Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American heiress of the Hilton Hotel fortune, a model and actress. Hilton is frequently derided from some quarters for epitomizing the vacuity, narcissism, and extreme promiscuity of American celebrity life, although some believe that she makes at least some attempt to cultivate and play up to this persona in an ironic fashion.
Life
She was born in New York, New York, the eldest of four children born to real estate mogul Richard Hilton and former actress Kathy Richards. Her sister and brothers are Nicholai Olivia "Nicky" Hilton, Barron Nicholas Hilton and Conrad Hughes Hilton.
Her paternal grandparents are Barron Hilton and Marilyn Hawley. He was the second child of Hilton Hotel chain founder Conrad Hilton and Mary Barron. Her granduncles are Conrad "Nicky" Hilton and Eric Hilton, and her grandaunt is Francesca Hilton, whose mother is Zsa Zsa Gabor. The family worth of Barron Hilton and his descendants is estimated at over $335,000,000. The family's original surname was Holver, which was borne by Augustus Holver, Paris's paternal great-great-grandfather, a Norwegian immigrant.
On the maternal side of her family, Hilton is a niece of two popular Disney child stars of the 1970s and 1980s, Kim Richards and Kyle Richards, who appeared in such films as Escape From Witch Mountain and television series like Nanny and the Professor and Little House on the Prairie.
Paris moved between several homes in her youth, including a suite in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, Beverly Hills, California and the Hamptons. After secondary education, she decided not to go to college. Instead, she worked as a fashion model for Catherine Malandrino and Marc Bouwer, and on an ad campaign for Italian label Iceberg.
Paris and her sister Nicky, with whom she is often mentioned, are known for their jet-set lifestyles, though Paris has more readily sought the spotlight as a celebrity. Hilton has also 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, dated several notables, including actor Edward Furlong, boxer Oscar De La Hoya, model Jason Shaw, Chicago Bears football player Brian Urlacher, singers Rob Mills, Deryck Whibley, and Backstreet Boy Nick Carter. While Paris was dating Nick Carter she sported bruises, which caused rumours that Nick may have hit Paris. This rumour was neither confirmed nor denied by Paris 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). Hilton was also blamed by the media for breaking up the relationship between Australian tennis player Mark Philippoussis and singer Delta Goodrem.
Hilton has also received a lot of press for a variety of incidents, mainly party antics. She's 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. Hilton has danced on the top of bar banquettes, worn shirts reading "Got Blow?," and others times worn no top at all. One of her more famous quotes is: "What's a soup kitchen?"
Hilton had a cameo appearance in Zoolander (2000), and has also appeared in the short QIK2JDG as a model, as well as The Hillz, Wonderland, and the big-screen adaptation of The Cat in the Hat. Pictures of her have appeared in several magazines, including GQ, Vanity Fair and FHM.
Hilton and her best friend, Nicole Richie, 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, she suffered a horseback riding accident while filming The Simple Life 2, requiring treatment at a hospital.
She was also the subject of South Park season 8 episode 12, "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" in which she opens a store called "Stupid Spoiled Whore" selling girls everything they need to emulate her.
On top of her acting career, she has also helped to design purses for Samantha Thavasa and Toys for Tots. Despite her successes, Hilton's recent attempts to start a modeling company and a makeup line seem to have been unsuccessful.
She is the founder of Heiress Records, a label on which she plans to release her debut album in 2005.
Paris Hilton as sex symbol
An unauthorized sex video of Hilton with her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon, who leaked it onto the Internet, was released shortly before The Simple Life debuted, causing a sensation. On June 9, 2004 it was released as a DVD titled One Night in Paris. Hilton sued Salomon for releasing the tape. In July, the suit was settled, with Hilton receiving $400,000 and a percentage of the profits. The original video, and a rip of the DVD, are still circulating on the Internet.
There has been speculation that Hilton may be gay. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Hilton stated that she did not receive much enjoyment from sex with men. It has also been rumored that there exists a video featuring Paris in a lesbian sex romp with her friend Nicole Lenz, a Playboy Playmate. In February of 2005, she admitted in an interview that she has a crush on Jennifer Aniston. [1], [2]
Hilton owns a teacup Chihuahua named Tinkerbell. In August 2004, Tinkerbell was reported lost and a $5,000.00 reward was offered for her safe return. Tinkerbell was found a week later.
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. The writing was panned as amateurish, and was parodied by Robert Mundell on The Late Show with David Letterman.
On February 19, 2005 a hacker posted the contents of Hilton's personal T-Mobile account [3] to the internet: Hilton's phone numbers (which included many celebrities such as Christina Aguilera, Fred Durst, Eminem, Lindsay Lohan, Jay-Z, Anna Kournikova, Avril Lavigne), notes (with even more numbers and email addresses, and reminders such as her date to host Saturday Night Live), and thirty-five pictures sent by Hilton via her T-Mobile Sidekick device. In at least two of the leaked photos, Hilton is standing topless next to the MTV Latin America's VJ Eglantina Zingg, whom she is kissing in one of the photos (which further added to the speculation that Hilton might be gay or bisexual).
Within days, it was revealed [4] 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, [5] an anonymous party was able to guess it and notify the press, with the result that T-Mobile became aware of and addressed the security issue.
Filmography
- Wishman (1991) ... Girl on Beach
- Sweetie Pie (2000)
- Zoolander (2001) ... Herself
- Nine Lives (2002) ... Jo
- QIK2JDG (2002) ... Strung-out Supermodel
- Wonderland (2003) ... Barbie
- Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat (2003) ... Female Club-Goer
- L.A. Knights (2003) ... Sadie
- Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003) ... Herself
- Raising Helen (2004) ... Amber
- The Hillz (2004) ... Heather
- House of Wax (2004) ... Shannon Taylor
- One Night In Paris (2004) ... Herself
Selected TV appearances
- The 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 (January 26 , 2005) ... Herself ...
- Saturday Night Live (February 5 , 2005) ... Hosting ...
- American Dreams March 9, 2005...Barbara Eden of "I Dream of Jeannie"