Paris Hilton, the heiress to the famous Hilton hotel empire, gained fame as a socialite, and a style icon of the early 2000s. Like King Midas, she has a rare ability to turn everything she touches into gold. She releases perfumes, cosmetics, footwear, and clothing, writes books, stars in movies and on television, records songs, and plays DJ sets.
In the photo: Paris Hilton
Paris is a direct embodiment of Confucius's wise saying, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." Her glamorous life and media scandals became her profession. Even now, when the career of the once main party girl in the US is waning, owners of trendy clubs are ready to pay a hefty sum to invite the blonde as an honorary guest.
Childhood and Teenage Years
Paris is the eldest daughter of the hotel empire heir Rick Hilton and actress and model Kathy Avanzino. She has a younger sister, Nicki, and two brothers, Barron and Conrad.
Paris Hilton's family: parents, brother, and sister
Paris spent her childhood moving from one luxurious mansion to another. She lived in Beverly Hills, the Hamptons, Manhattan, and switched schools several times. She even attended a boarding school for troubled children, where her parents sent her at age sixteen. At that time, spoiled Paris was out of control - she skipped school and spent nights partying with friends in trendy clubs, with all the ensuing consequences.
Paris and Nicky Hilton in childhood
To protect their daughter from bad influence, parents sent her to the closed boarding school Provo in Utah, where Paris, according to her, was regularly subjected to moral humiliation and physical violence. For disobedience, students were beaten, starved, and locked in solitary cells. The girl tried to tell her parents about it, but they didn't believe her, thinking that their daughter was just trying to manipulate them.
Paris Hilton during her school years
For twenty years, Paris didn't dare to reveal this information until in 2020 a documentary called "This is Paris" was released on YouTube. In it, the socialite tearfully told this story, and her words were confirmed by several of Hilton's classmates and actress Drew Barrymore, who also attended this institution in her youth.
First Steps to Fame
Paris did receive her high school diploma, but much later, as she preferred a modeling career over mundane school subjects. Her mother didn't object – having been a successful model herself in her youth, she understood the intricacies of the profession. Kathy Hilton helped her daughter secure a lucrative contract with the prestigious New York modeling agency Trump Model Management, and soon, Paris's photos graced the cover of Vanity Fair.
19-year-old Paris and 16-year-old Niki on the cover of Vanity Fair (2000)
Her modeling career developed quite successfully - Hilton collaborated with agencies such as Ford Models Management, Nous Model Management, Premier Model Management, and appeared in advertisements for famous brands like Iceberg, GUESS, Tommy Hilfiger, and Christian Dior.
Paris Hilton in the early 2000s
At the same time, the young woman led an active social life and by the age of twenty, she had become a seasoned party-goer. She loved to shock the audience with her revealing outfits and provocative behavior. Wherever Paris appeared, journalists flocked, and photos from the party instantly hit the press, sparking public interest and thereby increasing circulation.
Late Night «Paris Hilton on Conan (2004)
Thanks to this, Hilton soon became a regular at glamorous social gatherings, moving from one party to another. She celebrated her 25th birthday in five different countries, to gather as many people as possible. And it didn't matter at all that most of them were complete strangers to her – the important thing was that all the tabloids wrote about this event, attracting additional attention to her persona.
Music, Design and Perfumery
In 2004, the indefatigable Paris decided to become a singer and began recording her debut solo album. The compilation Paris took two years to complete, with renowned producers Kara DioGuardi, Greg Wells, Scott Storch, and Jane Wiedlin participating.
Paris Hilton – Nothing In This World
After the album's release, it lingered on the sixth step of the Billboard 200 chart for a while, but did not enjoy commercial demand and sold poorly. This didn't stop Paris - a year later, she announced the upcoming release of a dance music album. This time, Paris decided to do everything herself: equipped a professional studio at home, got inspired by Bob Sinclar's work, wrote songs, and filmed music videos for several of them.
There was no large-scale success again, so Paris turned to DJing, which made her a good income. In 2014, she could be paid a million dollars for a single set in Ibiza, and it was not so much about the quality of the music as it was about her star status.
Paris Hilton's set at Tomorrowland Festival
In 2019, the glamorous blonde participated in the large-scale electronic music festival Tomorrowland, where she performed before a half-million audience. She performed several of her most famous tracks, including "Best Friend's Ass", in the video clip of which her old friend Kim Kardashian starred.
Paris is extremely proud of her friendship with the pop princess of the 2000s Britney Spears, with whom she often partied in her younger years. In May 2021, she posted a touching post on Instagram in which she called Britney her sister.
Paris has a warm relationship with Britney Spears
Paris also tried herself in other roles. For instance, in 2004 Hilton's autobiography "Confessions of an Heiress" saw the light of day, co-written with Merle Ginsberg. The book received negative reviews from critics, but was liked by Hilton's fans and instantly became a bestseller. A year later, the sequel "Your Heiress Diaries" came out, and in 2008 - the final part of the trilogy "Paris Hilton: Life on the Edge".
At the same time, Paris tried herself as a designer, participated in creating bags for the Japanese company Samantha Thavasa and a capsule collection of jewelry for the Amazon online market.
Paris at the Samantha Thavasa bag show
Paris Hilton's perfume line, launched in the same 2004 with Parlux Fragrances, enjoys stable demand and currently includes about thirty fragrances. Under the Paris Hilton brand, cosmetics, clothing and footwear are released, and the Club Paris nightclub chain operates, which received the right to use her name for a certain percentage.
