotel over the summer.
Needless to say, Lo was far from thrilled.
Unpleasant though her meeting was, it was a momentous occasion, for as she was heading for the elevator, she and Ben Tennyson collided. Already incensed by her banishment, Lo inadvertently transferred her ire to Ben, who refused to back down to her, irritating her further. Despite their initial animosity, Lo and Ben gradually grew closer over the summer, until the two shared a kiss inside a massive geode, officially becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. Since then, their relationship has had its challenges – such as the two of them almost breaking up when the secret of the Omnitrix came to light, or Ben's old foe Ghostfreak using Lo to get to Ben – but so far, the two of them seem committed to making things work.
Analysis: In the beginning, Lo presented as many girls from affluent families do: self-absorbed, spoiled, selfish, and with little to no clue about how to work for a living. In that sense, she was something of a parallel to Ben in his younger years, and represented how Ben himself might have turned out. Like the younger Ben, Lo was unaware how her actions might affect others, as is evident in her initial advice to Emma on making Ty jealous. Even so, she exhibited a sense of loyalty to her new friends, both when she attempted to warm Ben about Cecilia Stanhope, and later when her former friend Heidi insulted Emma.
Underneath her initial superficial nature, however, Lo was rather fragile – a fact which she realized herself when Heidi rejected her as a friend, thus sending her into a mild panic attack. Thankfully, Ben was there to calm her and help her realize that she had made some real friends – friends who wouldn't abandon her. It was likely this incident that made Lo begin to realize how shallow her life had been up until that moment, and inspire her to better herself. She still has a way to go, but with her friends – and her new boyfriend – Lo has started to become a better person.
Hanging Ten: It Came From Room 1313[]
Relationships
Ben Tennyson- Current Boyfriend.
Ben and Lo's relationship got to a rocky star, begining with the two running into each other, as Ben was entering the Penthouse and Lo was leaving, aggrivating Lo's already bad mood over her Father banishing her from the Penthouse to the Staff House. Also, her acting like a spoiled princess, a nickname ben would give her, annoyed Ben who didn't put up with those type of people.
However, things lightened up between the two when Ben prevented Kelly from hazing Lo, with Hot Oil over her head, and Ben's standing up against the Seniors also made a better impression on her, thou she still antagonized Ben on occasion.
But after several instantces of Ben showing himself a kind and caring friend, comforting Lo after her BFF turned out to be a fake and helping her when her ankle got twisted. The two shared a date and kiss in a cave filled with Geode's, thou it was all almost spoiled when the Forever Knights showed up and revealed Ben's Secret Identiy, she luckily got a grip and got ben's forgivness.