Biography: Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an heiress to the Hilton Hotel fortune, as well as her father's real estate fortune. In addition to being a famous socialite, Hilton has dabbled in modeling and acting. She has been described as a "celebutante," a portmanteau of "celebrity" and Paris 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 II and Conrad Hilton II. On the maternal side of her family, 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 $350 million. Hilton moved between several exclusive homes in her youth, including a suite in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, Beverly Hills, and the Hamptons. Currently, her parents own a $30.5 million mansion in Bel Air, a $12.3 million estate in the Hamptons, as well as $10 million house in the Hollywood Hills in which she and her sister stay to give them privacy and easy access to clubs in Los Angeles. After attending high school at the Dwight School in New York, but dropping out and eventually earning a GED, Hilton decided not to attend a university. Hilton shot to prominence when a sex video of her with then-boyfriend Rick Salomon was leaked onto the Internet shortly after The Simple Life debuted, causing an erotic sensation. On June 9, 2004 it was released as a DVD titled 1 Night in Paris which was presented by Salomon. Hilton sued Salomon for releasing the tape, but the suit was settled. Hilton received US $400,000 and a percentage of the profits, which were donated to charity. Hilton was engaged to Tommy Hilfiger model Jason Shaw from mid-2002 to early 2003. On May 29, 2005, she announced her engagement to Paris Latsis, a Greek shipping heir. However, on October 1, 2005, Hilton announced that the five month engagement had been called off. Soon thereafter, she began dating another Greek shipping heir, Stavros Niarchos III, but as of May 2, 2006, Hilton publicist Elliot Mintz told the press of the reported breakup. Careers In recent years Hilton has gained recognition by appearing in television, movies, commercials, and modeling photographs. According to Forbes magazine, in 2003-2004 she earned approximately US$7.5 million for her television and movie roles, but in 2004-2005 her earnings from television, movies, modeling, and personal appearances have earned her an additional $15.5 million. During this period Forbes Magazine has ranked Hilton as one of the top 100 celebrities in the world. Model Hilton first came into the public eye as one of the more famous New York socialites and heirs. Along with her sister, she would make countless appearances in the party section of New York society magazines. She later worked as a fashion model for Catherine Malandrino and Marc Bouwer, and on an ad campaign for Italian label Iceberg. She has also been the spokeswoman and promotional face for the products of GUESS clothing. Hilton 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. Actress Film She appeared in the short subjects QIK2JDG and L.A. Knights, as well as minor and supporting roles in the feature movies House of Wax, The Hillz, Wonderland, Uptown Girls, Raising Helen and Nine Lives. Hilton won the 2005 Worst Supporting Actress Razzie for House of Wax. She landed her first lead role in a theatrical release with National Lampoon's Pledge This! (2005). She also appeared in cameo roles in Zoolander (2001), The Cat in the Hat (2003) and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004). On February 16, 2006, the Internet site IMDb [2] reported: * "Socialite Paris Hilton has reportedly been asked to play a young version of celebrated humanitarian Mother Teresa in a movie biopic. Indian director T. Rajeevnath has contacted the hotel heiress about taking the lead role in his new film, which will chronicle the late nun's early life. He tells MTV.co.uk, "My agents in California have contacted Paris Hilton." Television Hilton and Nicole Richie (daughter of Lionel) starred in the 2003 FOX hit reality series The Simple Life, in which they lived with a family on their farm in rural Altus, Arkansas. Highlights of the show included the girls performing poorly at various jobs, making out with the local boys, and numerous instances of them shown as "fish out of water." It was followed by two more seasons: The Simple Life 2: Road Trip and The Simple Life 3: Interns. In April 2005, Hilton announced that she severed both personal and professional ties with Richie. Neither party commented on the reason. Both have been friends since childhood.[3] Kimberly Stewart was raised as a potential Simple Life replacement for Richie, but FOX eventually dropped the series saying they didn't see a place for it in their schedule.[4] A month later, cable network E! picked up the fourth season with both Hilton and Richie as participants, though both would do tasks separately and not be seen together on screen.