Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981)
is an American heiress, socialite, television personality, businesswoman, fashion designer, entrepreneur, model, actress, producer, author and singer. She is the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, the founder of Hilton Hotels. Born in New York City and raised in both California and New York, Hilton began a modeling career as a teenager when she signed with Donald Trump's modeling agency, T Management. Her hard-partying lifestyle and rumored short-lived relationships with Leonardo DiCaprio and Oscar de la Hoya led her to earn a position as a fixture in entertainment news. For her notoriety as a socialite, Hilton was hailed by the media as "New York's leading It Girl" in 2001.
Hilton gained significant notoriety for a sex tape, which was released shortly before the premiere of the reality series
The Simple Life (2003), which was a huge success and brought Hilton and co-star Nicole Richie to an international recognition. Hilton then released her 2004 autobiography
A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose,
[ Barnes and Noble: "Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek behind the Pose". Search.barnesandnoble.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] landed a supporting role in the 2005 horror film
House of Wax, and recorded the 2006 music album
Paris. She later starred in the series
Paris Hilton's My New BFF (2008) and its two spin-offs,
Paris Hilton's British Best Friend (2009) and
Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF (2009). Hilton has since done a voice role in the TV movie
The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation (2010) and appeared in the reality show
The World According to Paris (2011).
She has appeared in several lists compiled by magazines such as
Maxim,
FHM as well as
Stuff. She is also regularly placed on lists composed by
Forbes magazine and was named one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" by
Men's Health.
Critics also suggest that Hilton epitomizes the title of famous for being famous;
[ "The Paris Hilton Rule: Famous For Being Famous". ScoreboardMedia (February 6, 2007). Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] she is an example of the modern phenomenon of the "celebutante", the celebrity who rises to fame not because of their talent or work but because of their inherited wealth and controversial lifestyle. In recent years, she has parlayed her media fame into a fashion line and various perfumes with her celebrity endorsement ? her fragrances have reportedly earned $1.5 billion. Currently, there are 44 Paris Hilton Stores worldwide and her brand includes perfumes, handbags, watches, footwear, among other products. Hilton earns over $10 million a year from her products sales
and as of 2005 she was paid $300,000 for appearances in clubs and events.
Life and career
1981?2002: Early life and career beginnings
thumb|left|Hilton with her mother
Hilton and aunt Kyle Richards at an NBC party on February 5, 2011.]Hilton was born in New York City, New York. Her mother, Kathy Hilton (née Kathleen Elizabeth Avanzino),
[ "Chronicling the history of the hideously hyped inn crowd". New York Daily News. November 7, 2006.][House of Hilton by Jerry Oppenheimer.] is a socialite and former actress, and her father, Richard Howard "Rick" Hilton, is a businessman. She is the oldest of four children: she has one sister, Nicholai Olivia "Nicky" Hilton (born 1983), and two brothers, Barron Nicholas Hilton II (born 1989) and Conrad Hughes Hilton III (born 1994). Her paternal great-grandfather was Conrad Hilton, who founded the Hilton Hotels. She is of Norwegian, German, Italian (from a maternal great-grandfather), English, and Irish ancestry.
[ Ancestry of Paris Hilton. Wargs.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] She is a half-niece of two child stars of the 1970s, Kim and Kyle Richards.
She was raised Roman Catholic and still attends Mass.
Hilton moved between numerous exclusive homes in her youth, including a suite in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, Beverly Hills, and the Hamptons. As a child she was good friends with other socialites, including Nicole Richie and Kim Kardashian.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Hilton attended the Buckley School and the exclusive St. Paul the Apostle Church and School, where she graduated in 1995.
She then attended her freshman year of high school at the Marywood-Palm Valley School in Rancho Mirage, California from 1995?1996. In 1996, when Hilton was 14 years old, her family moved to the East Coast.
In New York, she briefly attended Convent of the Sacred Heart (while Lady Gaga was a student there) in 1996 before transferring again to the Dwight School.
At 16, Hilton spent one year at the Provo Canyon School, a school for emotionally troubled teens.
She then attended the Canterbury Boarding School, in New Milford, Connecticut from the fall of 1998 to February 1999 for her junior year, where she was a member of the ice hockey team.
In February 1999, the month she turned 18, she was expelled from Canterbury for violating school rules.
After being expelled from Canterbury, she returned to the Dwight School before dropping out a few months later as a high school junior.
She later earned her GED.
Hilton began modeling as a child, initially at charity events.
When she was 19, she signed with Donald Trump's modeling agency, T Management.
Hilton stated that while she "wanted to model," Trump was wishing to have her at his agency, and after she signed she was "loving" the work.
While working as a model, she was becoming a daily fixture in entertainment news for her heavy partying; according to
Vanity Fair, Cisco Adler, producer of
Sweetie Pie (where Hilton acted in) stated that she was "a young party girl who gets sucked into the L.A. party scene and grew up a little too fast".
In 2001, Hilton developed a reputation as a socialite, being identified as "New York's leading It Girl" whose fame was beginning to "extend beyond the New York tabloid".
Around that time, she made a cameo appearance in
Zoolander and was on several magazine covers such as UK's
Tatler, Italy's
Giola and USA's
Vanity Fair and
FHM.
She also appeared in Vincent Gallo's Honey Bunny video.
[http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/822728.html][http://www.metacafe.com/watch/mu-475303/honey_bunny_vincent_gallo_music_video/] In 2002, she was one of the leads in the straight-to-video horror movie
Nine Lives.
Beyondhollywood.com felt that "Hilton?s presence in the cast is the film?s main marketing point, which is plainly obvious by the fact that she?s front and center on the box art and is the only recognizable name in the cast" and also noted that her character was basically herself: "Hilton plays ? what else? ? a spoiled American socialite who shops on three continents in one day. The script is even clever enough to take a few jabs at Hilton?s real-life social standing, even mentioning that she?s been on the cover of a few sleaze rags in her day".
