*  Born: 17 February 1981
    * Birthplace: United States
    * Best Known As: Party-hopping Hilton Hotel heiress and star of TV's The Simple Life

First known to the tabloids as "Paris the Heiress," Hilton went from party-hopping socialite to self-made entertainment brand early in the 21st century. She is the great-granddaughter of hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, granddaughter of Barron Hilton, grand-niece of Nicholas Conrad "Nicky" Hilton (the one-time husband of Elizabeth Taylor) and daughter of real estate magnate Rick Hilton. In 2003 Hilton starred in a fish-out-of-water "reality" show called The Simple Life on the Fox Network. The show was a takeoff on the 1960s sitcom Green Acres, with city girls Hilton and Nicole Richie (daughter of singer Lionel Richie) spending a month on a farm in Altus, Arkansas. A big hit, the show continued on in various forms from 2004-07. Hilton released a book in 2004, Confessions of an Heiress, and the same year Hilton became a partner in an Orlando nightclub, Club Paris. In 2005 she appeared in the remake of the 1950s horror film classic House of Wax (also starring Elisha Cuthbert). Her first musical album, Paris, was released in 2006. Hilton also had scrapes with the law: in September of 2006 she was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, and was given probation after pleading guilty to reckless driving. She was sent to jail in June 2007 after violating her probation by driving with a suspended license. Hilton's younger sister Nicky is also a well-known socialite.

Hilton's jail was the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California, about five miles from downtown Los Angeles. She was originally sentenced to 45 days in jail, but under California law that was reduced to 23 days for good behavior. She entered jail on the evening of 3 June 2007 and, in a surprise move, was released by the sheriff on the morning of 7 June 2007 for what a Sheriff's Department spokesman said were medical reasons. (She was officially credited with five days in jail, having arrived on the night of June 3rd and having left early on the 7th.) As part of her release, her sentence was returned to 45 days, with Hilton to spend the remaining 40 days of the sentence at home with a monitoring bracelet. The next day, however, the judge said he had not agreed to her release and ordered back to jail... Hilton became engaged to Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis in May of 2005; however, the two Parises broke off their engagement later that year... The Simple Life was cancelled by Fox in 2005. The E! cable network then picked up the show for 2006 and 2007... By coincidence, the original Green Acres starred Eva Gabor, the sister of Zsa Zsa Gabor, who was married to Paris Hilton's great-grandfather Conrad Hilton... A similar reality-type show of 2003, Rich Girls, starred fashion fortune heiress Ally Hilfiger... Hilton was in the news in November 2003 when a home video of her cavorting with former boyfriend Rick Solomon was published online. Solomon is the estranged husband of actress Shannen Doherty; the tape was reportedly made in 2000, when Solomon was 30 and Hilton was 19.