Paris Hilton History
Paris is the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton hotels and source of an estimated $300 million family fortune. The family is no stranger to public scrutiny; her grandfather, Conrad “Nicky" Hilton, Jr., was the first of Elizabeth Taylor's many ex-husbands, and their wealth and glamour keeps them in the spotlight.
Growing up in Manhattan's ritzy Waldorf-Astoria, the family's New York home, as well as other Hilton residences in Beverly Hills and the Hamptons, Paris wanted for nothing growing up. Not keen on college, she decided, around 2000, that she would turn fame into a career.
She began to make a name for herself as a model, soon appearing in shows for designers such as Marc Bouwer and Catherine Malandrino, and she later completed an advertising campaign for 'Iceberg', an Italian label. She also posed for spreads in national magazines such as 'GQ', 'Vanity Fair' and 'FHM', and has been profiled, along with younger sister Nicky, in 'People' magazine.
Past romantic attachments, whether real or imagined by the paparazzi, include Leonardo di Caprio, 'Terminator 2's Edward Furlong and boxer Oscar de la Hoya. She has also been linked with actor and Tommy Hilfiger model, Jason Shaw, as well as 'Sum 41' lead singer Derek Whibley.
Paris and sister Nicky garnered reams of bad press as notorious socialites, famed for rudeness, dancing on top of bar banquettes, going topless and parading around in designer T-shirts with slogans like, "Got Blow?"
Perhaps in an effort to clean up her image, Paris has tried to make her mark by working on more substantial projects. In 2001, she had a cameo appearance in Ben Stiller's fashion spoof, 'Zoolander'. Other appearances include a role as a strung-out supermodel in the film short 'QIK2JDG', 'The Hillz' (with boyfriend Jason Shaw), 'Wonderland', and the big-screen adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic, 'The Cat in the Hat'. The FOX reality show, 'The Simple Life', which is based on 1960’s sitcom 'Green Acres', and features Paris Hilton and Lionel Ritchie’s daughter, Nichole, living on a farm, has been a huge hit.
On top of her burgeoning acting career, Paris has designed a high-end collection of purses for Tokyo label Samantha Thavasa. Attempts to start a modelling company and a makeup line have not succeeded.
in 2004, Paris Hilton is the founder of Heiress Records, a sub-label of Warner Bros. Records. Though Heiress Records' only release as of yet has been Paris, Hilton has said that she plans to sign new artists in the future.
Hilton began work on an album in 2004. The album; Paris, was released on August 22, 2006. Before release, Hilton hinted that her album would feature a number of genres, such as pop, reggae, and hip-hop.
Paris debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200.