In that year, she became engaged to fashion model Jason Shaw but they broke up in early 2003.
2003?05: The Simple Life and breakthrough
Hilton's breakout role came in 2003, when she co-starred with socialite counterpart Nicole Richie in the Fox reality series
The Simple Life, which premiered on December 2, 2003, shortly after Hilton's sex tape was released.
The show started airing to surprisingly well received ratings; the premiere episode drew 13,000,000 viewers, increasing Fox's Adults 18?49 rating a phenomenal 79%.
At that time, she started to be recognizable for her onscreen dumb blonde persona in reality television and after the end of
The Simple Life she has remarked several times that she played a character within the series and it is not who she is in real life, despite people's perception of her.
The year the show premiered, she started a relationship with singer Nick Carter, which lasted until 2004.
Hilton launched a lifestyle brand in 2004. She helped design a collection of purses for Japanese label Samantha Thavasa. The 10-piece line collection, a jewelry line designed by Hilton, started being on sale on Amazon.com.
[ Paris Hilton creates jewelry line Msnbc.msn.com] She stated that she wanted to "create a line that was beautiful and very high quality, yet affordable and available to everyone".
The line was described as "inspired by Hilton's personal style ? feminine, flirtatious and glamorous ? with heart, star and cross motifs."
In the autumn of 2004, Hilton released an autobiographical book,
A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose,
co-written by Merle Ginsberg, which includes full color photographs of her and her advice on life as an heiress.
The book was in the
New York Times bestseller list, ranking at seven.
The quote "Dress cute wherever you go; life is too short to blend in" was added to The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations in September 2009.
She was involved in the creation of a perfume line by Parlux Fragrances. Originally set to be a small release, high demand led to a wider release before December 2004. The launch was followed by a 47% increase in sales of Parlux products, predominantly due to sales of the Hilton-branded perfume.
[ Form 10-Q for Parlux Fragrances, Inc. Biz. Yahoo.com] After the success of Hilton's perfume, Parlux Fragrances released several more perfumes with her name, including fragrances for men.
[ Celebrity fragrance watch: Paris Hilton & Andy Roddick Nowsmellthis.com] Hilton released her second book called
Confess It All to Me in 2005
[http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743287142] and also in that year, she launched her second fragrance
Just Me.
thumb|right|upright|Hilton in 2005, when she played a significant role in the horror movie
of Wax |House of Wax.]After Hilton hosted
Saturday Night Live with musical guest, band Keane in February 2005,
she got her first major role in the horror thriller film
House of Wax, in which Elisha Cuthbert and Chad Michael Murray also starred.
The movie, after being first screened at the Tribeca Film Festival,
opened in May 2005,
receiving mixed reviews.
Giving a positive review for her performance, Matthew Turner for the
View London said that Hilton "does better than you might expect".
But while
MTV felt that she was "actually pretty good",
called Hilton "talentless".
Her role as Paige Edwards won the Teen Choice Award for "Best Scream" and earned her a nomination for "Choice Breakout Performance ? Female".
[ Teen Choice Awards 2005 nominees and winners. Fox.com] (It also won her the 2005 Razzie for "Worst Supporting Actress" at the 2005 Golden Raspberry Awards.)
[ 2005 Golden Raspberry Award Nominees and Winners on March 6, 2006] She also earned a nomination for "Best Frightened Performance" at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards.
House of Wax grossed over $70,000,000.
From May to October of that year, she was engaged to Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis.
, which ran for three seasons on FOX, was cancelled after a dispute between Hilton and Richie in 2005. Hilton commented: "It's no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends. Nicole knows what she did, and that's all I'm ever going to say about it."
Neither Richie nor Hilton spoke publicly about the cause of the split, though it was speculated that the pair fell out due to Richie showing one of Hilton's homemade sex tapes to a group of their friends.
They renewed their friendship in October 2006.
2006?07: Paris, films and arrests
After
The Simple Life was cancelled by FOX in 2005, other networks, such as NBC, The WB, VH1 and MTV were all reported to be interested in obtaining the rights to air new seasons of the show.
[ Fox drops 'The Simple Life 4,' NBC and The WB reportedly interested] On November 28, 2005, E! announced that they had picked up
The Simple Life and had ordered production go ahead on the fourth season, along with the rights to re-air the first three seasons. Shooting for the new season began February 27, 2006.
[ Fox's canceled 'The Simple Life 4' reality show lands at E! Network] The premiere of the fourth season brought high ratings for the network with 1.3 million viewers.
She released her self-titled debut album,
Paris, under the label on August 22, 2006. The album reached number six on the
Billboard 200 for a week and sold over 600,000 copies worldwide
The first single "Stars Are Blind" was a massive success in the United States as it was played at more than 125 pop stations across the country.
The song also was a hit worldwide;
it was a top ten in 17 countries.
[ ] Although
The Guardian felt that Hilton sound "both distracted and bored stiff",
commented that the album was "more fun than anything released by Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson".
[ Discography ? Paris Hilton ? Paris CD/DVD Billboard.com] As a whole, critical reception was mixed.
In September 2006, Hilton was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of 0.08%, the level at which it is illegal to drive in California. The arrest complicated the shooting of the fifth season of series. Hilton's driving license was subsequently suspended in November 2006,
and in January 2007 she pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charge.
Her punishment was 36 months' probation and fines of about $1,500.
The straight-to-DVD motion picture
Bottoms Up was released in late 2006. The film came out with negative reviews; Australia's
Urban Cinefile remarked that Hilton, as the lead role, "spends most of her screen time flicking her hair as she delivers lines like 'books are those things you read'".
In December 2006,
National Lampoon's Pledge This!, film in which Hilton appeared and produced, premiered in a limited release before going directly to video. She missed the premiere of the movie at the Cannes Film Festival in protest to the addition of some nude scenes that were going to be included in the film. Hilton said, "I was so angry I snubbed my own premiere."