Perfume from Paris Hilton
Analyzing all the above, we can conclude that the glamorous blonde managed to amass an impressive personal capital by the age of forty, not related to family income. Especially since her grandfather Barron Hilton left his relatives almost without an inheritance after his death, bequeathing the lion's share of his fortune to a charity fund.
Paris Hilton's Personal Life
The personal life of the wealthy heiress has always attracted the media, and the young woman herself willingly fueled interest in her person with her numerous romances. Her joint photos with Leonardo DiCaprio on the night track, romantic relationships with actor Edward Furlong, and stormy romance with Rick Salomon, husband of actress Shannen Doherty, were widely discussed in the press.
Paris Hilton with Edward Furlong (left) and Derek Whibley (right)
Rick dated Paris when she was 19, then they broke up, and the guy married Doherty. But when problems started in his family, he returned to his ex. Both girls happened to be together at one of the Hollywood parties, and a scandal flared up between them. Paris provoked it: she approached Shannen and asked her to leave Rick alone. The actress reasonably replied that she was still his lawful wife. Then she rudely pushed Hilton away, went out onto the street, and pelted the glamorous blonde's car with eggs from the nearest supermarket.
Paris Hilton and Rick Salomon
A few months later, Paris and Rick were again "notorious". In June 2004, their quite explicit "home video" leaked onto the Internet. Hilton sued Salomon and won $400,000, which she donated to charity.
This incident attracted even more interest in the glamorous blonde, and her popularity started to skyrocket. This is associated with the burst of activity of Paris in 2004 - the girl successfully monetized the hype and launched several successful projects.
With Nick Carter from Backstreet Boys
Her scandalous reputation did not prevent Hilton from getting engaged in 2005 to Paris Latsis, the heir to a Greek billionaire. Having accepted a ring with a gigantic 23-carat diamond, Hilton soon broke off the engagement without giving a reasonable explanation.
Paris Hilton and Paris Latsis
This was not the first such act - in 2003, Paris cancelled her wedding with model Jason Shaw, to whom she was engaged. And after breaking off the engagement with actor Chris Zylka, whom she dated in 2018, Hilton was dubbed the "runaway bride".
Paris Hilton and Chris Zylka
This explains the heightened anticipation before Paris's wedding with her current chosen one, wealthy and influential businessman Carter Reum. The celebration was planned for 2021. Fans of Hilton speculated whether this time the bride would run away at the end of the show, leaving another groom in the lurch. Others noted that everything is going in the best traditions of love stories - the couple has been together since April 2020, spends all the time together, and Paris claims that she has never been so happy.
Paris Hilton's New Fiancé
The wedding eventually took place in November 2021. This is already the fourth attempt of Hilton to become a married woman. On the eve of the celebration, Paris was preparing another reality show "Paris in Love", in which she intended to highlight in the smallest details both the wedding ceremony itself and the preparation for it.
Paris Hilton and Carter Reum
In early 2023, Paris and Carter had a boy named Phoenix Barron, and in November the couple became parents for the second time - they had a girl named London. Both babies were carried by a surrogate mother.
Paris Hilton with her husband and son
Paris Hilton Now
In September 2020, the somewhat forgotten Paris reminded everyone of herself with the YouTube series of interviews "This is Paris", in which she shared secret details of her private life.
With tears in her eyes, the heiress of a multi-million dollar empire spoke about the physical and emotional humiliations she had to experience in a private boarding school, where her parents sent her for re-education. After this, she was haunted by the same nightmare for years - two strangers sneaking into her room and forcibly taking her somewhere. According to Paris, this is exactly how she ended up in the boarding school - she was taken away in the middle of the night, without even asking for her consent. The film sparked widespread interest among viewers and collected over twenty million views on YouTube.
Paris Hilton at the Oscars 2021
As for Hilton's business ventures, they continue to generate a steady income, and even the coronavirus pandemic couldn't cause significant damage to her financial situation. Like many famous designers, she released a collection of sportswear, especially in demand during the quarantine period. But unlike most basic knitwear, Paris Hilton's suits are made of glamorous velour, so popular in the 2000s dear to Paris's heart. The blonde personally demonstrated the new items, inviting Kim Kardashian for an advertising photo shoot, and the collection sold out in a matter of days.
Interesting Facts
Paris has repeatedly had problems with the law, which resulted in her spending a month in jail. All infringements were due to speeding and drunk driving.
Hilton firmly denies having any plastic surgery, though it doesn't take an expert to notice changes in her appearance. Over time, her rather prominent nose has reduced in size and gained a refined and sophisticated shape, and her bust has noticeably increased, even though her weight has remained almost the same for many years.
It was Paris who started the trend of small dogs, which became an integral part of the socialite's image. She has had numerous pocket pets, but the most popular was a Chihuahua named Tinkerbell, who lived with Paris for 14 years.
Thanks to her, there was a resurgence in demand for velour tracksuits in 2020, which were popular in the early 2000s.
Nicky Hilton is as much of a party-goer as her older sister and was previously the face of the Australian lingerie brand Antz Pantz. But unlike Paris, she doesn't give interviews and rarely appears in front of paparazzi, preferring not to show off her personal life.
Important Dates
2000 - Start of modeling career and first contract with Trump Model Management
2003 - Premiere of the reality show "The Simple Life"
2004 - Release of the first biography book and launch of the perfume line Paris Hilton
2006 - Start of music career and release of the debut solo album "Paris"
