Paris Hilton

Paris Whitney Hilton is an American fashion model and actress, the former heiress of the family business, the world's largest hotel chain Hilton. Her fame came from the television series "The Simple Life" (in which she played with her friend Nicole Richie) and her scandalous social life. More recently, she has also performed as a singer and author.

Paris Hilton was born on February 17, 1981 to Rick and Kathy Hilton. Paris Hilton is the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton hotel chain. Paris is the eldest child in the family, she has a younger sister, Nicky Hilton, and two brothers, Barron Hilton and Conrad Hilton. Hilton's childhood was spent in various places - the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, the New York family home, Beverly Hills, and the Hamptons. Hilton graduated from Dwight School in New York, went to college, from which she was expelled. Later, Hilton did receive a high school diploma.

In 2000, Paris Hilton signed a contract with Donald Trump's modeling agency, T Management, and became a professional model. Later she worked for other modeling agencies: Ford Models Management in New York, Models 1 Agency in London, Nous Model Management in Los Angeles, and Premier Model Management in London. Hilton went on to appear in advertising, including for Iceberg, GUESS, Tommy Hilfiger, Christian Dior and Marciano and shoot for glossy magazines.

Hilton's first television project that made her popular was the reality show "The Simple Life" which also starred Hilton's friend, singer Lionel Richie's daughter Nicole Richie. The show aired on Fox on December 2, 2003, and was a great success. A falling out between Hilton and Ritchie caused Fox to close the show after three seasons. The subsequent fourth and fifth seasons aired on E! Hilton played several supporting roles in such films as Nine Lives (2002), Fancy Mama (2004), House of Wax (2005). For her role as Paige Edwards in House of Wax, Hilton won the Teen Choice Awards for Best Scream and was nominated in the Breakthrough of the Year category. In 2006, Hilton starred in "Drink to the Bottom" and "Chocolate Blonde."

In 2004, Hilton began work on her solo album, Paris, which was released on August 22, 2006 and started at number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was produced by Greg Wells, Cara DioGuardi, Jane Wiedlin and Scott Stroch. In 2004 Hilton founded the music label Heiress Records. The album "Paris" is the only release of the label, although Hilton herself says that she plans to sign new artists in the future.

In the fall of 2004, Hilton, co-authored with Merle Ginsberg, released the autobiography Confessions of a Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose, for which she received $100,000. The book was critically acclaimed but nonetheless became a bestseller. Hilton helped design a collection of handbags for Japanese firm Samantha Thavasa as well as a line of jewelry for online retailer Amazone.com. In 2004 she launched a perfume line created by Hilton in collaboration with Parlux Fragrances. In 2005 Hilton signed a deal with Club Paris, a chain of nightclubs that got to use her name. The first club in Orlando, Florida was a huge success and a second club opened in July 2006 in Jacksanville, Florida. In January 2007, Club Paris owner Fred Calillian terminated Hilton's contract due to her breach of several contract clauses (Hilton failed to show up for several scheduled promotional events).

According to Forbes magazine, Paris Hilton's income was $2 million in 2003-2004, $6.5 million in 2004-2005, $7 million in 2005-2006 and $8.3 million in 2006-2007.