[{{cite news|url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/waving-goodbye-to-her-wiced-ways/2006/05/30/1148956336143.html|title = Too much nudity, protests Paris|accessdate = 2006-05-30|date = May 30, 2006|work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}] In August 2008, Worldwide Entertainment Group Inc. sued Hilton in the Miami District Court, alleging she did not honor her contractual agreement to provide "reasonable promotion and publicity" for the film.
[{{cite news|url = http://news.aol.com/entertainment/story/_a/paris-hilton-sued-over-lack-of-publicity/n20080812215209990008?ecid=RSS0001|title = Paris Hilton sued over lack of publicity for film|accessdate = 2008-09-09|date = August 12, 2008}} ] It was reported she was paid $1,000,000 for her work.
On January 10, 2007, Hilton released the DreamCatchers line of hair extensions in partnership with Hair Tech International.
[ HAIR TECH INTERNATIONAL. dreamcatchers.com] On January 22, 2007, Hilton's private life was thrust into the media spotlight with the launch of ParisExposed.com, a website that features images of personal documents, video, and other material allegedly obtained when the contents of a storage locker rented by Hilton was auctioned off due to lack of a $208 payment.
The website began charging online access to this material and received 1.2 million visitors in just over 40 hours.
[Thomas, Karen. (January 30, 2007) Paris Hilton website exposed. Usatoday. Com. Retrieved on 2010-12-27.] Among the contents were medications, diaries, photographs, contracts and love letters, as well as a video of her shot by Joe Francis of Girls Gone Wild.
[ Paris Hilton videos exposed online ? V3.co.uk ? formerly. Vnunet.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-27.] Hilton later obtained a temporary injunction against ParisExposed.com, closing down the website.
Also in that month, Hilton was pulled over for driving with a suspended license and signed a document acknowledging that she was not permitted to drive.
The following month, Hilton was caught driving 70 mph in a 35 mph zone, again with a suspended license. She also did not have her headlights on even though it was after dark. Prosecutors in the office of the Los Angeles City Attorney charged that those actions, along with the failure to enroll in a court-ordered alcohol education program, constituted a violation of the terms of her probation.
On May 4, Hilton was sentenced by Judge Michael T. Sauer to 45 days in jail for violating her probation. Initially, Hilton planned to appeal the sentence, and supported an online petition asking California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for a pardon.
The petition was created and organized on May 5, 2007, by Joshua Morales.
In response, various opponents started a counter-petition to maintain the sentence.
Both petitions attracted tens of thousands of signatures. Hilton later switched lawyers and dropped her plans to appeal.
Hilton was required to begin her jail term on June 5,
[Associated Press. Paris Hilton sentenced to 45 days in jail. CNN. May 5, 2007.] and checked herself into the Century Regional Detention Facility, an all-female jail in Lynwood, California after attending the 2007 MTV Movie Awards on June 3. However Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca signed orders on June 7, reassigning Hilton to 40 days of home confinement with an electronic monitoring device due to an unspecified medical condition.
[ Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Press Conference. Fox News Channel. June 7, 2007.] Baca commented on the release saying, "My message to those who don't like celebrities is that punishing celebrities more than the average American is not justice,"
contesting that under normal circumstances, Hilton would not have served any time in jail, and he added that "The special treatment, in a sense, appears to be because of her celebrity status ... She got more time in jail".
On the same day that Hilton was released from jail, Judge Michael Sauer summoned her to reappear in court the following morning (June 8) as the sentencing statement had explicitly said she would serve time in jail with "No work furlough. No work release. No electronic monitoring."
[ Hilton Headed Back to Jail for Full Sentence ? ABC News. Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-27.] At the hearing he declined to be briefed by Hilton's attorney in private chambers on the nature of her condition and sent her back to jail to serve out her original 45-day sentence. Upon hearing the sentence, Hilton shouted, "It's not right!" and started screaming, requesting to hug her mother who was present in the courtroom.
[ Paris Hilton going back to jail. CNN. June 9, 2007][ Hilton Starts, Ends Week Behind Bars. MSN.com. June 9, 2007] Concern about Hilton's condition led to her being moved to the medical wing of the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles, and she was moved back to the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood on June 13.
[ News Hamster. News.hamsterpower.org (June 9, 2007). Retrieved on 2010-12-27.]While in jail, Hilton was influenced by the clergyman minister Marty Angelo: Hilton referred to starting a "new beginning" during her interview with talk show host Larry King on June 28, 2007, two days after being released from jail,
and quoted from Angelo's autobiography, entitled
Once Life Matters: A New Beginning. On June 9, 2007, Marty Angelo petitioned Sauer,
asking to serve out the remainder of Hilton's jail sentence if the judge would release her to an alternative treatment program,
but the petition was turned down. On the same show, she revealed taking Adderall for ADHD since childhood.
After Hilton faced time in jail,
The Simple Life finished its run at the end of the fifth season in July 2007.
[ ?The Simple Life? Cancelled on July 30, 2007] In early August 2007, Hilton signed a licensing agreement with Antebi for a signature footwear line, "Paris Hilton Footwear", featuring stilettos, platforms, flats, wedges, and a sports collection, expected to reach stores in 2008.
[ Paris Hilton Inks Deal with Antebi Footwear Group. August 1, 2007. accessdate August 19, 2007] In mid August 2007, Hilton launched a line of tops, dresses, coats, and jeans at the Kitson Boutique in Los Angeles.
[ Hilton's clothing launch sparks L.A. frenzy. August 16, 2007. accessdate August 19, 2007] She felt the event was "a dream come true" and described the clothing line as " fun, bright and flashy".
In December 2007, Hilton posed nude, covered in gold paint, to promote "Rich Prosecco", a canned version of an Italian sparkling wine.
