In recent years Hilton is perhaps most known for starring in a number of her own produced reality shows such as Paris Hilton's My New BFF which was filmed in Los Angeles and aired in 2008 and which also resulted in a second season. The show proved to be a success and was branched out to Paris Hilton's British Best Friend filmed in London, UK and Paris Hilton’s Dubai BFF filmed in Dubai in the UAE. All seasons were broadcasted on MTV. In 2011, Oxygen Channel gave the go-ahead to air Hilton's reality series The World According to Paris following Hilton's everyday life.
As a result of several legal incidents, Hilton served a widely publicized sentence in a Los Angeles County jail in 2007. 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.
Early life:
Hilton was born in New York City, New York, to Kathy (née Avanzino), a socialite and actress, and Richard Hilton, a businessman. She was raised Roman Catholic.[2] She is the oldest of four children: she has one sister, Nicholai Olivia "Nicky" Hilton (b. 1983) and two brothers, Barron Nicholas Hilton II (b. 1989) and Conrad Hughes Hilton III (b. 1994). Hilton is of Norwegian, German, English, Irish, and Italian ancestry.[5] She is a niece of two child stars of the 1970s, Kim and Kyle Richards.
Hilton moved between several 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
Schooling:
Paris Hilton attended her freshman year of high school at the Marywood-Palm Valley School in Rancho Mirage, California from 1995-1996. Then in 1996, when Paris was 14, her family moved to the East Coast.[7] 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.[8][9] Hilton then spent one year (likely beginning in the fall of 1997, when she was 16), at least part of which was in the spring of 1998, when she was 17, at the Provo Canyon School, a school for emotionally troubled teens.[10][11] She then attended the Canterbury Boarding School, in New Milford, Connecticut from the fall of 1998 to February 1999 at age 17 for her junior year, where she was a member of the ice hockey team.[12] In February 1999, the month she turned 18, she was expelled from Canterbury for violating school rules,[9] as she frequently had limos come retrieve her from the school to bring her to parties in New York and New Jersey.[12] After being expelled from Caterbury, she returned to the Dwight School before dropping out a few months later as a high school junior.[6] She later earned her GED
2001–present: As a model:
Hilton began modeling as a child, initially at charity events.[15] When she was 19, she signed with Donald Trump's modeling agency, T Management.[15] Hilton has also worked with Ford Models in New York, Models 1 Agency in London, Nous Model Management in Los Angeles, and Premier Model Management in London. She has appeared in numerous advertising campaigns, including Iceberg Vodka, GUESS, Tommy Hilfiger, Christian Dior, and Marciano. In 2001, Hilton began to develop a reputation as a socialite, being identified as "New York's leading It Girl" whose fame was beginning to "extend beyond the New York tabloids".[15] She has appeared in several magazines, including the April 2004 issue of Maxim.[16] She also made an uncredited appearance in the Brüno segment in the "Law and Order" episode of the HBO series of Da Ali G Show.
2003–present: As an actress:
Hilton has made cameo appearances in several films, notably Zoolander, Wonderland, and The Cat In The Hat. She co-starred with her friend Nicole Richie in the Fox reality series The Simple Life, which premiered on December 2, 2003. The Simple Life ran for three seasons on Fox. The show was cancelled by Fox after a dispute between Hilton and Richie, but it was subsequently aired by E! Entertainment Television for the fourth and fifth seasons.[17] Despite talks of a sixth season,[18] the series finished its run at the end of the fifth season.[19] Hilton next starred in an MTV reality series titled Paris Hilton's My New BFF, about her search for a new best friend.[20] The series premiered on September 30, 2008.[21]
She landed minor and supporting roles in the feature films Nine Lives, Raising Helen, The Hillz, and House of Wax. Her role as Paige Edwards in House of Wax won the Teen Choice Award for "Best Scream" and earned her a nomination for "Choice Breakout Performance – Female".[22] (It also won her the 2005 Razzie for "Worst Supporting Actress" at the 2005 Golden Raspberry Awards.)[23] She also earned a nomination for "Best Frightened Performance" at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards. She landed her first lead roles in 2006 with the straight-to-DVD releases National Lampoon's Pledge This! and Bottoms Up. She plays the Hottie in the box office bomb romantic comedy The Hottie and the Nottie, released in 2008. She also had a minor cameo appearance as herself in An American Carol.
