Early Life
Socialite Paris Whitney Hilton was born in New York City on February 17, 1981, the eldest child of real-estate developer Richard Hilton and socialite Kathy Richards Hilton. Along with sister Nicky and brothers Barron and Conrad, Hilton is one of multiple heirs to the Hilton hotel fortune.
Given the childhood nickname "Star" by her mother and grandmother, Hilton, who began modeling as a child at charitable functions, was born into acting stock. Her maternal grandmother was actress "Big" Kathy Dugan, and aunts Kim and Kyle Richards continue to earn film and television roles. Hilton is also related by marriage to Zsa Zsa Gabor, who wed Hilton's great-grandfather, Conrad Hilton, and Elizabeth Taylor, who was briefly married to Hilton's great uncle, Conrad Nicholson Hilton Jr.
Hilton spent her childhood moving from one luxury home to another. While living in the family's Beverly Hills mansion, she attended her freshman year of high school at the Marywood-Palm Valley School in California. When the Hilton family relocated to New York City in 1996, she continued her studies at the Dwight School. At this time, the family took up residence in a suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, and frequently vacationed at a multimillion-dollar home in the Hamptons.
As East Coast transplants, Hilton and her sister regularly attended society functions, charitable events, fashion shows and A-list parties. The two soon became regulars on the red carpet, and a titillating 2000 Vanity Fair spread shot by famed photographer David LaChapelle cemented their burgeoning fame.