[ Paris Hilton Nude, Naked In Gold For Canned Champagne Ad ? Rich Prosecco Wine. TV Shark (December 13, 2007). Retrieved on 2010-12-27.] She also traveled to Germany to promote the drink, appearing in various print ads for the product.
[{{Cite news|url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316541,00.html |title = Paris Hilton Wears Nothing but Gold Paint for Champagne Ad |accessdate = December 31, 2007 |date=December 12, 2007 |work=FOXNews.com}}]thumb|right|upright|Hilton at the 2007
Awards, after facing time in jail for her DUI arrest in September 2006.]Around that time, Hilton's grandfather, Barron Hilton, pledged 97% of his estate (the Hilton family fortune) to a charitable organization founded by their great-grandfather, Conrad N. Hilton, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
As a result, the inheritance of his grandchildren is sharply diminished.
An immediate pledge of $1.2 billion was made (the proceeds of the sale of Hilton Hotels Corporation), with a further $1.1 billion due after his death.
He cited the actions of his father, Conrad N. Hilton, as the motivation for his pledge.
Conrad, Barron's father, had left 97% of his estate to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and Barron subsequently contested his father's will to win back a sizeable amount of the Hilton family fortune in a settlement.
By leaving his estate to the Foundation, Barron is donating not only the fortune he has amassed on his own, but he is also returning the Hilton family fortune amassed by his father, Conrad, to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, where it would have gone over 30 years ago had Barron not contested his father's will. Barron stated he is proud to follow his father's example.
Also in 2007, Hilton modeled for 2 be free
[ Paris Hilton Strutted Her Stuff On The 2 B Free Runway. Imnotobsessed.com (March 20, 2007). Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] and her fourth perfume came out, called
Can Can.
2008?09: Focus on acting and My New BFF shows
Hilton's love for dogs led her to create an apparel line for dogs called Little Lily by Paris Hilton, with some of the proceeds going to benefit animal rescue. "I have 17 dogs and I like to dress them, so I started designing this clothing line and it's really cute, like dresses and jeans ? everything you can imagine for humans, but for dogs," she said in an interview during Super Bowl XLII festivities.
[Gould, Mignon A. Paris Talks Togs ? People's and Pet's. 'Yes Magazine/The Arizona Republic'. February 8, 2008.] In April 2008, she guest starred on the
My Name Is Earl episode "I Won't Die with a Little Help from My Friends".
On August 6, 2008, Hilton appeared in a video online,
Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Ad, directed by Adam McKay and posted on the Funny or Die website.
The video featured Hilton in a parody advertisement, and was made in response to a television campaign advert
Celeb, by the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign.
In
Celeb, McCain briefly compared his rival Barack Obama to that of celebrities such as Hilton and Britney Spears, going on to question his readiness to lead and criticize his energy policy.
In what
The Washington Post opined "might just be her best acting role yet,"
Hilton appears in the video wearing a leopard print swimsuit.
The video received seven million views in two days garnering worldwide press coverage, and drew both written and verbal media response from both campaigns.
In October Hilton featured in a second parody video posted on
Funny or Die,
Paris Hilton Gets Presidential with Martin Sheen, alongside Hollywood actor Martin Sheen, with his son, actor Charlie Sheen, appearing in a cameo role.
Hilton, heavily made up and in a green evening dress, interviews Martin Sheen in a kitchen, discussing various political issues, seeking his advice from his days playing a fictional President on
The West Wing.
thumb|upright|right|Hilton at the premiere of documentary
Not France at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.]A the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, it was screened a documentary about Hilton called
Paris, Not France.
It is shown in the movie how she felt about the way the media had portrayed her: "I'm basically being judged, and they're creating this false person, and I can't do anything about it".
Petty, during the premiere at the festival remarked that Hilton has "created a mystery about herself that a film like this maybe wouldn't have been a great thing for her in the past. But now, she's been so saturated in the media. We're so used to her. To see a new side of her is so exciting".
Later, in 2009, the film was aired in July for MTV.
Hilton starred in an MTV reality series titled
Paris Hilton's My New BFF, about her search for a new best friend.
The series premiered on September 30, 2008.
That day, Hilton released her song "My BFF" on KIIS-FM with host Ryan Seacrest.
[Hilton, Paris (September 30, 2008). on KIIS-FM by host Ryan Seacrest. Retrieved October 3, 2008.] It was the theme song for the
BFF show .
The series proved to be a hit; it was watched in its premiere episode by 1,200,000 viewers and averaged a 1.6 rating among spectators 12?34 in its Tuesday 10 p.m slot, topping all other cable shows in the hour.
Hilton's next project was the goth/rock musical with a cult film following,
Repo! The Genetic Opera,
where she played the character of Amber Sweet, the surgery- and painkiller-addicted daughter of a biotech magnate.
Horror.com said: " Not only is this by far Hilton's best role, she's actually got a grain of gravitas in the end".
However,
Jam! Movies called her a "hopeless twit as an actress".
[ ] She remarked that "Just getting a role like this offered to me was new to me because I always get offered a certain role just basically playing myself".
She was nominated for the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress in 2009 for her role.
The film, first screened at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con International, received a limited release in the United States and Canada on November 7, 2008.
[ Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) Coming Soon] Around that time, Hilton released her fifth fragrance for women called,
Fairy Dust and broke up with Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden, who she was in a relationship with since early that year.
[Lansing, Kimberly. (November 19, 2008) Paris Hilton and Benji Madden Split Up ? Breakups, Benji Madden, Paris Hilton. People.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-27.][ Paris Hilton to wed Benji Madden. NEWS.com.au. Retrieved May 12, 2008.]As a result of the American version success, on January 29, 2009,
Paris Hilton's British Best Friend, a spin-off, began airing on ITV2 in England.
She began to film the show in October 2008.