[5] Hilton also guest starred in episodes of teen drama The OC and noir detective show Veronica Mars. Singer Hilton started working on an album in 2004. The album is near-completion. The album has had rumoured titles of Paris Is Burning, 1 Crazy Party and Screwed. The final title announced for the album is simply Paris. Her planned first single entitled Screwed was leaked to the Internet in 2005 and has been remixed by Alex G. Hilton has now announced Turn It Up as the first single. Her producers for the album include Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go's and Scott Storch. Hilton has been reported to be covering Blondie's hit "Heart of Glass" as well Rod Steward's hit "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" for the album. She describes the album as mixes of pop, rock, dance and hip-hop, and sounds like Blondie and Madonna. Hilton appeared in the video for rapper Won G's "Caught Up In The Rapture" featuring Gizelle in 2003. People often mistake the song to feature Hilton's vocals, due to illegal file-sharers having the file labeled as such. A couple of previews from the album were leaked onto the internet in May, 2006. There is currently no set release date. Entrepreneur Heiress Records Hilton is the founder of Heiress Records, the label on which she plans to release her debut album. It is a sub-label of Warner Brothers Records and was created in 2004. Hilton also plans to eventually sign new artists. Designer Hilton has also helped to design purses for Samantha Thavasa and Toys for Tots, and has created her own jewelry line for Amazon.com. Currently, her design work earns around US$250,000 per year. Perfume and Cologne In early May of 2004, Parlux Fragrances (who have made fragrances for Guess, Perry Ellis, XOXO) announced that they would be releasing a fragrance line created by Hilton. The perfume would be aptly named "Paris Hilton". The scent was described as "a brilliant flirtatious charm, this head-turning fragrance can be dressed up or down for both day and evening wear." The scent consists of "an ethereal halo with delicious notes of frozen Apple and juicy Peach Nectar wrapped with sparkling Muguet and a splash of wet Ozone. A luminous bouquet of sensual floralcy is at the heart of this fragrance. Delicate Mimosa Blossoms are entwined with sheer Freesia and Night-Blooming Jasmine petals, while heady, rich Tuberose provides depth and texture." The perfume launch was a success. Originally set to be a small release, demand became popular and they had a wide release before Christmas of 2004. The launch was a big part of the Parlux stock increasing 30%. Ilia Lekach, a CEO at Parlux, said "I am delighted with our record performance and I'm optimistic regarding results through the end of our fiscal year. We have recently commenced shipments of our Paris Hilton fragrance which has surpassed our expectations." After the success of Hilton's perfume, Parlux Fragrances had her create Paris Hilton for Men, a cologne that has a "sensual aura." The packaging states: "Paris Hilton knows how she likes a man to smell, so she has created a scent to share with her male admirers around the world." The cologne is available at Lazarus-Macy's. Sales reports are not available. Hilton's latest perfume is called Just Me by Paris Hilton. Hilton claims there will be more to follow later this year. Non-Profit In November 2004, Hilton participated in Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' Citizen Change campaign, to encourage youths to vote in the Presidential election. She drew criticism when it was revealed she did not vote, or had even registered to do so. Brand Preview of "Paris Hilton's Diamond Quest" by Gameloft. © IGN.com Preview of "Paris Hilton's Diamond Quest" by Gameloft. © IGN.com Gameloft®, the leading developer and publisher of mobile games, successfully previewed "Paris Hilton's Diamond Quest" at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). With a previous working title of "Jewel Jam", the company decided on a final title to better reflect the fresh, dynamic and sexy appeal of the heiress extraordinaire. Hilton herself unveiled the new title during her appearance at Gameloft's E3 booth. [8] Plans for Hilton to lend her name and also star in a future cartoon series which follows the animated life of herself, her sister Nicky Hilton, and her dog Tinkerbell are in development. [9] Celebrity and sex symbol 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. In the fall of 2004, Hilton released a book, Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose, which brings full color photographs of her and gives her tips on the dos and don'ts of living as an heiress. Hilton was reportedly given a $100,000 advanced payment for this book. Some in the media panned the writing as amateurish, and the book was parodied by Robert Mundell on The Late Show with David Letterman. Still, it became a New York Times bestseller. In the March 2005 issue of Playboy, she was named the "Sex Star of the Year" in their list of the 25 Sexiest Celebrities. Someone appearing to be her was on the cover of the issue, but she did not pose for it; her spokeswoman says she does not know where Playboy got that picture. [10] "That's hot!" "That's hot!" is a phrase used by Hilton (although an earlier usage is attributed to her Simple Life co-star Nicole Richie and has been used by others, including her 2nd cousin Gabrielle Benoit[rumored to have brought Paris the phrase], for many years). The catch phrase, a synonym for "That's cool" or "That's awesome," has since been parodied in pop culture outlets such as Saturday Night Live and even by Hilton herself, on The Late Show with David Letterman. In 2004, Hilton filed a successful request to trademark the phrase. She wishes to market clothing with the phrase prominently emblazoned on the garments; she felt it was time to trademark the phrase because "I've been saying it forever. I want to put it on T-shirts and stuff like that." However, on her latest appearance on Ellen, Paris declared that her trademark 'that's hot' had been replaced by the phrase 'that's sexy'. She described this as being linked to her recent exposure to European men, whom she characterized as having more sexual appeal to her than her male American friends.