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Biography: Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American celebrity, known primarily for her partying ways and her television shows. She is an American heiress of the Hilton Hotel fortune and her father's real estate fortune, she is a socialite, model, singer, and actress. She has been described as a "celebutante," a portmanteau of "celebrity" and "debutante"
Background
She was born in New York City, the eldest of four children of Richard Hilton and Kathy Richards. Her younger sister is Nicky Hilton, and her younger brothers are Barron Hilton and Conrad Hilton.
On the maternal side of her family, Hilton is a niece of two popular child stars of the 1970s, Kim Richards and Kyle Richards, who appeared in the motion picture Escape to Witch Mountain and TV shows like Nanny and the Professor, Little House on the Prairie, and later, ER. By marriage, she also is related to Zsa Zsa Gabor (the Hungarian-born actress who married Paris Hilton's great-grandfather Conrad Hilton) as well as Elizabeth Taylor (the actress's first husband was Paris Hilton's great-uncle, Conrad Nicholson Hilton Jr.).
Her paternal grandparents are hotel chairman Barron Hilton and his wife, the former Marilyn Hawley, and her paternal great-grandparents were Hilton Hotel founder Conrad Hilton and his first wife, Mary Barron. When Conrad Hilton died in 1979, he left nothing in his will to his children or other descendants. Barron Hilton contested this decision and won in 1988. According to Forbes magazine in 2005, the net worth of Barron Hilton is estimated at just over US $1 billion, of which Paris is expected to inherit a little over US $50 million.
Hilton moved between several exclusive homes in her youth, including a suite in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, Beverly Hills, and the Hamptons. Currently, her parents own a $10 million mansion in Bel Air, a $6.3 million estate in the Hamptons, as well as $3 million house in the Hollywood Hills in which she and her sister stay to give them privacy and easy access to LA clubs.
After attending high school at the Dwight School in New York, but dropping out and eventually earning a GED, Hilton decided not to attend a university. Instead, she worked as a fashion model for Catherine Malandrino and Marc Bouwer, and on an ad campaign for Italian label Iceberg. She appeared in cameo roles in Zoolander (2001), The Cat in the Hat (2003) and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004).
What really shot Hilton to prominence was a sex video of her with her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon, which was leaked onto the Internet shortly after The Simple Life debuted, causing a sensation. On June 9, 2004 it was released as a DVD titled 1 Night in Paris which was hosted by Salomon. Hilton sued Salomon for releasing the tape, but the suit was settled, with Hilton receiving US $400,000 and a percentage of the profits.
Hilton is often seen with her teacup Chihuahua, Tinkerbell.
Model, actress, entrepreneur
In recent years Hilton has gained recognition by appearing in television, movies, commercials, and modeling. According to Forbes magazine, in 2003-2004 she earned approximately US$2 million for her television and movie roles, but in 2004-2005 her earnings from television, movies, modeling, and personal appearances have earned her an additional $6.5 million. During this period Forbes Magazine has ranked Hilton as one of the top 100 celebrities in the world.
She also appeared in the short subjects QIK2JDG and L.A. Knights, as well as minor and supporting roles in the feature movies House of Wax, The Hillz, Wonderland, Uptown Girls, Raising Helen and Nine Lives. She landed her first lead role in a theatrical release with National Lampoon's Pledge This! (2005).
Hilton and Nicole Richie (daughter of Lionel) starred in the 2003 FOX hit reality series The Simple Life, in which they lived with a family on their farm in rural Altus, Arkansas. Highlights of the show included the girls performing poorly at various jobs, making out with the local boys, and numerous instances of them shown as "fish out of water." On March 19, 2004, Hilton suffered a horseback riding accident while filming The Simple Life 2, requiring treatment at a hospital. Following the success of the first season of the show, Hilton is now being paid around US$3 million per season.
In April 2005, however, Hilton announced that she severed both personal and professional ties with Richie. Neither party has commented on the reason why, though Hilton has alluded that it is due to actions on the part of Richie. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Hilton hosted a party to watch her performance as host of Saturday Night Live, but that Richie switched the SNL tape with a tape of Hilton's infamous sex video.