The series did quite well; it was watched by 428,000 viewers in its first episode
and brought 605,000 viewers for its finale.
The second season of
Paris Hilton's My New BFF premiered on June 2, 2009. In that same month, Hilton shot
Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF (which, after some complication, it was aired in 2011). Runner-up of the British series Kat McKenzie died on July 3, 2009, of a suspected overdose.
Hilton guest-starred in the fifth episode of
Supernatural's fifth season.
In July 2009, her sixth fragrance for women
Siren was launched.
She won the Female Celebrity Fragrance of the Year Award at the 2009 Fifi Awards.
She got involved in the creation of a sunglasses line by Gripping Eyewear. She first launched the line on October 7, 2009 and the collection became available in stores in March 2010.
The next month, she launched a Hair and Beauty Products line, which includes a range of shampoos, conditioners, and hair vitamins.
Also in 2009, she began dating
The Hills star Doug Reinhardt,
[ Paris Calls Doug Reinhardt 'My Sexy Boy' People.com, March 13, 2009] who she broke up with in April 2010, because she was worried he was just using her to further his career.
[ Paris Hilton and Doug Reinhardt split. Metro.co.uk (April 12, 2010). Retrieved on 2010-12-27.]2010?11: Legal issues and reality television comeback
In February 2010, Hilton participated in an advertising campaign for the launch of the Brazilian beer Devassa Bem Loura, whose slogan in English roughly translates to "very blonde bitch".
[ Schincariol anuncia Paris Hilton como garota propaganda da nova cerveja Devassa. O Globo. February 10, 2010.] As part of the campaign, Hilton joined the brewery's float in the carnival of Rio de Janeiro.
[ Pela primeira vez no carnaval do Rio, Paris Hilton deve comemorar o aniversário na cidade. IG. February 10, 2010.] On July 2, Hilton was accused of smoking marijuana at the 2010 FIFA World Cup game between Brazil and the Netherlands. She was escorted from the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium by local police, however the case was later dismissed for unknown reasons. Hilton's publicist, Dawn Miller, stated "I can confirm that the incident was a complete misunderstanding and it was actually another person in the group who did it".
[ Paris Hilton marijuana charges dropped in South Africa. USA Today (July 2, 2010)][ report Paris Hilton arrested at World Cup stadium: report. timeslive.co.za. July 2, 2010] Two weeks later, Hilton was detained and released after being caught in possession of cannabis at Figari airport, Corsica.
[ Hilton held for carrying cannabis. RFI. July 17, 2010. Retrieved on 2010-12-27.]On August 10, Hilton released her 10th fragrance,
Tease inspired by Marilyn Monroe.
[ Paris Hilton 'Tease' Perfume Launch an Ode to Marilyn Monroe ? StyleList. Main.stylelist.com (August 11, 2010). Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] On August 19, she launched a footwear line in Las Vegas. The collection costs between $60 and $160 and Hilton, during an interview, said that she "chose the styling, design, materials and colours for the line and also wanted to make sure it was super comfortable".
That same month, she was arrested on suspicion of cocaine possession in Las Vegas while her boyfriend, Cy Waits, was booked on charges of driving under the influence.
[ Paris Hilton Arrested On Cocaine Charge Sky News. August 28, 2010][ 'Vapor Trail' Leads to Paris Hilton's Vegas Arrest ? ABC News. Abcnews.go.com (August 29, 2010). Retrieved on 2010-12-27.] Initially her defence claimed that the handbag containing 0.8g of cocaine was not hers as "This purse in question was a high street brand ? and by no means up to her high fashion standards.".
Later she claimed some of the personal items (like cash and credit cards) from the bag acknowledging it was hers. In order to avoid being convicted of a felony, Hilton pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors on September 17, 2010. Under the terms of the plea bargain, she was sentenced to one year of probation, 200 hours of community service, a $2,000 fine and ordered to complete a drug-abuse treatment program.
Clark County District Attorney David Roger said that: "If she is arrested for anything besides a minor traffic violation she will spend a year in jail. There will be no discussion. The court will have no discretion."
On September 21, 2010, while travelling to a press conference in Tokyo to promote fashion and fragrance lines, Hilton and her sister Nicky were stopped by immigration officers at Narita Airport, Japan because of Hilton's conviction for drug possession a day earlier. Under Japan's strict anti-drug laws, people convicted of any drug crime are in general denied entry to the country.
[ Paris Hilton Stopped From Entering Japan By Immigration Officials After Drug Conviction In US | Showbiz News|Sky News. News.sky.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-27.] Narita officials questioned Hilton "for hours" and Hilton and her sister were forced to stay at the airport hotel overnight.
On September 22, Japanese authorities decided not to grant Hilton entry into the country, and she was put on a plane back to the United States the same day. Other stops on their Asian promotion tour were cancelled, as countries like Indonesia and Malaysia have even tougher anti-drug laws.
The documentary
Teenage Paparazzo, in which Hilton appeared, aired on HBO on September 27. The motion picture was met with critical acclaim.
Hilton provided her voice for the character of Bella in the ABC made-for-television film
The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation (it is her first voice-over role).
She said of the film: "I just think it's a really cute film" and that "I love animal movies, I love Christmas movies, and also, my grandmother, who passed away a couple of years ago from breast cancer, actually had a standard poodle and her name was Paris. So when I'm watching this, it's kind of like watching grandma's dog. It's kind of like a sign to me."
The film aired on November 28, 2010
and attracted good ratings with 2.611 million viewers.
In December 2010 Hilton launched her own motorcycle team.
[ Paris Hilton Launches Motorcycle Racing Team. PopEater.com (December 20, 2010). Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] In November 2011, her Spanish driver Maverick Vinales won the final race and come up third overall in the 125cc world championship.
She modeled for the second time (the first time was early 2010) at the Brazil Fashion Week in 2011.
