Young and wealthy, and famous. These are the traits of Paris Hilton.
The late 1990s and early 2000s were the glamorous time for celebrities, especially for reality TV stars. And the young Hilton is at her peak.
On one side, the 1981-born socialite is a symbol of privilege and the excesses of America’s celebrity culture. But on the other side, the hotel heiress is known to have broken the laws for more than a few times.
And this time, Hilton made headlines when she was sentenced to 45 days in prison for driving without a valid license during a probation for an alcohol-related reckless driving offense.
Hilton was visibly shocked and tearful when a judge imposed the sentence, later calling it “cruel and unwarranted.”
In the Century Regional Detention Facility south of downtown Los Angeles, she had to stay there with roughly other 2,200 women that were a lot less famous and wealthy.
But still, as a celebrity, she was segregated from the general population, and had to stay in a "special-needs" unit designed for high-profile prisoners.
She is allowed to go out of her cell once a day to stretch her legs and take a shower, and is allowed to use the telephone and watch television in a jailhouse day room. She also receives three meals a day, while nothing fancy and is the same food served to every inmate in the jail, but she gets to have her food delivered directly to her cell.
But that 'privilege' doesn't translate to that much comfort, or let alone, privacy.
First, it's her cell, which is around 2.4 meters high and wide, and 3.6 meters deep, that contains "two bunks, a table, a sink, a toilet and a sliver of a window."
Hilton’s cellmate, shall be another individual serving time for a serious driving infraction or other nonviolent offense.
"She’s going to be assigned a two-person cell, and most likely have another inmate in the cell with her," Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said on Monday, adding Hilton, like all inmates, would be confined to her quarters 23 hours a day.
And second, it's the layout of the cell, which has the toilet located in plain view of a large window in the door.
What this means, prison guards could easily peek into the lavatory at anytime, even when Hilton is demanding a bit of privacy.
Hilton was so terrified at this.
The TV star isn't camera-shy at all. But when it comes to the possible act of voyeurism, she is plainly scared.
Because of this, Hilton forced herself to not eat or drink, so she won't have to urinate or defecate. And making things worse, Hilton also didn't take any of her prescribed medication while in jail.
"She was absolutely terrified that one of the guards or staffers would get her with the cell-phone cam and it would wind up on the Internet," an insider of Paris Hilton said.
"She didn't eat or drink a single thing for three days because she didn't want to use the toilet. She was in real danger."
Hilton also suffered from "extreme claustrophobia" and began hyperventilating and freaking out.
"She cried the entire time, and that wasn't helping the dehydration," the source said.
Medical officials at the facility who took care of her, became concerned that severe dehydration and a buildup of waste and toxins in Hilton's body could cause a complete collapse and "even kill her," the source said. The medical officials even had to sedate Hilton in the medical wing because of her conditions.
Because of this, Hilton should be kept under close scrutiny to ensure "there isn't anything harmful done to herself by herself, which is a great concern to me."
It was reported that a psychiatrist had visited her in prison, and told officials there was serious risk of a nervous breakdown.
But still, this didn't affect anything, and Hilton still had to face the remainder of her sentence.
Judge Michael T. Sauer was forced to order Paris to complete her sentence and go back to jail - just 36 hours after being released for an unspecified medical problem.
However, she did her time with just over two weeks with time off for good behavior.
Paris Hilton is the queen bee of the entertainment industry, and that she is known to party a lot.
She was already in the business before Kim Kardashian was a household name. She was amongst the influential A-listers at that time, alongside Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, and more.
She landed in the prison because she was caught driving under the influence of alcohol in 2006. Because of this, the socialite had her driving license suspended and was placed on probation.
But ever the rebel, Hilton continued driving, even when alone.
And this time, she was caught speeding, without turning on her car's headlights.
Because of this, Hilton had to let go of her designer clothes, cellphone and other accouterments, along with her freedom and privacy, for an orange jumpsuit and a small twin bunks.
And this gave her anxiety attacks and other medical condition issues.
It's worth noting that before this incident, Hilton already had her sex tape released to the internet. The clip showing her coitus was leaked without her consent, and this could be one of the main reasons for her extreme fear.