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Paris Whitney Hilton
Paris Hilton at a press conference for GoYellow.de on May 20, 2005 in Munich.
Born	February 17, 1981 New York City, New York
Occupation(s)	Actress, model, singer

Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an heiress to the Hilton Hotel fortune, as well as her father's real estate fortune. In addition to being a famous socialite, Hilton has dabbled in modeling, acting, singing, and writing. She has been described as a "celebutante," a portmanteau of "celebrity" and "debutante."

Background

Paris Hilton 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 II and Conrad Hilton II.

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 $350 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 $30.5 million mansion in Bel Air, a $12.3 million estate in the Hamptons, and a $10 million house in the Hollywood Hills in which she and her sister stay to give them privacy and for easy access to clubs in Los Angeles.

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.

Hilton shot to prominence when a sex video of her with then-boyfriend Rick Salomon was leaked onto the Internet shortly after The Simple Life debuted. On June 9, 2004 it was released as a DVD titled 1 Night in Paris which was presented by Salomon. Hilton sued Salomon for releasing the tape, but the suit was settled. Hilton received US $400,000 and a percentage of the profits, which were donated to charity.

Career

In recent years Hilton has gained recognition by appearing in television, movies, television commercials, and modeling photographs. According to Forbes, 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.

Model

Hilton first came into the public eye as one of the more famous New York socialites and heirs. Along with her sister, she would make countless appearances in the party section of New York society magazines. She later worked as a fashion model for Catherine Malandrino and Marc Bouwer, and on an ad campaign for Italian label Iceberg. She has also been the spokeswoman and promotional face for the products of GUESS clothing.

Hilton 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 for which she was paid $400,000 according to Forbes Magazine.

Actress

Film

She 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, Raising Helen, and Nine Lives. Hilton won the 2005 Worst Supporting Actress Razzie for House of Wax. She landed her first lead role in a theatrical release with National Lampoon's Pledge This! (2006).

She also appeared in cameo roles in Zoolander (2001), The Cat in the Hat (2003) and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004).

Hilton also has several upcoming theatrical releases in which she is the lead. Some of which, according to a radio interview, are Bottom's Up, The Hottie and the Nottie and an untitled superhero movie involving Stan Lee.

Television

Hilton and Nicole Richie (adopted 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." It was followed by two more seasons on FOX: The Simple Life 2: Road Trip and The Simple Life 3: Interns, and one currently airing on E!: The Simple Life 4: ' Till Death Do Us Part.

Plans for Hilton to lend her name and also star in a cartoon series which follows the animated life of herself, her sister Nicky Hilton, and her dog Tinkerbell are in development .

Hilton also guest starred in episodes of teen drama The OC, '60s-set dramedy American Dreams and noir detective show Veronica Mars.

Hilton's voice was used in "See Paris Die!" a viral animation promoting House of Wax.

Singer

Hilton started working on an album in 2004. The album, has had rumoured titles of Paris Hilton, Paris Is Burning, 1 Crazy Party and Screwed. The final title announced for the album is simply self-titled; Paris. She has indicated that the album will feature a number of genres of music, including pop, reggae, and hip-hop.

Hilton announced Stars are Blind, a reggae influenced track produced by Fernando Garibay, as the first single. Her producers for the album include Greg Wells and Kara DioGuardi, Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go's and Scott Storch.

The album is set for release in the USA on August 7, 2006.

Hilton is also the founder of her own Heiress Records, the label on which she plans to release her debut album. It is a sub-label of Warner Brothers Records and was created in 2004. Hilton also plans to eventually sign new artists.

Discography

Albums:

• Paris (2006)

Singles:

• Stars Are Blind (2006)

Designer

Hilton has also lent her name to purses for Samantha Thavasa and Toys for Tots, and has a jewelry line for Amazon.com. Currently, her design endorsements earn her around US$250,000 per year. Hilton also has plans to launch her own fashion and cosmetics lines.