[ Sao Paulo Fashion Week: Paris Hilton flirts her way down the catwalk as she closes the show | Mail Online. Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] In February, it was released a new collection of fragrances called the Passport collection. The perfumes are inspired by popular cities such as Paris, France; South Beach, Florida; and Tokyo, Japan,
[ Paris Hilton Passport Tokyo, Paris and South Beach ~ new fragrances :: Now Smell This. Nstperfume.com (January 24, 2011). Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] The following month, she launched a footwear collection in Mexico.
Around that time, she launched her mobile application, which became available for iPhone and iTouch.
On May 12, she opened her third store in Philippines. The store is located at Abreeza Mall in Davao City and it displays bags, earrings, wallets, belts, caps and perfumes.
[http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/05/21/11/paris-hilton-shop-opens-davao]On June 1, 2011, Oxygen's show
The World According to Paris, which marked Hilton's comeback to reality television, premiered.
The show followed her in her daily life,
and attracted 409,000 viewers. Although being the highest Wednesday premiere for a show,
it was considered a bomb, which led to the suspicion Hilton's popularity had faded.
wrote that Hilton "is an attractive woman with proven talent for marketing and self-promotion, though as a reality heroine she seems a little passé ? a Sony Walkman in an iPod era, a Friendster in the age of Facebook or, to put it in context, a single-process blonde in a triple-process world", and also remarked that she "appears to have plenty of boyfriends, present and ex. Paparazzi still snap her picture. But it?s hard to see how she can recapture the kind of audience she enjoyed in her heyday ? even by streaming her premiere live on Facebook".
She appeared on the show alongside her boyfriend Cy Waits (a entrepreneur and co-owner of Tryst Nightclub and XS Nightclub in Las Vegas),
[ Paris Hilton: Cy Waits 'inspires me to be the best I can be'. Azcentral.com (December 23, 2010). Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] who she broke up with in June.
[ Paris Hilton Confirms Cy Waits Split. The Hollywood Gossip (June 22, 2011). Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] Hilton was named "Billion Dollar Entrepreneur" by
Variety magazine and was featured on the cover.
[ Variety: Paris Hilton ? Billion Dollar Entrepreneur. Paris Hilton (June 28, 2011). Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] She opened up her fourth store in the Philippines on August 18, 2011.
[ Opening 3rd Store In The Philippines. Paris Hilton (May 9, 2011). Retrieved on 2011-10-28.][http://ph.news.yahoo.com/paris-hilton-opens-handbag-store-manila-131113639.html][http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/08/16/11/paris-hilton-meet-greet-fans-manila] In September, she launched a footwear line in Istanbul, Turkey
[http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/paris-hilton-launches-her-shoe-line-in-istanbul-2570127.html][http://www.celebdirtylaundry.com/2011/paris-hilton-gives-press-conference-in-istanbul-explains-that-business-runs-in-my-blood/] and a Paris Hilton brand store was opened in India with plans to open 8 more stores.
[ Paris Hilton Opens Luxury Store In India. Radar Online (September 26, 2011). Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] She also modeled during Ukraine Fashion Week for designer Andre Tan in October 2011.
[ Video Of My Andre Tan Runway Walk. Paris Hilton (October 17, 2011). Retrieved on 2011-10-28.]2012?present: Music, acting work and upcoming projects
thumb|right|upright|Hilton at the opening of The Star casino in
Australia on March 30, 2012.]In early 2012, she launched a new line of sunglasses in Shanghai.
The launch was a "huge success", she said.
Hilton's next project was her DJ debut at the Pop Music Festival in Brazil,
she premiered her single called "Last Night". Having attracted extremely negative reviews after some videos were posted on Youtube.com and being dissed by the DJs Deadmau5,
Samantha Ronson,
and even Afrojack,
she gained positive reviews from DJ Poet,
fans and the crowd at the festival. As a whole, her set received mixed reviews.
Shortly after her performance, she bacame a trending topic on Twitter.
[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a389447/paris-hilton-makes-dj-debut-in-brazil-video.html] Hilton's footwear line was nominated for Best Celebrity Licensee of the Year at the 2012 International Licensing Excellence Awards.
Around that time, she released her fifteen perfume,
Dazzle.
[http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-05-25/news/31854158_1_perfume-hot-ticket-boutiques][http://www.digitalspy.com/celebrity/news/a383710/paris-hilton-to-launch-15th-fragrance-dazzle-this-summer.html][http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/25/paris-hilton-perfume-dazzle-fragrance_n_1545083.html][http://www.celebdirtylaundry.com/2012/paris-hilton-dazzle-perfume/]Hilton appeared in a music video for Korean singer, Kim Jang Hoon.
The filming took place at the American resort of Malibu Beach, California from August 24 to 25, 2012. An agent for the Korean singer stated that they had considered several Hollywood stars for the lead actress role in Kim's music video, including Jessica Alba and Scarlett Johansson, as well as Hilton. However, she was finally chosen to play the role following a survey conducted by the Korean public who recognised Paris more than the other contenders.
It is alleged that Hilton was paid $1 million for her appearance in the video shoot,
[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/4513738/.html][http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a402986/paris-hilton-paid-usd1-million-for-korean-pop-video-appearance.html] with a 3D premiere that took place in October 2012.
On September 20, 2012, an audio recording of her making derogatory comments about gay people appeared on the Internet.
[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2206101/Paris-Hiltons-homophobic-rant-Most-gay-men-probably-AIDS.html][http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/21/showbiz/paris-hilton-gays/index.html] On the same day, after the backlash caused over the comments, Hilton issued an apology throughout GLAAD where she wrote she is a "huge supporter of the gay community" and labels gay people as "the strongest and most inspiring people I know".
[http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/09/paris-hilton-apologizes-gay-people-are-the-strongest/][http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/21/entertainment/la-et-mg-paris-hilton-apologizes-gay-comments-20120921] As a result of the remarks, gay-focused channel Logo pulled a documentary about her called
Paris Hilton Inc., which was scheduled to air.
