She's downing martinis and throwing down with her sister on TV today, but this Real Housewife
has had a taste for fame since childhood… and she might have used her own kids to get it.
"Bottom's up."
Shortly after Kathy Hilton married Richard Hilton, she got a job in the banquet hall at the Waldorf
Astoria where she made $160 a week, according to the Wall Street Journal. But sales and running
her own brand was in her bones. Back when she was younger and lived in Los Angeles, Kathy
had run a gift and antique shop on Sunset Plaza called the Staircase, per the Los Angeles Times.
In 2002, she and Richard joined forces with QVC to sell housewares,
much of which sold out the first time Kathy was on screen. Richard was supportive of
his wife's entrepreneurial spirit. He told The Wall Street Journal:
"Kathy likes selling, so she would dominate."
They later collaborated with HSN to sell a skincare line,
and in 2008 Kathy debuted her fragrance, "My Secret."
In 2012, Kathy launched her own clothing line of cocktail dresses called the Kathy
Hilton Collection, with dresses ranging in price from $350 to $870.
Kathy Hilton wasn't always a piece of cake when dealing with the Hilton businesses. On trips,
Kathy and Richard Hilton would stay at the hotel chain, but they were both rumored to
be high maintenance. Jerry Oppenheimer wrote in "House of Hilton" that they
expected special treatment, despite the fact that Richard's father, Barron Hilton,
explicitly stated that relatives should be treated no differently than other guests.
They'd often elicit child care from housekeeping and leave their children
with them, sometimes for several days. A source close to the Hilton hotels told Oppenheimer:
"It was a known fact that Kathy and Rick liked to party, and when Kathy was a young mother she had
no qualms about flaunting the Hilton name and taking advantage of it. [...] None of Barron's
[eight] kids were getting a free ride. The only one who ever took advantage was Kathy."
Allegedly, Kathy also had a testy relationship with Barron himself. Another hotel insider told
Oppenheimer that she would get frustrated with her father-in-law because he hadn't
advanced Richard within the Hilton hierarchy. But the joke is that it's precisely because of
Kathy that Richard didn't climb his family's ladder. Barron reportedly said of his son:
"If he can't control his wife, how can he run my hotels?"
But Kathy may have mellowed over time. In 2012, Evelyn Anastos,
who worked with Kathy on her clothing line, told the Los Angeles Times:
"People like her. She's high society but at the same time down to earth."
Kathy Hilton and her mother, Kathy Richards, had one thing in common:
they had big plans for baby Paris Hilton. Just like Richards encouraged her daughter
to marry rich, she also expected nothing but stardom for her granddaughter.
It wasn't just "Big" Kathy who had designs for Paris and later Nicky Hilton. Young Kathy also
had every intention of making her daughters famous, just like she hoped to be. In 2007,
when Paris was sentenced to 45 days in jail after violating her probation, many felt that
Kathy used the publicity around that event for self promotion. Reports resurfaced at the time
that Kathy enrolled herself and Paris in a fashion show in 1987 in Beverly Hills,
where Kathy wore a "risque" outfit and put Paris, who was six at the time, in a bikini.
Kathy also tutored her daughters in the art of getting anything they wanted. A
former employee of the Hilton hotels told Oppenheimer that their mother encouraged
her daughters to demand special treatment at the hotels, just like she did, saying:
"Paris and Nicky were running loose in the hotel,
were always trouble, and the mother always seemed to be coaching them."
Kathy Hilton and Michael Jackson went way back. Their friendship began when Hilton
was 13 and Jackson was 14, and they'd get kicks by making prank phone calls together.
"We were little kids, we had a really great time."
They stayed close right up until he died in 2009 and Hilton told Piers
Morgan that she and her family would go to his concerts. Jackson knew Paris Hilton as a baby,
and when the Hilton family lived at the Waldorf Hotel in New York, he also lived there.
Morgan asked Hilton about misconceptions about
Jackson and she said that no one was as kind and generous as the King of Pop.
"There was not a kinder, more generous, loving, sweet, the most wonderful father."
