Paris Hilton was born on February 17th, 1981, to Rick and Kathy Hilton, making her the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton hotels and source of the family fortune -- estimated at $300 million. Her grandfather, Conrad "Nicky" Hilton, Jr., also brought some notoriety to the family, as he was the first of Elizabeth Taylor's many ex-husbands. Paris' younger sister, Nicky (born in 1983), shares the throne as co-heiress of the Hilton empire.

Growing up in Manhattan's ritzy Waldorf-Astoria, the family's New York home, as well as other Hilton digs in Beverly Hills and the Hamptons, Paris didn't seem to yearn for much. Even after graduating from high school, college didn't appeal to her. So, around the year 2000, Paris decided to branch out and become famous.

She began to make a name for herself as a model, soon appearing in shows for designers such as Marc Bouwer and Catherine Malandrino, and she later completed an ad campaign for Iceberg, an Italian label. In addition, Paris has posed for spreads in national magazines such as GQ, Vanity Fair and FHM, and has also been profiled, along with her sister, in People magazine.

On top of her burgeoning acting career, Paris has designed a high-end collection of purses for Tokyo label Samantha Thavasa, along with her sister Nicky. Paris has also given back; she has done charity work for Toys for Tots. Unfortunately, her attempts to start a modeling company and a makeup line seem to have fizzled.

Paris has also grabbed headlines thanks to a makeout session with notorious lesbian, Ingrid Casares, and a sex tape starring Paris and ex Rick Solomon that was released on the Net, and of course, spread like wildfire.