Hotel heiress Nicky Hilton was born Nicholai Olivia Hilton on October 5, 1983, in New York City, New York. She was nick-named Nicky after her grandfather's brother Conrad Nicky Hilton, who founded the hotel chain for which the family is famous. Conrad was also Elizabeth Taylor’s first husband. Growing up, Nicky and her family divided their time between homes in Manhattan, Beverly Hills, and The Hamptons. At just twelve years old, Nicky got her first job working as an Intern with Hamptons Magazine, which mostly consisted of the pre-teen running errands and taking lunch orders.
After graduating from the Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in New York City’s Upper East Side, Nicky enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design. Although she did not complete her course, Nicky, who had been designing handbags since age seventeen, developed an already early-instilled interest in fashion design.
During her mid to late teens, Nicky and her older sister, Paris Hilton, began garnering worldwide attention as New York’s most elite socialite sisters, modeling and making special appearances around the globe. However, when Nicky was offered a spot alongside Paris on reality TV show, The Simple Life, the more low-key of the high-profile pair declined. Instead, the spot went to Nicole Richie, Paris’s childhood friend and the daughter of Motown crooner, Lionel Richie. The girls’ wacky hijinks and inability to perform simple, everyday chores catapulted them into the spotlight, leaving little sister Nicky to focus on more behind-the-scenes endeavors.
In 2006, Nicky launched her own clothing line for girls and women, Chick by Nicky Hilton. In addition to her own line, Nicky and Kimberly Stewart, her childhood friend and the daughter of rocker Rod Stewart, became the faces of Australian underwear line, Antz Pantz. Nicky has also worked as a model with Nous Models in LA, doing runway shows for various designers.
In 2004, Nicky wed family friend and New York businessman, Todd Meister; however, the union was annulled just three months later. Nicky went on to date actor Kevin Connolly and has since been romantically linked to Ashley Olsen’s ex-boyfriend, David Katzenberg.
In keeping with family tradition, in 2006, Nicky went to work on a hotel chain of her very own: Nicky O Hotels. The first to open in the franchise, the Nicky O South Beach, is a ninety-four unit condo hotel in Miami, featuring stylish suites designed by Roberto Cavalli, Nicole Miller, Heatherette, and Betsey Johnson.
In 2003, Nicky and Paris made a cameo in the film Pauly Shore is Dead, also featuring Pamela Anderson, Chris Rock, and Mario López. She has since starred in National Lampoon's Pledge This!, a straight-to-DVD film slated for release in late December 2006.
YUDDY