Paris Hilton parodied on the satirical cartoon, South Park.She was also the subject of a negative South Park episode entitled "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" in which she opens a store called "Stupid Spoiled Whore" selling girls everything they need to emulate her.
In November 2004, Hilton participated in Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' Vote or Die campaign, to encourage youths to vote in the Presidential election. She drew criticism when it was revealed she did not vote, nor had she even registered to do so. Ironically, she would somewhat fulfill her theoretical obligation to "die" when the promoters of her film, House of Wax, employed a notorious "See Paris die" advertisement campaign, highlighting the death scene of her character in the film.
On top of her acting career, she has also helped to design purses for Samantha Thavasa and Toys for Tots, and has created her own jewelry line for Amazon.com. Currently, her design work earns around US$250,000 per year.
She is the founder of Heiress Records, a label on which she plans to release her debut album in 2006, tentatively titled Paris is Burning. Her first single entitled 'Screwed' has been leaked to the Internet and has been remixed by Alex G. Her producer for the album will be Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go's. Hilton will also be working with Scott Storch. She will be covering Blondie's hit 'Heart of Glass' for her album. She describes the album as pop, rock and hip hop, she says it sounds like Blondie and Madonna.
Celebrity
Hilton and her sister, Nicki, are known for their jet-set lifestyles. Paris in particular has been trying to build herself into a marketable brand much like Donald Trump, claiming she must be regarded as a role model.
She has been widely discussed by tabloids. In 2000, the National Enquirer reported a casual friendship with Leonardo DiCaprio as something far more intimate. She has, however, also been linked with others young guys too, including actor Edward Furlong, boxer Oscar De La Hoya, model Jason Shaw, Chicago Bears football player Brian Urlacher, and singers Rob Mills, Deryck Whibley, and Backstreet Boy Nick Carter. While Hilton was dating Carter, she sported bruises, which caused rumors that Carter may have beat her. This rumor was neither confirmed nor denied by Hilton at the time. A few months later, she announced that those "bruises" were from a magazine photo shoot (just when the magazine was coming out.) She was, for this reason, blamed by the press.
Hilton has also received some gossip attention for a variety of other incidents, mainly party antics. She has been said to have pushed in front of others in line for a public bathroom, saying she only wanted to look at herself in the mirror. She has reportedly danced on the top of bar banquettes, worn shirts reading "Got Blow?," and other times worn no top at all. One of her more famous quotes is: "What's a soup kitchen?" Her most famous quote, however, is probably "That's hot," as she has used it in myriad situations.
Hilton received an offer from the U.S. version of the reality TV show "Big Brother" to participate in their show. Rumors said she has been offered more than US$1.8 million. If she will agree to be in the reality-show, “she will join a bizarre band of ex-strippers, beauty queens, a married couple and a virgin, who are living under 24 hour scrutiny on the set".
Paris has also been featured in several television commercials including a T-Mobile commercial for which she was paid $250,000 and her Carl's Jr. commercial (see more below) for which she was paid $400,000 according to Forbes Magazine.
Hilton has been a spokes-woman for the products of GUESS clothing.
In the fall of 2004, Hilton released a book, Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose, which brings full color photographs of her and gives her tips on the dos and don'ts of living as an heiress. Hilton was reportedly given a $100,000 advanced 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. Still, it became a New York Times bestseller.
She has a new book that will hit shelves in September.
Sex Symbol
DVD cover for 1 Night in Paris.
The cover of the March 2005 issue of PlayboyIn the March 2005 issue of Playboy, she was named the "Sex Star of the Year" in their list of the 25 Sexiest Celebrities. Someone appearing to be her was on the cover of the issue, but she did not pose for it; she says she does not know where Playboy got that picture.
