Paris Hilton

PARIS HILTON

Date of Birth: February 17, 1981

Born in New York City, Paris Hilton is the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton hotel chain. Before beginning her career as a model and then, actress, she was already well known for her club-hopping and jet-setting lifestyle.

Following in the footsteps of her mother, Kathy, and her aunts, Kim Richards, a former child star who appeared in many Disney movies such as Escape to Witch Mountain, and Kyle Richards, who was a regular on the TV series Little House on the Prairie, Paris first dabbled in acting when she was ten, playing "girl on the beach" in the small budget Wishman (1991). She then put her acting career on hold for another nine years, when at 19, she played a role in the independent film Sweetie Pie (2000).

By now a celebrity, Paris made a cameo in Ben Stiller's Zoolander (2001). But it was in 2003 that she truly became a household name. Fox TV chose her to appear alongside her sister, Nicky, in their new reality series, The Simple Life. Nicky opted out of it, so Paris then suggested her friend, Nicole Richie (daughter of singer Lionel Richie), as a replacement and the show was an immediate hit due to Paris' charm and Nicole's mischievous sense of humor. It featured the two socialites traveling to a small town and staying with a farm family. Each week, they tried out a different menial job (usually failing miserably). The skimpily-clad girls did, however, attract much attention from the town's male inhabitants.

Just before the show was to air, an explicit video of Paris, taken when she was 19, was released over the Internet, of her having sex with then-boyfriend Rick Salomon. Although lawsuits were threatened, the video was eventually even released to the public under the name One Night in Paris.

The extra publicity didn't hurt Hilton any. A second season of The Simple Life was ordered. In addition, she landed small roles in films such as Wonderland with Val Kilmer (2003), Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat with Mike Myers (2003) and Raising Helen with Kate Hudson (2004). She then co-starred in the horror movie House of Wax (2004) and although she played her first leading role in a big budget production in National Lampoon's Pledge This! (2005), the movie was never released to theaters. TV appearances include NBC's Las Vegas and FOX's hit series The OC.

Famous more for her antics than her work, she's been linked to a number of high profile men (Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Furlong, Jamie Kennedy, Nick Carter), including a short engagement to Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis. Hilton also makes headlines for her numerous conflicts with other celebrities, such as Lindsay Lohan and former beauty queen Shanna Moakler, whose estranged husband, Travis Barker, she was reportedly seeing. Hilton's interests include yoga, tennis and designing a high-end purse collection and jewelry line with her sister. She is also actively involved in numerous charities and has lent her support to various animal advocacy organizations.

She divides her time between Los Angeles, Miami, New York and various European cities.

Filmography:

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
The Hottie & the Nottie (2008)
National Lampoon's Pledge This! (2005)
House of Wax (2005)
The Hillz (2004)
Raising Helen (2004)
L.A. Knights (2003)
Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat (2003)
Wonderland (2003)
Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003)
Nine Lives (2002)
QIK2JDG (2002)
Zoolander (2001)
Sweetie Pie (2000)
Wishman (1991)