Author’s Note on Sources

From the start of my research, I felt that if one wanted to know how Paris Hilton became a singular phenomenon of the new millennium, one had to know where she came from. Since House of Hilton is the first contemporary independent biography of the hotel dynasty, I was faced with the daunting task of tracking down creditable, knowledgeable sources. This was especially true in attempting to paint an accurate as possible portrait of Ms. Hilton’s never-before-scrutinized maternal roots.

While a historical and genealogical trail existed for the paternal side of her family because of the dynasty’s decades-long, high-profile international business and social standing—Conrad Hilton’s very readable 1957 autobiography, Be My Guest, was a start—I quickly discovered that, curiously, virtually nothing was publicly known about the maternal side of Ms. Hilton’s genealogical tree. That part of her story had to be developed by tracking down dozens of private sources—few were known in the public domain—and interviewing them.

With all of that in mind, I would like to point out that all source quotes—persons interviewed by me or my researchers—are written in the present tense (“she says,” “he asserts”). Quotes from all other sources, such as magazine articles, newspaper stories, and books, are written in the past tense (“he maintained,” “she stated”).

For example, all of the quotes attributed to the long-deceased Conrad Hilton came from Be My Guest or from numerous periodicals. Similarly, quotes attributed to Ms. Hilton’s late maternal grandmother, for instance, came from interviews with family, friends, and acquaintances, or from sources otherwise stated in House of Hilton. Once again, the same is true of quotes attributed to Paris Hilton and her parents, among others.

The Hiltons over the decades have been boldface names in gossip columns, movie and scandal magazines—many, such as Confidential, are now defunct—contemporary daily and weekly tabloids, celebrity magazines, and a number of Internet sites, all of which were particularly valuable for my research.

I’ve attempted to cite these sources by name where applicable in the context of the book’s chapters. Among them, in no particular order of importance, are: the New York Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, US Weekly, People, Variety, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Time, Newsweek, TV Guide, Life, Parade, Blender, and Radar (and all of their related sites on the Internet).

Among the websites used for my research are:

         

Gawker.com

TMZ.com

PerezHilton.com

IMDB.com

Moono.com

SocialiteLife.com

NewYorkSocialDiary.com

RadarOnline.com

MetaCafe.com

CNN.com

GlamourGirlsOfTheSilverScreen.com

Eonline.com