[http://blog.sfgate.com/dailydish/2012/09/26/logo-axes-paris-hilton-show-after-aids-comments-backlash/][http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/logo-drops-paris-hilton-schedule-373980] Since that month, she has been in a relationship with Spanish model River Viiperi.
[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/4584010/paris-hilton-bikini-holiday-pictures-river-viiperi.html]Hilton opened her fifth store in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia in early November 2012. As Mecca is considered the "holiest city in the Muslim world" and Saudi Arabia is a conservative country, a controversy regarding her personal life was generated on Twitter.
In early December, she modeled for designers Shane and Falguni Peacock at India Fashion Week.
[http://www.apunkachoice.com/content/slide_show/sid100012509-pics_paris_hilton_walks_the_ramp_at_india_resort_fashion_week/][http://www.indianexpress.com/news/indian-fashion-is-stylish-and-elegant-paris-hilton/1039043][http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-05/bollywood/35595366_1_paris-hilton-bollywood-celebs-riddhi-siddhi] She also made a performance as a DJ there.
[http://english.samaylive.com/entertainment-news/676519057/paris-hilton-to-dj-in-goa-for-india-resort-fashion-week-on-saturday.html] Like her debut, the set was met negatively after a video was posted on YouTube but received acclaim from the audience.
[http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Music/Paris-Hilton-rocks-India-Resort-Fashion-Week-Gangnam-Style/Article1-967826.aspx][http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C12%5C03%5Cstory_3-12-2012_pg9_8]In January 2013, Hilton started to appear in various episodes of the Danish version of the reality show
Paradise Hotel, for which she was allegedly paid $300,000.
[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/4749629/Paris-Hilton-earns-190k-for-appearance-on-X-rated-Danish-TV-show.html] She then had guest-appearances in two episodes of
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, where her aunts Kyle and Kim have the leads.
[http://blog.chron.com/tubular/2013/01/the-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills-paris-hilton-and-other-mannequins/][http://www.vulture.com/2013/01/real-housewives-of-beverly-hills-recap-season-3-episode-10-paris-hilton.html] On April 24, Hilton opened a store in Bogotá, Colombia, making it the 44th Paris Hilton store worldwide.
[http://www.eltiempo.com/gente/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-12760825.html][http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/paris-hilton-colombia-spoiled_n_3156670.html] In early May, it was premiered the music video of Birdman's song "Tapout", where she appeared alongside Lil Wayne, Christina Milian and Nicki Minaj.
[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a466102/paris-hilton-shoots-music-video-with-nicki-minaj-lil-wayne.html] In addition to opening a Beach Club in the Phillipines
Hilton is set to have a cameo as herself in Sofia Coppola's
The Bling Ring,
a film about a group of teenagers who robbed the houses of celebrities such as Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Orlando Bloom between 2008 and 2009.
The movie is scheduled to premiere at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival,
[http://www.sawfnews.com/emma-watson-stoked-about-bling-ring-premiere-at-cannes/][http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/24/emma-watson-robs-paris-hiltons-house-in-first-full-bling-ring-trailer-3664362/] and will open theatrically on June 14.
[http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-images-of-paris-hilton-leslie-mann-more-from-sofia-coppolas-the-bling-ring-20130310] In May 2013, it was reported that Hilton had signed with Cash Money Records with plans to release her second album in the summer of 2013. It will be produced by Afrojack and feature a track with Lil Wayne.
Celebrity status
thumb|left|upright|Hilton in 2006, a period where she was constantly the subject of media scrutiny.Although being already a fixture in entertainment news for her heavy-party lifestyle,
[http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/02/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/jason-moore-on-paris-hilton/index.html] she gained significant notoriety for her participation in
1 Night in Paris, a sex tape that was leaked before the premiere episode of her reality show
The Simple Life, which aired to high ratings. Some entertainment writers felt the overnight success of Hilton was spawned by the whole tape controversy.
Entertainment Weekly commented: "I dare say the Paris Hilton-Rick Salomon tape received more print and television coverage in a week than the run-up to
The Simple Life received in the months since its premiere was announced. We in the media have become Paris-ites".
magazine wrote that the show "no doubt was helped by the very public saga of a pirated three-year-old video tape, which recently made the rounds on the Internet showing Hilton engaged in various sex acts with ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon".
As a result, Hilton's profile was raised significantly, paparazzi began following her and her relationships, lavish lifestyle and legal issues became frequent targets of gossip sites and tabloid media worldwide?for which critics suggest that Hilton epitomizes the title of famous for being famous
and she is an example of the modern phenomenon of the "celebutante", the celebrity who rises to fame not because of their talent or work but because of their inherited wealth and controversial lifestyle.
Hilton appeared for the third time in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women poll in 2006, ranking at number thirty four. She was twenty three in 2005 and fifty nine in 2004.
[ Paris Hilton at. Fhm.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-28.] In a poll conducted by the Associated Press and AOL, Hilton was voted the second "Worst Celebrity Role Model of 2006", behind Britney Spears.
She denied proclaiming herself as the "iconic blonde of the decade" such as Diana, Princess of Wales, and Marilyn Monroe in the May 2007 issue of
Harper's Bazaar.
[ We'll always have Paris." timesonline.co.uk.] She appeared in the 2007
Guinness World Records as the world's "Most Overrated Celebrity".
[Maher, Kevin. "The Paris-bashing should stop here." The Times (London). March 20, 2008, p. 16. Retrieved May 13, 2008. "Guinness World Records has her as the World's Most Overrated Celebrity."][Gumbel, Andrew. "Paris Hilton is granted a shorter sentence ? if she behaves herself." The Independent (London). May 18, 2007, p. 1. Retrieved May 13, 2008. "She is set to appear in this year's Guinness World Records as the world's 'most overrated celebrity'."] New York Daily News gossip columnist Lloyd Grove banned her from his page and the Associated Press conducted what they called an experiment in February 2007, trying not to report on Hilton for a whole week.
