Paris Hilton

Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American celebutante, businesswoman, model, actress and recording artist. She is an heiress to a share of both the Hilton Hotel fortune and the real estate fortune of her father Richard Hilton.

As an actress, she has appeared in several minor roles, most notably in the horror film House of Wax (2005). Some of her more recognizable screen work has been alongside friend Nicole Richie in The Simple Life. In 2006, she released her debut self-titled album Paris. Hilton has since garnered notoriety as a result of several legal incidents, the repercussions of which have caused Hilton to serve time in a correctional institution in 2007.

Hilton gained significant notoriety when she co-starred along with Nicole Richie, the adopted daughter of Lionel Richie, in the Fox reality series The Simple Life, which premiered on December 2, 2003. During the course of the season, Hilton and Richie lived with a family on their farm in rural Altus, Arkansas. The show, which was a major success for Fox, featured the two working at a variety of blue-collar jobs, making out with local men, and performing menial tasks associated with farm life. The pair's inability to appreciate or engage in the "simple life" was a central theme on the series.
Paris Hilton at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005.
Paris Hilton at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005.

After the success of the first season, The Simple Life was followed by two more seasons on Fox. The network then canceled the show after a dispute between Hilton and Richie, but the show was subsequently aired by E! Entertainment Television for a fourth season. A fifth season premiered in May 2007 on E! with talks of a sixth season to follow suit.

Hilton also amassed other television credits, guest-starring in episodes of The O.C., The George Lopez Show, Las Vegas, American Dreams and Veronica Mars. Furthermore, she appeared in several music videos, including It Girl by John Oates and Just Lose It by Eminem.

Moreover, Hilton made cameo appearances in several films, most notably Zoolander (2001), and Wonderland (2003), The Cat in The Hat (2003) and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004) although her scenes were deleted from the film. She landed minor and supporting roles in the feature films Nine Lives (2002), Raising Helen (2004), The Hillz (2004), and House of Wax (2005). 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". 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! (2006) and Bottom's Up (2006).

She is currently scheduled to appear as the lead role in several upcoming theatrical releases, including an as yet untitled superhero movie involving Stan Lee,and the lead character in a romantic comedy called The Hottie and the Nottie. Plans for an eponymous cartoon series following the animated life of Paris, her sister Nicky, and her dog Tinkerbell are also in production. As of August 2007, Hilton is part of the cast of Repo! the Genetic Opera, scheduled to begin filming in September 2007. Also joining her will be Nivek Ogre (aka Kevin Graham Ogilvie) - the lead singer of Skinny Puppy

Hilton founded Heiress Records, a sub-label of Warner Bros. Records, in 2004. She released her self-titled debut album, Paris, under the Heiress Records label on August 22, 2006. Although the album reached number six on the Billboard 200 for a week, its total sales volume has been low. Producers for Paris included Greg Wells, Kara DioGuardi, Jane Wiedlin and Scott Storch. Hilton collaborated with Fat Joe and Jadakiss on the song "Fighting Over Me." The first single from Paris, "Stars Are Blind," produced by Fernando Garibay, was released for download on June 20, 2006 and peaked at number eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100; "Turn It Up" and "Nothing in This World" followed as worldwide singles. While All Music Guide commented that the album was "more fun than anything released by Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson, and a lot fresher, too," critical reception as a whole was mixed.

In August 2006, it was revealed that artists Banksy and Danger Mouse replaced 500 copies of Hilton's debut album in various UK record stores with their own album—featuring parody remixes, revised cover art, and reworded liner notes that included topless photos of Hilton defaced with various ironic slogans.

Untitled second studio album

On July 16, 2007 Hilton confirmed that she's already working on a new album, but there's no title yet. The release is planned for Fall 2007. She was also attending singing lessons to increase her voice for the new record and some tracks have already been finished. Recently music producer Scott Storch confirmed his work on Hilton's upcoming album. Sash! has also been confirmed to be producing Hilton's first single.

The leak of a three-year-old home-made sex video of Hilton with her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon a week prior to the premiere of her Fox reality series The Simple Life attracted worldwide attention in late 2003. The release of the tape led to speculation that it was a deliberate publicity stunt, but Hilton has strongly denied such claims and stated she was "embarrassed" and "humiliated" by the publicity brought by the tape. The sex video, subsequently titled 1 Night in Paris in 2004, was later released on DVD and Hilton received directorial credit. The film earned three AVN Awards in 2005, including "Best Selling Title of the Year". Hilton originally sued Salomon over the release of the tape, but settled out of court in July 2005. Hilton was reportedly awarded up to $400,000 and planned to donate a percentage to charity, although in a 2006 interview with GQ magazine she stated that she never received money from the sale of the video