Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American celebrity and heiress of the Hilton Hotel fortune, as well as her father's real estate fortune. She is a socialite, model, entrepreneur, and actress. She has been described as a "celebutante," a portmanteau of "celebrity" and "debutante".
Hilton was born in New York City, the eldest of four children of 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,
Paris 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 and her sister, Nicky, are known for their jet-set lifestyles. Paris in particular has been trying to build herself into a marketable brand much like Donald Trump, claiming she must be regarded 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 also been linked with other young celebrities, 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.
Paris Hilton has also received some gossip attention 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 bar tops, worn shirts reading "Got Blow?," and other times worn no top at all. Her most famous quote is probably "That's hot," as she has used it in myriad situations.
Paris Hilton received an offer from the U.S. 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 commercial 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 has been a spokes-woman for the products of GUESS clothing.
On February 19, 2005, the contents of Hilton's personal T-Mobile account were posted to the Internet. They included phone numbers (which included many celebrities such as Christina Aguilera, Fred Durst, Eminem, Lindsay Lohan, Alsou, Jay-Z, Anna Kournikova, Snoop Dogg, Andy Roddick, Benjie Paras, Avril Lavigne, Frankie Muniz, Ashlee Simpson), notes (with even more numbers and email addresses and reminders such as her date to host Saturday Night Live), and thirty-five digital snapshots. In two of the leaked photos, Hilton is standing topless next to the MTV Latin America's VJ Eglantina Zingg, whom she kisses. In other leaked videos, she is seen making out with celebrity lesbian Ingrid Casares and Playboy Playmate Nicole Lenz. Many of her notes showed heavy usage of Internet slang.
Within days, it was revealed 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, an anonymous party was able to guess it and notify the press.
