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Paris Whitney Hilton (born February
17, 1981) is an American socialite, heiress, media personality, model,
singer, author, fashion designer and actress. She is a great-granddaughter
of Conrad Hilton (founder of Hilton Hotels).
Hilton is best known for her appearance on the television series The
Simple Life, her several minor film roles (most notably her role in the
horror film House of Wax in 2005), her 2004 tongue-in-cheek autobiography,
her 2006 music album Paris, and her work in modeling. As a result of
several legal incidents, Hilton also served a widely publicized sentence
in a Los Angeles County jail in 2007. She is also known for her
controversial appearance in a sex tape in 2003.
Hilton was born in New York, NY. Her father is Richard Hilton, a
businessman, and her mother is Kathy Hilton (née Avanzino), a socialite
and actress. Hilton grew up with three siblings: Nicholai Olivia "Nicky"
Hilton, Barron Nicholas Hilton II, and Conrad Hughes Hilton III. She is of
Norwegian, German Irish ancestry and Italian ancestry. Hilton is a niece
of two child stars of the 1970s, Kim and Kyle Richards.
Hilton moved between several exclusive homes in her youth, including a
suite in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Manhattan, Beverly Hills, and the
Hamptons. As a child she was good friends with other socialites as Nicole
Richie and Kim Kardashian. She attended her freshman year of high school
at the Marywood-Palm Valley School in Rancho Mirage, California followed
by a short time at Convent of the Sacred Heart (which she attended with
Lady GaGa) and the Dwight School in New York for her sophomore and junior
years. She was then transferred to the Canterbury Boarding School, in New
Milford, Connecticut where she was a member of the ice hockey team.
However, in early 1999, she was expelled for violating the school rules.
Hilton later earned her GED.
In December 2007, Hilton's grandfather Barron Hilton pledged 97 percent of
his estate to a charitable organization founded by his father, the Conrad
N. Hilton Foundation. An immediate pledge of $1.2 billion was made, with a
further $1.1 billion due after his death. He cited his father's actions as
the motivation for his pledge. According to reports, the potential
inheritance of his grandchildren is sharply diminished.
Hilton has worked as a model, actress, singer, and engaged in occasional
business pursuits. According to Forbes Magazine, she earned approximately
$2 million in 2003–2004, $6.5 million in 2004–2005, and $7 million in
2005–2006.
Hilton began modeling as a child, initially at charity events. When she
was 19, she signed with Donald Trump's modeling agency, T Management.
Hilton has also worked with Ford Models in New York, Models 1 Agency in
London, Nous Model Management in Los Angeles, and Premier Model Management
in London. She has appeared in numerous advertising campaigns, including
Iceberg Vodka, GUESS, Tommy Hilfiger, Christian Dior, and Marciano. In
2001, Hilton began to develop a reputation as a socialite, being
identified as "New York's leading It Girl" whose fame was beginning to
"extend beyond the New York tabloids". She has appeared in several
magazines, including the April 2004 issue of Maxim.
Hilton has made cameo appearances in several films, notably Zoolander,
Wonderland, and The Cat In The Hat. She landed minor and supporting roles
in the feature films Nine Lives, Raising Helen, The Hillz, and House of
Wax. Her role as Paige Edwards in House of Wax won the Teen Choice Award
for "Best Scream" and earned her a nomination for "Choice Breakout
Performance – Female". (It also won her the 2005 Razzie for "Worst
Supporting Actress" at the 2005 Golden Raspberry Awards.) She also earned
a nomination for "Best Frightened Performance" at the 2006 MTV Movie
Awards. She landed her first lead roles in 2006 with the straight-to-DVD
releases National Lampoon's Pledge This! and Bottoms Up. She plays the
Hottie in the box office bomb romantic comedy The Hottie and the Nottie,
released in 2008. She also had a minor cameo appearance as herself in An
American Carol.
More recently, Hilton plays Amber Sweet, the surgery- and
painkiller-addicted daughter of a biotech magnate in the goth/rock musical
Repo! The Genetic Opera. Critics have responded positively to her
performance in the film, in which she sings and acts. In an interview
Repo! director Darren Lynn Bousman revealed that he had originally refused
to audition Hilton for the role of Amber Sweet. "I broke down," says
Bousman, "and I met with her, and immediately she charmed everyone in the
room." In the same interview, Bousman also revealed that Hilton was so
keen to get the part that she had the script smuggled in to her during her
much publicized stint in a Los Angeles jail, and used her time inside to
work on her role.
Hilton co-starred with her friend Nicole Richie in the Fox reality series
The Simple Life, which premiered on December 2, 2003. The Simple Life ran
for three seasons on Fox. The show was cancelled by Fox after a dispute
between Hilton and Richie, but it was subsequently aired by E!
