Top 100 Celebrities In The World
002. Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton was born February 17, 1981, in New York City. Thanks to her great-grandfather Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton hotel chain, Paris is the shared heir to a family fortune estimated at $300 million. The daughter of Rick and Kathy Hilton, Paris grew up alongside her younger sister, Nicky, and two brothers, Baron and Conrad, in their homes in Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria, Beverly Hills, and The Hamptons.
After graduating from high school, Paris pursued a modeling career, appearing in such national publications as GQ and Vanity Fair and on runways for various New York designers. She soon became a well-known jetsetter, courting media attention for her outrageous lifestyle. Whether it was a short-lived romance with Leonardo DiCaprio or boxer Oscar de la Hoya or a rude remark in a public bathroom during a night of partying with her sister, Paris frequently received bad press for her socialite antics. A notorious sex tape starring Paris and her ex Rick Solomon, which was released on the Internet, didn't help matters.
In 2001, perhaps in an effort to clean up her reputation, she turned from modeling to acting, appearing in Ben Stiller's spoof Zoolander, an adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic The Cat in the Hat and 2004's Raising Helen with Kate Hudson. But it was her role as herself in the 2003 Fox reality show The Simple Life that earned her the most publicity. Starring Paris and her best gal-pal, Nicole Richie, the show followed the girls on their misadventures while trying to get along on a working farm. The show was such a hit that Fox followed it up the next year with The Simple Life 2: Road Trip.
In May 2005, Hilton announced her engagement to Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis. The couple called off the nutpials in October. She has also been romantically linked to Greek shipping fortune heir Stavros Niarchos III and actor Josh Henderson.In May 2008, she announced her engagement to Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden.
The latest installment of Hilton's reality series, The Simple Life Goes to Camp, premiered in 2007. But her return to television was overshadowed by her legal problems. Arrested in September 2006 for driving under the influence, she had received probation for that offense. But she then was caught in February 2007 driving with a suspended license and charged with violating her terms of her probation. In May she was sentenced to 45 days in jail. This was later reduced to 23 days. Hilton reported to the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California, on the night of June 3rd, right after she appeared at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards.
After serving only three full days in prison, Hilton was released early in the morning on June 7th for unspecified health reasons. The court ordered her to complete her sentence by spending 40 days in home confinement. Under fire for the perception that Hilton was receiving special preferences due to her celebrity status, a judge ordered her back to jail.
Upon hearing the sentence, Hilton shouted "It's not right!" and requested her mother, who was present in the courtroom. Concern about Hilton's condition led her to be moved to the medical wing of the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles. She was then moved back to the Century Regional Detention Facility on June 13.
Two days after her release on June 26, Hilton told talk show host Larry King that the jail's minister, Marty Angelo, inspired her to make a "new beginning."
On August 5, 2008, Hilton was back in the limelight when presidential hopeful, John McCain, negatively compared her celebrity status to that of rival candidate, Barack Obama. Hilton responded with a video of her own, which was posted on the comedy Web site, Funny or Die. Hilton's publicist and her mother both criticized McCain's campaign for using her image in his ad.