Hacked address book
On February 19, 2005, the contents of Hilton's personal T-Mobile account were posted to the Internet. They included phone numbers (which included many celebrities such as Christina Aguilera, Fred Durst, Eminem, Lindsay Lohan, Alsou, Jay-Z, Anna Kournikova, Snoop Dogg, Andy Roddick, Benjie Paras, Avril Lavigne, Frankie Muniz, Ashlee Simpson, Jerry Yan), notes (with even more numbers and email addresses and reminders such as her date to host Saturday Night Live), and thirty-five digital snapshots. In two of the leaked photos, Hilton is standing topless next to the MTV Latin America's VJ Eglantina Zingg, whom she kisses. This further added to the speculation that Hilton might be gay or bisexual. Many of her notes showed heavy usage of Internet slang.
Within days, it was revealed that Hilton's account could be accessed by anyone guessing the answer to the "forgotten password" challenge question she chose: "What is your favorite pet's name?" As the answer to this question is a matter of public record, an anonymous party was able to guess it and notify the press.
In September, it was reported that a 17-year old teenager in Massachusetts, known by his online alias Cam0, plead guilty to accessing Hilton's account and making bomb threats. He was sentenced to 11 months in a juvenile detention center and prohibited from using computers or other devices that can connect to the internet for two years.
"That's hot!"
"That's hot!" is a phrase used by Hilton (although an earlier usage is attributed to her Simple Life co-star Nicole Richie [10] and has been used by others for many years). The catch phrase, a synonym for "That's cool" or "That's awesome," has since been parodied in pop culture outlets such as Saturday Night Live and even by Hilton herself, on The Late Show with David Letterman.
In 2004, Hilton filed a successful request to trademark the phrase. She wishes to market clothing with the phrase prominently emblazoned on the garments; she felt it was time to trademark the phrase because "I've been saying it forever. I want to put it on T-shirts and stuff like that."
Advertisement controversy
Another controversy involving Hilton was her appearance in a Carl's Jr. television advertisement, originally broadcast in May 2005. In the commercial, which introduces the restaurant's "Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger", Hilton wears a provocative swimsuit and soaps up a Bentley automobile and herself before taking a big bite out of the burger.
This has drawn criticism from television watchdog groups, including the Parents Television Council. The research director for the PTC, Melissa Caldwell, says; "This commercial is basically soft-core porn. The way she moves, the way she puts her finger in her mouth - it's very suggestive and very titillating." The Los Angeles, California based group says they plan to mobilize their more than 1 million members to contact the restaurant chain and voice their concern.
Andy Puzder, CEO of Carl's Jr., says the group needs to "get a life... This isn't Janet Jackson; there is no nipple in this. There is no nudity, there is no sex acts; it's a beautiful model in a swimsuit washing a car." Puzder was referring to the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy. According to Forbes Magazine, Carl's Jr. paid Hilton $400,000 for filming in this commercial.
FOX News host Bill O'Reilly speculated that Hilton did not in fact eat the burgers she endorsed and was therefore dishonest, inviting her to come on his show The O'Reilly Factor and eat one of the burgers on the air, thus proving him wrong. Hilton has not thus far acknowledged the invitation.
In addition to featuring the ad on their website, Carl's Jr. has also built a separate site to play a longer version of the commercial. A similar ad with Hilton for Hardee's hamburger chain (also owned by Carl's Jr. parent corporation CKE Restaurants) is expected to air June 2005.
Before this deal with Carl's Jr., Hilton lost out on a $750,000 multi-commercial deal with Burger King because the company did not feel her sexy image was a good fit with their brand.
Perfume & Cologne
In early May of 2004, Parlux Fragrances (who have made fragrances for Guess, Perry Ellis, XOXO) announced that they would be releasing a fragrance line created by Hilton. The perfume would be aptly named "Paris Hilton". The scent was described as "a brilliant flirtatious charm, this head-turning fragrance can be dressed up or down for both day and evening wear." The scent consists of "an ethereal halo with delicious notes of frozen Apple and juicy Peach Nectar wrapped with sparkling Muguet and a splash of wet Ozone. A luminous bouquet of sensual floralcy is at the heart of this fragrance. Delicate Mimosa Blossoms are entwined with sheer Freesia and Night-Blooming Jasmine petals, while heady, rich Tuberose provides depth and texture."