Entertainment Television for the fourth and fifth seasons. Despite talks
of a sixth season, the series finished its run at the end of the fifth
season. In March 2008, it was reported that Hilton would star in a new MTV
reality series tentatively titled Paris Hilton's My New BFF, about her
looking for a new best friend. The series premiered on September 30, 2008.
Hilton has also guest-starred in episodes of the popular tv-show The O.C.,
The George Lopez Show, Las Vegas, American Dreams, Dogg After Dark, and
Veronica Mars. Furthermore, she appeared in several music videos,
including "It Girl" by John Oates and "Just Lose It" by Eminem. Planning
is underway for an eponymous cartoon series following the animated life of
Hilton, her sister Nicky, and her dog Tinkerbell, which began filming in
September 2007. In April 2008, she guest starred on the My Name is Earl
episode "I Won't Die with a Little Help from My Friends". On 29 January
2009, Paris Hilton's British Best Friend, began airing on ITV2 in England.
The second season of Paris Hilton's My New BFF premiered on June 2, 2009.
In June 2009, Hilton shot "Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF". Runner-up of the
British series Kat McKenzie died on July 3, 2009 of a suspected overdose.
Hilton guest-starred in the fifth episode of Supernatural's fifth season.
"Paris Hilton is playing a demonic creature that takes the form of...
Paris Hilton," creator and executive producer Eric Kripke said in a
statement. "It'll be a fun, irreverent episode and we here at Supernatural
are thrilled that Paris agreed to do it."
Hilton guest starred in an episode of I Get That a Lot in 2010,on CBS, as
a petrol service-station attendant.
Hilton founded Heiress Records, a sub-label of Warner Bros. Records, in
2004 and released her self-titled debut album, Paris, under that label on
August 22, 2006. Although the album reached number six on the Billboard
200 for a week, its total sales volume has been low - but the first single
"Stars Are Blind" was a top ten hit in 17 countries. Allmusic commented
that the album was "more fun than anything released by Britney Spears or
Jessica Simpson, and a lot fresher, too." As a whole, critical reception
was mixed. On July 16, 2007 Hilton confirmed that she was working on a new
album with producer Scott Storch. In a recent interview with MTV, Hilton
decided that her second album is going to be a dance album. She stated
that she "loves Bob Sinclar" and wants to create dance-music vibe. Hilton
has installed a professional recording studio in her house to work on the
album. On September 30, 2008, Hilton premiered her song "My BFF" on
KIIS-FM with host Ryan Seacrest. It is the first single from her as yet
untitled second studio album and the theme song of her show Paris Hilton's
My New BFF. Hilton stated that she finished working on the album. A second
song "Paris For President" was released along with a music video late
October 2008. Paris Hilton can also be heard singing on the soundtrack to
the musical Repo! The Genetic Opera. In an interview, the director, Darren
Lynn Bousman, praised her vocal skills. When talking about Paris' vocal
audition process for the role, Bouseman said, "We gave her some music and
said, 'You have one day to come back and perform this.' She came back the
next day, memorized everything, was pitch-perfect, I mean she was
awesome."
For her second studio album, she has confirmed six tracks: "Jailhouse
Baby", "Platinum Blonde", "Crave" and "My BFF", "Paris For President", and
"Girl Tax", "My BFF" and "Paris For President" were released in 2008 as
the first two singles. In November 2008, Hilton talked with Entertainment
Weekly backstage at the American Music Awards and she told them that she
has finished her second album, and “wrote all the songs.” The album is
featuring production by Mike Green who worked with the bands Paramore and
The Matches. In December 2008, she was looking for a label to releases her
album she told Entertainment Weekly. "I'm not sure which label I'm doing
it with," she said. "I'm figuring it out right now." Later that month she
stated her intention to release her album under her own record label
Heiress Records.
In the autumn of 2004, Hilton released an autobiographical book,
Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose,
co-written by Merle Ginsberg, which includes full color photographs of her
and her advice on life as an heiress. Hilton reportedly received a
$100,000 advance payment for this book. Some in the media panned the
writing as amateurish, and the book was parodied by Robert Mundell on The
Late Show with David Letterman. The book became a New York Times
bestseller. Hilton followed it up with a designer diary, also with
Ginsberg, called Your Heiress Diary: Confess It All to Me.
On September 2009, Hilton's quote: "Dress cute wherever you go, life is
too short to blend in" has been added to The Oxford Dictionary of
Quotations.
She denied proclaiming herself as the "iconic blonde of the decade" such
as Princess Diana and Marilyn Monroe in the May 2007 issue of Harper's
Bazaar. She appeared in the 2007 Guinness World Records as the world's
"Most Overrated Celebrity". In a poll conducted by the Associated Press
and AOL, Hilton was voted the second "Worst Celebrity Role Model of 2006",
behind Britney Spears. Critics suggest that Hilton epitomizes the title of
famous for being famous; echoing that sentiment, the Associated Press
conducted what they called an experiment in February 2007, trying not to
report on Hilton for a whole week.
