Kathleen Elizabeth Hilton

Kathy Hilton (née Avanzino) was born in New York on March 13, 1959 to Kathleen and Larry Avanzino. The only child of the couple, Kathy later became an older sister when her mom welcomed daughters Kim and Kyle Richards, whom she shared with her late second husband, Ken Richards.

Kathy attended Montclair College Preparatory School in California — where she met Michael and La Toya Jackson, who would become lifelong friends. The trio made a pact to name their future daughters Paris, La Toya told Yahoo! in 2012. (Kathy later named her first daughter Paris — as did the King of Pop.)

The reality star’s high school years were pivotal in her life, as she met future husband and Hilton hotel heir Rick Hilton at a party when she was 15 and he was 18. The pair married in 1979, and later welcomed daughters Paris Hilton, in 1981, and Nicky Rothschild (née Hilton), in 1983, followed by sons Barron Hilton, 1989, and Conrad Hilton, 1994. Kathy and Rick became first-time grandparents in 2016, when Rothschild and her husband, James Rothschild, welcomed daughter Lily-Grace. The Hiltons continued to expand their family when Nicky and James added daughter Teddy and a baby boy, born in 2018 and 2022, respectively, to their brood.

The television personality first entered the spotlight in the early 2000s due to her daughters’ fast-rising fame both in society and in the entertainment industry. After years as a “Friend” on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills — on which her sister Kyle stars — the New York native officially joined the series as a cast member for season 11, which premiered in 2021.