Jackson had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr.,
who goes by "Prince," daughter Paris Jackson, and son Prince Michael Jackson II,
formerly known as "Blanket” who now goes by Bigi. According to Hilton:
"His whole family, they're a really wonderful, beautiful family."
Jackson's sister, La Toya Jackson, explained to Yahoo! News why their children are named Paris,
and said that when they were kids, she, Hilton, and Jackson planned it:
"It's so funny because when we were growing up, we all said that we were going to [one
day] have children. And I told them, 'Well, I'm going to name my first son
Prince and my first daughter Paris.' We all said it. Then Kathy had kids,
she did it. Michael had kids, he did it. And me, well, I only had dogs!"
While Kathy Hilton is now best known for her role on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," she's
no stranger to TV. In 2015, she played herself in a brief part on the CBS soap opera "The Young and
the Restless," where she was tasked with finding a cover model for character Jack Abbott's magazine.
In 2005, she hosted her own reality show on NBC called "I Want To Be a Hilton," where
contestants competed to live like an heiress for a year. The show only lasted one season.
But Kathy got her chance to be on-screen again thanks to Bravo,
and thanks to her sister, Kyle Richards, who has starred on "Real Housewives of Beverly
Hills" since its premiere. The only glitch came because of her daughters. In fact,
Kathy didn't tell Paris or Nicky Hilton because she knew they'd hate it.
"When Paris found out that I was doing the show, she, 'The Housewives,' she was
disgusted." "No."
Kathy joked with ET that her daughters were overreacting,
saying she, quote, "didn't understand why they would be so concerned."
"I know that I'm not gonna go and be cursing and starting fights with people."
Kathy also added that since the show aired,
Nicky especially has had too much pride to admit that her mom is a great fit on Bravo.
Kathy Hilton and sister Kyle Richards have had their fair share of publicized feuds
over the years. Season 12 of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," saw a big
show-down between the two women, and co-star Lisa Rinna got involved, too.
"You know, I don't want to say that you need help Kathy, but I think you need some help."
Since then, Hilton has come forward to say that they've mended things, telling E! News:
"I said some things that I should not have said. It was how I was feeling."
Hilton stressed that she has no beef with Rinna,
only that she said things to Rinna, who took Richards' side, saying:
"I have to take the responsibility. I was frustrated. I should not have
said anything. And I did apologize and apologize."
Richards has accepted her apology and things are patched up between the two.
Their issues go back to 2015, the Daily Mail notes,
when Richards decided to develop a TV show called "American Woman" based on their mother,
Kathy Richards. While Richards thought it was a wonderful tribute to their mom,
both Hilton and sister Kim Richards didn't like the idea and asked her not to develop the show,
but she did anyway. Nevertheless, things are good. Richards told Page Six:
"I feel like my sisters and I, we have arguments, we make up, we're blood."
While Kathy Hilton loves living large, she also is famous for giving back. In 2011,
she and daughters Paris and Nicky Hilton were honored at the annual Starlight
Children's Foundation Gala, which was held at the Century Plaza Hyatt Regency Hotel.
The three philanthropists were awarded the "Heart of Gold Award" for their work
in bringing awareness to "young people suffering from unfortunate illnesses."
Kathy let her charitable spirit show again when asked if she'd ever get her famous daughters
to appear on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." She told Footwear News in July 2021:
"I wouldn't ask them because I feel like that would be taking advantage."
But the one way she figured they might show up would be for a good cause. She said:
"I want to do one charity event for dogs and then
for this other very special group, but I want to keep it a secret."
Kathy just doesn't slow down. In April 2021, she shared on Instagram that she
was celebrated for her work with the non-profit organization Court Appointed
Special Advocates in Los Angeles. According to their official website,
CASA gets advocates to take action so as to alleviate the stress on the "child welfare
and juvenile justice systems." Their goal is to give young people access to resources and
create connections with supportive people. And best of all, the entire organization is
based around the philosophy of deep love. What a great cause for Kathy to support!