On August 6, 2008 Hilton appeared in a 1 minute 50 second long video
online, "Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Ad", directed by Adam McKay and
posted on the Funny or Die website. The video featured Hilton in a parody
advertisement, and was made in response to a television campaign advert
"Celeb", by the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign. In Celeb, McCain
briefly compared his rival Barack Obama to that of celebrities such as
Hilton and Britney Spears, going on to question his readiness to lead and
criticize his energy policy.
In what The Washington Post opined "might just be her best acting role
yet," Hilton appears in the video wearing a leopard print swimsuit. She
starts out by suggesting that her personal mention by McCain means that
she must now be a candidate in the presidential race, and goes on to mock
McCain, and critique the expected qualities and lifestyle of a celebrity
in comparison to that of a US president. In a 30 second segment, in the
style of an academic speaker, Paris compares and contrasts the policies of
McCain and Obama for solving the US energy crisis, and goes on to propose
a 'compromise solution' combining elements of both.
The video received 7 million views in two days garnering worldwide press
coverage, and drew both written and verbal media response from both
campaigns. The merits and drawbacks of the 'Paris compromise solution'
with regard to energy policy, as well as its contrast to the adversarial
political campaigns, generated multiple comments from US political
commentators, as well as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Congressman
Michael Burgess.
Continuing the spoof campaign, in October, Hilton featured in a second
parody video posted on Funny or Die, the 2 minute 20 second long "Paris
Hilton Gets Presidential with Martin Sheen", alongside Hollywood actor
Martin Sheen, with his son, actor Charlie Sheen, appearing in a cameo
role. Hilton, heavily made up and in a green evening dress, interviews
Martin Sheen in a kitchen, discussing various political issues, seeking
his advice from his days playing a fictional President on The West Wing.
Hilton helped design a collection of purses for Japanese label Samantha
Thavasa, and also a jewelry line for Amazon.com.
In 2004, Hilton was involved in the creation of a perfume line by Parlux
Fragrances. Originally set to be a small release, high demand led to a
wider release before December 2004. The launch was followed by a 47
percent increase in sales of Parlux products, predominantly due to sales
of the Hilton-branded perfume. After the success of Hilton's perfume,
Parlux Fragrances released several more perfumes with her name, including
fragrances for men. Paris Hilton launched a new fragrance in October 2007,
called Can Can. This is her fourth women's fragrance after Paris Hilton,
Just Me, and Heiress. During the month of November 2008, Paris Hilton
released her fifth fragrance for women called, Fairy Dust. In July 2009,
her sixth fragrance for women Siren was launched.
In January 2007, Hilton released the DreamCatchers line of hair extensions
in partnership with Hair Tech International. In early August 2007, Hilton
signed a licensing agreement with Antebi for a signature footwear line,
"Paris Hilton Footware", featuring stilettos, platforms, flats, wedges,
and a sports collection, expected to reach stores in 2008. In mid August
2007, Hilton launched a line of tops, dresses, coats, and jeans at Kitson
boutique in Los Angeles.
In 2005, Hilton lent her name to a chain of nightclubs owned by Fred
Khalilian and known as Club Paris. This association ended in January 2007
after she had failed to attend several scheduled promotional appearances.
In December 2007, Hilton posed nude, covered in gold paint, to promote
"Rich Prosecco", a canned version of an Italian sparkling wine. She also
traveled to Germany to promote the drink, appearing in various print ads
for the product.
In February 2010, Hilton participates in an advertising campaign for the
launch of the Brazilian beer Devassa. As part of the campaign, Paris will
also join the carnival of Rio de Janeiro in the cabin of the brewery.
Hilton was engaged to fashion model Jason Shaw from mid-2002 to early
2003. In 2003-2004 she had a relationship with singer Nick Carter. Later
she was engaged to Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis, from May 29, 2005 to
November 2005. Thereafter, she began dating another Greek shipping heir,
Stavros Niarchos III, before breaking up in May 2006. In early 2008, she
was spotted with Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden and in May, Hilton
announced her intention to marry Madden during interview with television
talk-show host David Letterman. The two broke up in November 2008, and
"remain very good friends". She began dating The Hills star Doug Reinhardt
in February 2009; Hilton has also referred to her intention to marry
Reinhardt, saying "He's gonna be my husband." The couple broke up in June
2009, only to get back together again in August of the same year.
Hilton told Live with Regis and Kelly: "One-night stands are not for me. I
think it's gross when you just give it up. Guys want you more, if you
don't just hand it to them on a platter."