Author

In the fall of 2004, Hilton released a book, Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose, which has full color photographs of her and gives her tips on the do's and don'ts of living as an heiress. Hilton was reportedly given $100,000 in 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. Nonetheless, the book became a New York Times bestseller.

Hilton followed it up with a designer-diary - Your Heiress Diary: Confess It All To Me. Aimed at her young fans, it contained pages encouraging fans to write about their goals, their friends and family, boys, celebrities they admire, etc. Hilton plans to release another book in 2007.

Perfume and Cologne

In early May of 2004, Parlux Fragrances announced that they would be releasing a fragrance line created by Hilton. The perfume would be aptly named Paris Hilton.

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%.

After the success of Hilton's perfume, Parlux Fragrances had her create Paris Hilton for Men, a cologne for her male admirers, as well as another called Just Me by Paris Hilton, which is available for both women and men.

Non-Profit

In November 2004, Hilton participated in Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' Citizen Change campaign to encourage youths to vote in the Presidential election. She drew criticism after it was revealed she had neither voted, nor even registered to do so .

Hilton also drew criticism in the Australian media during June 2006 for failing to keep her promise of organising a benefit concert to raise funds for seriously ill children .

Brand

Hilton began her own chain of nightclubs known as Club Paris in 2005. The first of which in Orlando, Florida has been a major success. The second located in Jacksonville, Florida opens July 1st, 2006. Hilton is in talks to develop further clubs in Las Vegas, New York, Los Angeles and Miami. She also hopes to take the clubs to overseas markets and to expand the clubs to become five-star hotels featuring accommodation and casinos.

Gameloft, a developer and publisher of mobile games, previewed Paris-branded mobile at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). At E3, the game was called "Paris Hilton's Jewel Jam", the name present on all of Gameloft's signage . Hilton was to appear at Gameloft's E3 booth to unveil the product, though she appeared an hour late, saying, "Sorry I’m late. I’m really excited to have my new video game, 'Diamondquest.' Thank you all for coming, and you can download the game." (emphasis added)

As of May 26th, 2005, Gameloft's press release states that the game's name is Paris Hilton's Diamond Quest, stating "With a previous working title of Jewel Jam, the company decided on a final title to better reflect the fresh, dynamic and sexy appeal of the heiress extraordinaire."

Sex Symbol

Hilton 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 also been linked with other young celebrities, including filmmaker Vincent Gallo, actor Edward Furlong, boxer Oscar De La Hoya, Chicago Bears football player Brian Urlacher, and singers Rob Mills, Deryck Whibley, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, Arizona Cardinals football player Matt Leinart and English cricketer Kevin Pietersen.

Hilton was engaged to Tommy Hilfiger model Jason Shaw from mid-2002 to early 2003. On May 29, 2005, she announced her engagement to Paris Latsis, a Greek shipping heir. However, on October 1, 2005, Hilton announced that the five-month engagement had been called off. Soon thereafter, she began dating another Greek shipping heir, Stavros Niarchos III, but as of May 2, 2006, Hilton publicist Elliot Mintz told the press of the reported breakup.

In 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; her spokeswoman said she did not know where Playboy got that picture .

On June 18, 2006, Paris attended the 2006 MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto. At the afterparty in Club Ultra, she was photographed holding hands with Jose Theodore. The two were also seen going to Paris' hotel.

In May of 2006, Maxim magazine ranked Hilton #38 on its annual Hot 100 list.

References

1. Biography: Paris Hilton November 4 2005, A&E Television Networks.
2. Gary, Crary Activists campaign against seal hunt February 2, 2004 ESPN.

See also

• LA Denim Atelier
• Conspicuous consumption
• Nicky Hilton

External links

• Paris Hilton at IMDb
• Paris Hilton at the Internet Adult Film Database
• Paris Hilton descends on German toilet from 7000 feet

• 1981 births
• American entrepreneurs
• American models
• American porn stars
• American socialites
• American television personalities
• Actor-singers
• American pop singers
• American female singers
• American dance acts
• Dance/Club music artists
• Hilton family
• Living people
• People from New York City
• Reality television stars
• Worst Supporting Actress Razzie