Paris Hilton was born in New York City to Richard Hilton, a businessman, and Kathy Hilton, a socialite and former child actress.

Hilton attended the Marywood-Palm Valley School in Rancho Mirage, California, for her freshman year of high school. Her family later moved to the East Coast, and she attended Professional Children's School in New York City.

At 16, Hilton was sent to a series of boarding schools for emotionally troubled teens, including Provo Canyon School, where she claims to have been mentally, physically, and sexually abused by the staff. She attended Provo for 11 months and was released in early 1999.

Hilton ventured into fashion modeling at age 19, signing with Donald Trump's agency Trump Model Management. She and her sister Nicky were photographed by David LaChapelle for the September 2000 issue of "Vanity Fair", proclaiming her 'New York's leading It Girl' in 2001.

Hilton co-starred with Nicole Richie in the reality television series "The Simple Life", which catapulted her to global fame. The show followed the two girls as they took on various jobs and lived a 'simple life' along the East Coast.

A leaked sex tape with her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon, later released as "1 Night in Paris", further increased her media attention.

Hilton pursued acting in films like "House of Wax" (2005) and "Repo The Genetic Opera" (2008), and appeared in reality TV shows such as "Paris Hilton's My New BFF" (2008-2009), "The World According to Paris" (2011), and "Cooking with Paris" (2021).

Hilton married businessman Carter Reum in November 2021. She also launched her media company 11:11, which has since expanded into various business lines, including a joint venture with HappyNest Entertainment and 9 Story Media Group for a digital series called "Paris & Pups".

Hilton and her husband welcomed their first child, Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum, born via surrogacy.

Hilton released her memoir "Paris: The Memoir", which made The New York Times' bestseller list and delved into her personal life, including alleged abuse at boarding school.