Hilton loves small dogs, and lives with a Yorkshire Terrier and a female
Chihuahua named Tinkerbell. Paris Hilton is frequently seen carrying
Tinkerbell (dubbed an "accessory dog") at social events and functions, and
in all five seasons of television reality show The Simple Life. In 2004,
Tinkerbell "authored" a memoir, The Tinkerbell Hilton Diaries. On August
12, 2004, Tinkerbell went missing after Hilton's apartment was burgled,
and a $5,000 reward was offered for her safe return. She was found six
days later. By December 1, 2004, Tinkerbell was again spotted with Paris
Hilton at various events. Hilton has also purchased a male Chihuahua on
July 25, 2007 from Pets of Bel Air in Los Angeles. Hilton's love for man's
best friend led her to create an apparel line for dogs called Little Lily
by Paris Hilton, with some of the proceeds going to benefit animal rescue.
"I have 17 dogs and I like to dress them, so I started designing this
clothing line and it's really cute, like dresses and jeans — everything
you can imagine for humans, but for dogs," she said in an interview during
Super Bowl XLII festivities. Hilton's love for her dogs led to the rumor
that she wanted to be frozen with them at the Cryonics Institute, but
Hilton denied the rumor on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
A homemade sex video of Hilton and then-boyfriend Rick Salomon was leaked
on the Internet in 2003, later released as the DVD 1 Night in Paris
despite attempted legal action. It appeared a week prior to the premiere
of The Simple Life.
On December 20, 2008 around 4:00 am, a man in a hooded sweater and gloves
entered Hilton's Mulholland Estates, Los Angeles home and stole $2 million
dollars worth of jewelry and other items from her bedroom. Hilton was not
home at the time and nobody was injured in the home invasion. There is
speculation that it was an inside job.
In September 2006, Hilton was arrested and charged with driving under the
influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of 0.08%, the level at
which it is illegal to drive in California. Hilton's driving license was
subsequently suspended in November 2006, and in January 2007 she pleaded
no contest to a reckless driving charge. Her punishment was 36 months'
probation and fines of about $1,500. On January 15, 2007, Hilton was
pulled over for driving with a suspended license and signed a document
acknowledging that she was not permitted to drive. On February 27, 2007
Hilton was caught driving 70 mph in a 35 mph zone, again with a suspended
license. She also did not have her headlights on even though it was after
dark. Prosecutors in the office of the Los Angeles City Attorney charged
that those actions, along with the failure to enroll in a court-ordered
alcohol education program, constituted a violation of the terms of her
probation.
On May 4, 2007 Hilton was sentenced by Judge Michael T. Sauer to 45 days
in jail for violating her probation. Initially, Hilton planned to appeal
the sentence, and supported an online petition asking California governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger for a pardon. The petition was created and organized
on May 5, 2007 by Joshua Morales. In response, various opponents started a
counter-petition to maintain the sentence. Both petitions attracted tens
of thousands of signatures. Hilton later switched lawyers and dropped her
plans to appeal.
Hilton was required to begin her jail term on June 5, 2007, and checked
herself into the Century Regional Detention Facility, an all-female jail
in Lynwood, California after attending the 2007 MTV Movie Awards on June
3, 2007. With credit for good behavior, it was anticipated that Hilton
would only serve 23 days of her 45-day sentence; however, in an unexpected
turn of events, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca signed orders on the
morning of June 7, reassigning Hilton to 40 days of home confinement with
an electronic monitoring device due to an unspecified medical condition.
Baca commented on the release saying, "My message to those who don't like
celebrities is that punishing celebrities more than the average American
is not justice," contesting that under normal circumstances, Hilton would
not have served any time in jail, and he added that "The special
treatment, in a sense, appears to be because of her celebrity status ...
She got more time in jail". On the same day that Hilton was released from
jail, Judge Michael Sauer summoned her to reappear in court the following
morning (June 8) as the sentencing statement had explicitly said she would
serve time in jail with "No work furlough. No work release. No electronic
monitoring." At the hearing he declined to be briefed by Hilton's attorney
in private chambers on the nature of her condition and sent her back to
jail to serve out her original 45-day sentence. Upon hearing the sentence,
Hilton shouted, "It's not right!" and started screaming, requesting to hug
her mother who was present in the courtroom. Concern about Hilton's
condition led to her being moved to the medical wing of the Twin Towers
Correctional Facility in Los Angeles, and she was moved back to the
Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood on June 13.
While in jail, Hilton was influenced by the clergyman minister Marty
Angelo: Hilton referred to starting a "new beginning" during her interview
with talk show host Larry King on June 28, 2007, two days after being
released from jail, and quoted from Angelo's autobiography, entitled Once
Life Matters: A New Beginning. On June 9, 2007, Marty Angelo petitioned
Sauer, asking to serve out the remainder of Hilton's jail sentence if the
judge would release her to an alternative treatment program, but the
petition was turned down. |