The perfume launch was a success. Originally set to be a small release , demand became popular and they had a wide release before Christmas of 2004. The launch was a big part of the Parlux stock increasing 30%. Ilia Lekach, a CEO at Parlux, said "I am delighted with our record performance and I’m optimistic regarding results through the end of our fiscal year. We have recently commenced shipments of our Paris Hilton fragrance which has surpassed our expectations."
After the success of Hilton's perfume, Parlux Fragrances had her create Paris Hilton for Men, a cologne that has a "sensual aura." The packaging states : "Paris Hilton knows how she likes a man to smell, so she has created a scent to share with her male admirers around the world." The colgone is available at Lazarus-Macy's. Sales reports are not available.
On South Park, she has a perfume dubbed Skanque.
Engagement
Although she has been linked to many other famous men, on May 29, 2005 it was announced that she was to marry her boyfriend of five months, Paris Latsis, son of Gregory Kasidokostas and Mariana Latsis, a Greek shipping heir.
However, on October 1, 2005 Hilton announced that the five month engagement had been called off, saying "I feel I'm just not ready for marriage." See also: Paris Hilton & Fiance Paris Latsis @ SPIDER, video (8 May 2005, ourmedia)
She was also engaged to Tommy Hilfiger model Jason Shaw from mid 2002 to early 2003.
Criticism
There have been arguments that Hilton is a "good for nothing" celebrity, and that her appearances in films and on TV are "phony" and aimed at promoting herself. Much of this media scrutiny has only served to propel her to greater lengths of fame. Some critics, however, have given her credit for her work in modeling (before 2001, when she became a public figure) and dramatic ability, and consider Hilton's carefully crafted image to be the reason for her success. The only thing that both the critics and public credit her for doing is 'Opening the doors for other rich girls or "heiresses" wanting to be famous.'
Trivia
She is 173 cm (5 ft 8 in).
She loves shopping at a store called Kitson.
Is of Norwegian heritage
Nicole Ritchie is her former best friend
Sister of Nicky Hilton, Barron Nicholas Hilton, and Conrad Hughes Hilton.
Daughter of Rick Hilton and Kathy Richards.
She is 34B-25-35.
She wears a size 11 shoe.
Her favorite color is pink.
Her favorite sport is golf.
Filmography
Hilton in House Of Wax.Wishman (1991) (Girl on the Beach)
Sweetie Pie (2000) (Girl)
Zoolander (2001) (Herself) (Cameo)
Nine Lives (2002) (Jo)
QIK2JDG (2002) (short subject) (Strung-Out Supermodel)
L.A. Knights (2003) (short subject) (Sadie)
Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003) (Herself)
Wonderland (2003) (Barbie)
The Cat in the Hat (2003) (Female Club Goer)
1 Night in Paris (2004) (herself)
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004) (Herself) (Cameo)
Raising Helen (2004) (Amber)
The Hillz (2004) (Heather)
House of Wax (2005) (Paige Edwards)
National Lampoon's Pledge This! (2005) (currently in post-production) (also executive producer) (Victoria English)
Bottom's Up (2006) (currently in post-production) (Lisa Mancini)
Selected TV appearances
Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton on The Simple Life 3The Simple Life (2003) (reality series regular) ... Herself
Las Vegas (February 2, 2004) ... Madison ... episode: Things That Go Jump in the Night
The George Lopez Show (February 27, 2004) ... Ashley ... episode: Jason Tutors Max
The O.C. (March 24, 2004) ... Kate ... episode: The L.A.
The Simple Life 2: Road Trip (2004) (reality series regular) ... Herself
Veronica Mars (September 28, 2004) ... Caitlin Ford ... episode: Credit Where Credit's Due
The Simple Life 3: Interns (2005) (reality series regular) ... Herself
Saturday Night Live (February 5, 2005) ... Hosting ...
American Dreams (March 16, 2005) ... Barbara Eden of "I Dream of Jeannie"
Live at Much Music (May 3, 2005) ... With the cast of House of Wax.
The Diary (May 8, 2005) ... Becky ...episode: The Truth
KL Minute (June 2, 2005) ... Archive Footage as Herself/Paige Edwards of House of Wax... episode: Original One