[{{Cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/2007-03-01-919715477_x.htm |title=Even ignoring Paris Hilton makes news|author=Jocelyn Noveck |agency=Associated Press |date=March 1, 2007 |accessdate=May 5, 2007|work=USA Today}}]During 2009, a quiet free relationship between Hilton and tabloid headlines led entertainment writers surmise Hilton's popularity had plummeted. In an article from
CNN called "Why has Paris Hilton disappeared?", editor Samantha Yanks (of
Gotham and
Hamptons magazines) was quoted saying: "Phase one was the ascension, seemingly out of nowhere. That came with a media frenzy, the antics, the partying, the music, the babe-like status and of course, the fashion label. Phase two, she disappears"
The absence of Hilton in the news and tabloids seemed to be a response to a new generation of tabloid consumers' lack of interest in her.
The suspicion of her star power fading came back in June 2011, when her reality show,
The World According to Paris failed to get high ratings. As a result, Hilton walked out during an interview with
Good Morning America, after she was asked if she worried about her moment having passed.
Remaining a frequent target for paparazzi,
Hilton has been keeping clear from news headlines in recent years.
On the May 2, 2013 episode of
The Wendy Williams Show, Hilton addressed about her current presence in the news circuit, saying that she was simply "staying out of trouble" and that she has grown up.
[http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/05/04/paris-hilton-so-in-love-wendy-marriage/2135833/]In 2011, she was named one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" by
Men's Health.
According to a 2011 poll conducted by Ipsos, Hilton is the most unpopular celebrity among Americans, with 60% of the responders having an unfavorable opinion on her.
In 2012, she ranked at number five in the "Most Over-exposed" list by
Forbes.
Filmography and awards
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"|-|+Film! scope="col" | Year! scope="col" | Title! scope="col" | Role! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes and awards|-| 1993|
Wishman| Girl on beach||-| 2000|
Sweetie Pie|||-| 2001|
Zoolander| Herself| Cameo|-| 2002|
Nine Lives| Jo||-| 2002|
QIK2JDG| Strung-out supermodel||-| 2003|
L.A. Knights| Sadie||-| 2003|
Wonderland| Barbie|rowspan="2"|Cameo|-| 2003|
| Clubgoer|-| 2004|
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!| Heather||-| 2004|
| Heather Smith||-| 2004|
Raising Helen| Amber| Cameo|-| 2005|
American Dreams| Barbara Eden| TV series ("California Dreamin'")|-| 2005|
House of Wax| Paige Edwards| Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Scream Scene
Nominated?MTV Movie Award for Best Frightened Performance
Nominated?Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Breakout Performance ? Female|-| 2006|
Bottoms Up| Lisa Mancini||-| 2006|
National Lampoon's Pledge This!| Victoria English||-| 2008|
American Breakdown| Sadie||-| 2008|
Paris, Not France| Herself| Documentary|-| 2008|
| Cristabel Abbott| Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple|-| 2008|
Repo! The Genetic Opera| Amber Sweet| Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress|-| 2008|
| Herself||-| 2009|
Rex| Paris| TV film|-| 2010|
Teenage Paparazzo| Herself| Documentary|-| 2010|
The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation| Bella| TV film|-| 2013|
The Bling Ring| Herself||}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"|-|+Television! scope="col" | Year! scope="col" | Title! scope="col" | Role! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes and awards|-| 2003?2007|
The Simple Life| Herself| Nominated?Teen Choice Award for Choice Reality Television Star ? Female (2004, 2006, 2007)|-| 2004|
Las Vegas| Madison| TV series ("Things That Go Jump in the Night")|-| 2004|
George Lopez| Ashley| TV series ("Jason Tutors Max")|-| 2004|
| Kate| TV series ("The L.A.")|-| 2004|
Veronica Mars| Caitlin Ford| TV series ("Credit Where Credit's Due")|-| 2008|
My Name Is Earl|rowspan="4"|Herself| TV series ("I Won't Die with a Little Help from My Friends")|-| 2008?2009|
Paris Hilton's My New BFF| Nominated?Teen Choice Award for Choice Reality Television Star ? Female
Nominated?Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Television Star ? Female|-| 2009|
Paris Hilton's British Best Friend||-| 2009|
Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF||-| 2009|
Supernatural| Herself
Leshii| TV series ("Fallen Idols")|-| 2011|
The World According to Paris|rowspan="3"|Herself| TV series|-| 2013|
Paradise Hotel| TV series; Danish version|-| 2013|
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills| TV series ("Home Is Where the Art Is" and "Secrets Revealed")|}
Bibliography
- A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose, ISBN 0-7432-6664-1 (2004)
- Confess It All to Me, ISBN 0-7432-8714-2 (2005)
Discography
References
External links
{{Persondata|NAME=Hilton, Paris Whitney|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=|SHORT DESCRIPTION=American celebrity|DATE OF BIRTH=February 17, 1981|PLACE OF BIRTH=New York City, New York, United States|DATE OF DEATH=|PLACE OF DEATH=}} 1981 births21st-century American actressesActresses from New York CityAmerican cosmetics businesspeopleAmerican dance musiciansAmerican fashion businesspeopleAmerican fashion designersAmerican female modelsAmerican female pop singersAmerican film actressesAmerican marketing businesspeopleAmerican memoiristsAmerican Roman Catholics American socialitesAmerican television actressesAmerican television personalitiesAmerican women in businessAmerican women writersBusinesspeople from New York CityLiving peopleSingers from New York CityParticipants in American reality television seriesPeople convicted of drug offensesPeople from ManhattanWarner Bros. Records artistsWriters from New York CityWomen writers from New YorkCash Money Records artists
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Paulette Clark