More recently, Hilton plays Amber Sweet, the surgery- and painkiller-addicted daughter of a biotech magnate in the goth/rock musical Repo! The Genetic Opera. Critics have responded positively to her performance in the film, in which she sings and acts. In an interview Repo! director Darren Lynn Bousman revealed that he had originally refused to audition Hilton for the role of Amber Sweet. "I broke down," says Bousman, "and I met with her, and immediately she charmed everyone in the room."[24] In the same interview, Bousman also revealed that Hilton was so keen to get the part that she had the script smuggled in to her during her much publicized stint in a Los Angeles jail, and used her time inside to work on her role.
Hilton has also guest-starred in episodes of the popular TV-show The O.C., The George Lopez Show, Las Vegas, American Dreams, Dogg After Dark, and Veronica Mars. Furthermore, she appeared in several music videos, including "It Girl" by John Oates and "Just Lose It" by Eminem. Planning is underway for an eponymous cartoon series following the animated life of Hilton, her sister Nicky, and her dog Tinkerbell,[25] which began filming in September 2007. In April 2008, she guest starred on the My Name is Earl episode "I Won't Die with a Little Help from My Friends".[26] On January 29, 2009, Paris Hilton's British Best Friend, began airing on ITV2 in England. The second season of Paris Hilton's My New BFF premiered on June 2, 2009. In June 2009, Hilton shot "Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF".[27] Runner-up of the British series Kat McKenzie died on July 3, 2009 of a suspected overdose.[28]
Hilton guest-starred in the fifth episode of Supernatural's fifth season. "Paris Hilton is playing a demonic creature that takes the form of... Paris Hilton," creator and executive producer Eric Kripke said in a statement. "It'll be a fun, irreverent episode and we here at Supernatural are thrilled that Paris agreed to do it."[29]
Hilton guest-starred in an episode of I Get That a Lot in 2010, on CBS, as a gas station attendant.
On October 1, 2010 the Oxygen Channel gave the go-ahead to a new reality show called "The World According to Paris". The show will follow Hilton in her everyday life,[30] and premiered in June 2011
Relationships:
Hilton was engaged to fashion model Jason Shaw from mid-2002 to early 2003. In 2003–2004 she had a relationship with singer Nick Carter. Later she was engaged to Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis, from May 29, 2005 to November 2005. Thereafter, she began dating another Greek shipping heir, Stavros Niarchos III, before breaking up in May 2006. In early 2008, she was spotted with Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden and in May, Hilton announced her intention to marry Madden during an interview with television talk-show host David Letterman.[81][82] The two broke up in November 2008, and "remain very good friends".[83][84] She began dating The Hills star Doug Reinhardt in February 2009;[85] Hilton has also referred to her intention to marry Reinhardt, saying "He's gonna be my husband."[86] The couple broke up in June 2009, only to get back together again in August of the same year. On April 13, 2010, Hilton reportedly split from Reinhardt because she was worried he was just using her to further his career.[87] Shortly after splitting from Reinhardt, Hilton started dating Cy Waits, entrepreneur and co-owner of Tryst Nightclub and XS Nightclub in Las Vegas.[88][89]. Hilton expressed that she would like to marry Cy, stating: "“I can see myself marrying him. We are so happy!”.[90][91]. In late June 2011, Hilton revealed that the couple had split up and remained close friends.[92]
Hilton told Live with Regis and Kelly: "One-night stands are not for me. I think it's gross when you just give it up. Guys want you more, if you don't just hand it to them on a platter
