Nicky Hilton

Nicholai "Nicky" Olivia Hilton (born October 5, 1983 in New York City, New York) is an American fashion model, socialite, and fashion designer. Hilton is also an heiress to a part of the Hilton Hotel chain, as well as to about 5%-15% of her father's real estate fortune and investments. She shares her nickname with her grandfather's brother, Conrad "Nicky" Hilton, who died 14 years before she was born.

Early life and family background

Nicky is the second of four children born to Richard Hilton and Kathy Richards. Her sister is Paris Hilton, and her brothers are Barron Hilton II and Conrad Hilton III. On the maternal side of her family, Nicky is a niece of two popular child stars of the 1970s, Kim Richards and Kyle Richards, who appeared in the motion picture Escape to Witch Mountain and TV shows like Nanny and the Professor, Little House on the Prairie, and later, ER. Her paternal grandparents are Barron Hilton and Marilyn Hawley.

Hilton moved between several homes in her youth, including a suite in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, Beverly Hills, and The Hamptons on Long Island, New York. She graduated high school from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York and attended college at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design, but did not finish her fashion degree.

Career

Fashion designer

She launched her own clothing line, Chick by Nicky Hilton in 2004 and has also designed a line of handbags for Japanese company Samantha Thavasa from 2002–2005.

In 2007, she started her second line aimed at a more mature audience and higher pricepoint, called Nicholai, which had its debut fashion show for the spring/summer 2008 season on September 9, 2007 in New York City during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The video and photos from the collection can be viewed at the MBFW website.[1]

Model

Hilton began her career as a fashion model. She has done several runway shows for huge designers and is a regular model for Heatherette, along with her sister Paris; they usually open and close the runway shows.

In 2005, Hilton, along with Kimberly Stewart, was the face of Australian underwear line Antz Pantz.[2] Stewart remains contracted, however Hilton has since been replaced by Australian up-and-coming model Megan Maitland. Around this time, Hilton modeled for the cover of Lucire magazine for its New Zealand and Romanian editions.

She has also modeled for Frederick's of Hollywood.

Actress

Hilton made her acting debut in National Lampoon's Pledge This!, which also featured her sister. The movie was a straight-to-DVD and released on December 19, 2006. She also made a cameo in Pauly Shore Is Dead, with Paris.

In 2003, Nicky and Paris were each offered a role in a reality show called The Simple Life, but Nicky rejected the part. However, Paris went through with it, and her best friend Nicole Richie was given the role that Nicky refused.

Nicky, along with Paris, will soon star in a cartoon about her life.[3]

Other business ventures

In 2006, she entered a partnership for the Nicky O Hotel. The first, the Nicky O South Beach, is a 94 unit suite condo hotel in Miami which opened in 2007. It features suites by famous designers such as Roberto Cavalli, Nicole Miller, Heatherette, and Betsey Johnson. The second Nicky O Hotel was due to open in Chicago in the spring of 2007. On February 12, 2007, Hilton was sued for breach of contract by her partners in the Chicago project.[4]

Personal life

Hilton has dated MTV VJ Brian McFayden, Ian Somerhalder in 2003. Later, she married Todd Andrew Meister on August 15, 2004. But the marriage was later annulled in November 2004.[5] She was with Kevin Connolly from January 2005 to October 2006.[6] She has been dating David Katzenberg since October 2006.[7]