Perez Hilton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Perez Hilton
Hilton in 2011
Born	Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (1978-03-23) March 23, 1978 (age 47) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation	Blogger columnist media personality
Years active	2001–present
Television	Perez Hilton Superfan Celebrity Big Brother Worst Cooks in America
Children	3

Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger and media personality. He became famous for his blog, which shares news and gossip about celebrities. His blog often features photos of famous people with his own funny captions or "doodles" added to them.

Besides blogging, Perez Hilton has written books, hosts a podcast, and has appeared in many TV shows and movies. He has also acted in stage plays. In 2018, he was called "the original celebrity social media influencer" because he was one of the first to use the internet to share celebrity news.

About Perez Hilton

His Early Life

Perez Hilton was born in Miami, Florida. His parents were from Cuba. He grew up in areas of Miami called Little Havana and Westchester. He went to an all-boys Catholic school in Miami called Belen Jesuit Preparatory School. After graduating in 1996, he received a scholarship to New York University.

Starting His Blog

After finishing college in 2000, Perez Hilton first tried to become an actor. He also worked for a short time helping with media for an organization that supports LGBT rights called GLAAD. He wrote for magazines and worked as a receptionist. He said he started blogging because it "seemed easy."

Perez Hilton's blog became popular because he wanted to be part of the celebrity world he wrote about. He often shared stories about awards shows, clubs, and private events he attended. He also posted pictures of himself with celebrities on his blog.

He sometimes showed a strong liking for certain celebrities, like Lady Gaga. However, he also openly criticized others, like Vanessa Hudgens and Taylor Momsen. He even had a public disagreement with Miley Cyrus on Twitter. Some people thought his close friendships with celebrities might make his blog less fair. For example, he became friends with Paris Hilton, who inspired his professional name. People noticed he rarely wrote negative stories about her.

Perez Hilton also used his blog to speak out against unfair behavior by celebrities. He encouraged people to ask for an actor to be fired from a TV show for making unkind comments. He also supported new musicians by sharing their songs on his blog. The singer Mika became more popular in North America partly because of Perez Hilton's support.

How His Blog Grew

In an interview in 2010, Perez Hilton said he started blogging just as a hobby. He explained that his blog was different because other blogs were mostly like online diaries. He wanted to talk about celebrities because he found them more entertaining.

In March 2005, just six months after he started blogging, his website was called "Hollywood's Most-Hated Website" by a TV show called The Insider. This made his blog much more popular, and it even crashed his website's server for a short time. Perez Hilton claimed that on one day in July 2007, his website had over 8.82 million page views in 24 hours.

The pop singer Fergie has said that her 2006 song "Pedestal" is about Perez Hilton. In the song, she criticizes someone for saying negative things about her online.

In September 2008, a website called Terra.com named Perez Hilton "Hispanic of the Year." This was in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. By October 2014, his website was still very popular, ranking among the most visited websites globally.

Perez in Media

Perez Hilton at the 2009 American Music Awards

On Television

Perez Hilton has appeared in many TV shows. In 2001, he had a small role in an episode of The Sopranos. In 2004, he was a contestant on a weight loss reality show called Flab To Fab on VH1. He lost a lot of weight during the show.

In 2007, he announced on the TV show The View that he would have his own reality show on VH1 called What Perez Sez. He also competed on MTV's Celebrity Rap Superstar in 2007. He has appeared in music videos for artists like Simple Plan, The Pussycat Dolls, and Rihanna.

Perez Hilton has also been on other reality shows, including MTV Cribs and Paris Hilton's My New BFF. He has guest-starred as himself in scripted shows like Privileged. He often appears on shows like TRL and Extra to talk about celebrity gossip.

In 2008, he co-hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2010, he guest-starred as himself in an episode of the TV show Victorious. In 2011, he created and presented a four-part British TV series called Perez Hilton Superfan for ITV2.

In January 2015, Perez Hilton was a housemate on the British reality show Celebrity Big Brother. He was voted off the show in February 2015. In August 2017, he was a contestant on Worst Cooks in America Season 11: Celebrity Edition 3. He won the competition, showing he was the "Best of the Worst" cooks among the celebrities.

In December 2020, Perez Hilton was permanently banned from TikTok, where he had many followers. He posted a video crying about the ban. In December 2021, he was a guest on Red Table Talk: The Estefans to discuss "cancel culture."

On Stage

Perez Hilton has also performed in live theater. In 2012, he starred as himself in an off-Broadway musical called NEWSical The Musical. He said he was very excited to make his New York theater debut.

In 2015, he starred in another off-Broadway musical called Full House! The Musical. In this show, he played the character of Danny Tanner, who was originally played by Bob Saget in the TV show Full House. The musical was a funny take on the popular sitcom.

Radio and Podcasts

In May 2008, Perez Hilton started his own radio show called Radio Perez. This show shared updates from his blog. He has also appeared on The Howard Stern Show.

In July 2015, Perez Hilton and radio host Chris Booker started a weekly podcast together called The Perez Hilton Podcast with Chris Booker. They discuss the week's hottest topics and often have different opinions.

Books and Projects

Perez Hilton has written several books. In October 2009, his first book was released. It was a guide about keeping up with celebrities. In December 2009, his second book came out, which shared more celebrity stories.

In September 2011, he published his first children's book called The Boy with Pink Hair. Perez Hilton said the book was about kids who have dreams, feel left out, and want to belong. He shared that the book was inspired by his own childhood, as he often felt like an outsider.

In October 2020, his memoir was published. In this book, he tells the story of how Mario Lavandeira became Perez Hilton, the famous celebrity blogger.

Film and Television Appearances

Film

Television

Music Videos

• Hilton appears in MattyB's cover of PSY's "Gangnam Style"

Personal Life

In 2013, Perez Hilton moved to Manhattan, New York. He said he loved New York and wanted to make it home for his growing family. Perez Hilton has three children, all born through surrogacy. His son was born in February 2013. His two daughters were born in May 2015 and October 2017.

Images for kids

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  Official publicity photograph used on PerezHilton.com, 2009

See also

In Spanish: Perez Hilton para niños