Paris Hilton was born on February 17th, 1981, to
Rick and Kathy Hilton, making her the
great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, founder of the
Hilton hotels and source of the family fortune --
estimated at $300 million. Her grandfather, Conrad
"Nicky" Hilton, Jr., also brought some notoriety to
the family, as he was the first of Elizabeth
Taylor's many ex-husbands. Paris' younger sister,
Nicky (born in 1983), shares the throne as
co-heiress of the Hilton empire.
Growing up in Manhattan's ritzy Waldorf-Astoria, the
family's New York home, as well as other Hilton digs
in Beverly Hills and the Hamptons, Paris didn't seem
to yearn for much. Even after graduating from high
school, college didn't appeal to her. So, around the
year 2000, Paris decided to branch out and become
famous.
She began to make a name for herself as a model,
soon appearing in shows for designers such as Marc
Bouwer and Catherine Malandrino, and she later
completed an ad campaign for Iceberg, an Italian
label. In addition, Paris has posed for spreads in
national magazines such as GQ, Vanity Fair and FHM,
and has also been profiled, along with her sister,
in People magazine.
At the same time, Paris became the center of
attention because of her relationships -- real or
imagined by the paparazzi -- with some of
Hollywood's hottest young stars. In early 2000,
Paris was spotted around town with Leonardo
DiCaprio. However, the press, especially the
National Enquirer, blew their casual friendship far
out of proportion. Nevertheless, she apparently
dated Terminator 2's Edward Furlong for a few
months, and was later seen out and about with boxer
Oscar de la Hoya. Paris has also been linked with
actor and Tommy Hilfiger model, Jason Shaw, as well
as Sum 41 lead singer Derek Whibley.
Paris, along with her younger sister Nicky, also
became notorious as socialites, gracing party after
party and getting bad press for their antics. For
example, Paris has grabbed headlines by shoving
ahead of others in a washroom line, then, when
upbraided for her rudeness, quipped that she only
wanted to look at herself in the mirror. She has
also danced on top of bar banquettes, gone topless
for attention, and paraded around in designer
T-shirts with slogans like, "Got Blow?" Yet Paris
maintains that the bad press "sucks" and that
"people are mean."
Perhaps in an effort to clean up her image, Paris
has tried to make her mark by working on more
substantial projects. In 2001, she had a cameo
appearance in Ben Stiller's fashion spoof,
Zoolander. Other appearances include a role as a
strung-out supermodel in the film short QIK2JDG, The
Hillz (co-starring boyfriend Jason Shaw),
Wonderland, and the big-screen adaptation of the Dr.
Seuss classic, The Cat in the Hat. She can also be
seen in the FOX reality show, The Simple Life, which
is based on Green Acres, and features Paris Hilton
living on a farm.
On top of her burgeoning acting career, Paris has
designed a high-end collection of purses for Tokyo
label Samantha Thavasa, along with her sister Nicky.
Paris has also given back; she has done charity work
for Toys for Tots. Unfortunately, her attempts to
start a modeling company and a makeup line seem to
have fizzled.
Paris has recently grabbed headlines thanks to a
makeout session with notorious lesbian, Ingrid
Casares, and the rumor of a sex tape featuring Paris
and Rick Solomon in the act.
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