Born: February 17, 1981
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius (known for being independent and intellectual)
Parents: Hotel chain heir Richard Hilton and socialite/actress Kathy Richards
Lives in: Hollywood Hills
Drives: According to the terms of her release, nothing anymore.
Height: 5' 8”
Education: Attended several High Schools but eventually earned a GED.
Religion: Known to have dabbled in Kabbalah, although she recently caused a stir by carrying around several religious and self-help books, including the Bible.
Model/actress/socialite 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 turn 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 (daughter of legendary pop icon Lionel), 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.
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 3. Earlier that evening, she had appeared at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards.
After serving only three full days in prison, Hilton was released early in the morning on June 7. She was reportedly released early for health reasons. To finish her sentence, Hilton ordered to spend 40 days in home confinement.
One of the most influential and inspired designers in the world, French couturier Yves Saint Laurent, passed away at his Paris home Sunday evening at the age of 71, a longtime friend and associate of the designer said.
According to Pierre Berge, the famed fashion icon, who retired from haute couture in 2002 but was still involved in the foundation he had created with Berge, had been ill for some time. Berge said the designer "knew that he had revolutionized fashion, that he had revolutionized the second half of the 20th century. His designs accompanied the evolution of women," but refused to provide further details.
According to People.com, the designer fell ill and entered a Paris hospital last week, reportedly slipping into a coma Wednesday evening. In October 2006, Saint Laurent slipped and fell outside a Paris restaurant during Fashion Week, suffering slight scratches but reminding fans of the perennially fragile designer's advancing age.
Throughout his almost 50-year career, the innovative designer, born Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, in Oran, Algeria, on Aug. 1, 1936, liberated women with his pants suits and simple, yet chic, silhouettes. Known for designs inspired by artists including Picasso and Mondrian as well as his creations for French actress Catherine Deneuve in the film "Belle du Jour,'' Saint Laurent always saw himself as an advocate for women.
Saint Laurent's best-known creation was the 1966 women's tuxedo pant suit, "Le Smoking", which combined traditional masculine tailoring with a feminine silhouette. Other signature pieces included safari jackets, peasant smocks and the Mondrian-print mini-dress which he debuted in 1965.
A towering figure of 20th century fashion, Saint Laurent was widely considered the last of a generation that included Christian Dior and Coco Chanel and made Paris the fashion capital of the world, with the Rive Gauche, or Left Bank, as its elegant headquarters.
Starting his career early at the age of 17 when he moved to Paris to study fashion but ended up working for Christian Dior three months later, Saint Laurent took the fashion world by storm in 1958 when, at age 21, became chief designer of the House of Dior, making the line famous for his trapeze silhouette. The trapeze dress — with its narrow shoulders and wide, swinging skirt — was a hit, and a breath of fresh air after years of constructed clothing, tight waists and girdles. His success was deemed crucial for the French economy, with billboards and headlines giving him credit for having "saved" France.
"Dior fascinated me. I couldn't speak in front of him. He taught me the basis of my art. Whatever was to happen next, I never forgot the years spent at his side," Saint Laurent said of his mentor.
Shortly after making a name for himself in the fashion world, he was conscripted to serve in the French army during the Algerian War of Independence. Following a brief but harrowing service during which he was hospitalized for three months after having suffered a nervous breakdown, he returned to Paris in 1962 only to find out he had been replaced at the House of Dior.
His departure from Dior determined him to partner up with Berge and established his own label, YSL, at a time when the world became avid for originality and women suddenly had more economic freedom. His name and the familiar YSL logo became synonymous with all the latest trends, highlighted by the creation of the Rive Gauche ready-to-wear label and perfume, as well as astute licensing deals for accessories and perfumes.
He often sought inspiration on the streets, and shaped his style "through women" as he once said, "That's where its strength and vitality comes from because I draw on the body of a woman."
In his own words, he said he felt "fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves."
Embroiderer Jacques Lesage, who worked with Saint Laurent for fifty years, beginning at Dior, said, "He invented everything. He reinvented everything."
Aside from the revolutionary outfits he created, he was also the first to use black women on the catwalk. In fact, Saint Laurent is responsible for Saint launching British model Naomi Campbell's career, doing her first campaign for them in the 1990s. Campbell is set to replace fellow supermodel Kate Moss as the new face of YSL.Thanks To efluxmedia.com
