Paris
Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981 in New York City)
is an American celebrity. She is an American heiress
of the Hilton Hotel fortune, a socialite, model, singer,
and actress. She has been described as a "celebutante,"
a portmanteau of "celebrity" and "debutante"
Background
She is the eldest of four children born to 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
before 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.
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[2]. 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.
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, tenatively 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.
Paris and her dogs
Hilton is often photographed with her teacup Chihuahua,
Tinkerbell. According to Tinkerbell's memoirs The
Tinkerbell Hilton Diaries, Hilton has owned her since
October 31, 2002. However, in the summer of 2005,
Hilton reportedly gave Tinkerbell to her mother, in
favor of a smaller dog named Bambi, after Tinkerbell
had become too heavy.
In keeping with her love of dogs,
Paris has also been at the forefront of more serious
animal rights campaigns. She signed a protest letter
to the Canadian Embassy complaining about that Government's
brutality towards seals, and also posed in an anti-hunt
sweatshirt with the comment "Club Sandwiches,
Not Seals". These actions were widely reported
at the time.
Celebrity
Hilton and her sister, Nicky, are known for their
jet-set lifestyles. Paris in particular has successfully
built herself into a marketable brand much like Donald
Trump, a man she claims to regard 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 several others,
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 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 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 "That's hot," which she
has used in myriad situations.
In August 2004, Tinkerbell was reported
lost and a US$5,000 reward was offered for her safe
return. Tinkerbell was found a week later, having
been left at the home of Hilton's grandparents.
Hilton received an offer from the
German 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 commerical
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 is also a spokesmodel for various
products, including in 2004, GUESS clothing. Photos
of her have also been published in several magazines,
including GQ, Vanity Fair and FHM.
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
"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 [16] 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 [17] 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 and 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." Supposedly she has also implied
that Latsis cheated on her during his bachelor party.
Filmography
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
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 (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
Charmed (May 20, 2005) ... Ashley ...episode: Something
Wicca This Way Goes
KL Minute (June 2, 2005) ... Archive Footage as Herself/Paige
Edwards of House of Wax... episode: Original One
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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