Paris Hilton has shared the first photos of her son, Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum, who was born in January via surrogacy. Hilton posted a series of heartwarming black-and-white photos on Instagram on Monday with the caption: "My whole heart".
The heiress and media personality, 42, announced the arrival of her son on social media in January, posting a close-up picture of a baby gripping her thumb.
"You are already loved beyond words," wrote Hilton, who married businessman Carter Reum in late 2021.
"It's always been my dream to be a mother, and I'm so happy that Carter and I found each other," Hilton told People in an interview. "We are so excited to start our family together and our hearts are exploding with love for our baby boy."
Hilton said she and Reum began in-vitro fertilisation at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In December last year, the entertainer-turned-businesswoman said they were "always planning on 2023" as their target year to have a child.
"We just wanted to really enjoy our first year of marriage together as a couple. And we're just, you know, getting the eggs all ready," Hilton told E!.
In February, she revealed her son's name and said she chose it on the theme of world cities, like herself, but one that also had “other meanings”.
Speaking in the latest episode of her podcast This Is Paris, she explained the process behind choosing the name, which she had thought up “over a decade ago”.
“This is a name that is so special to me. I've been planning my children's names for years and years,” she said.
“I knew even when I was a little girl that I wanted to have a daughter named London, because London is one of my favourite cities in the world, I think it's such a beautiful name — it could work for a boy or a girl. I just think it sounds cute, Paris and London.”
She continued: “It's hard to think of a boy name on that theme I really wanted to stick with the theme of other cities, or a state or a country, just something about the world because I love to travel and I love exotic names.”
Hilton added that she had considered some of her other favourite cities for her son's name, including Las Vegas, in Nevada, and Aspen, in Colorado, as well as Ibiza, which she admitted sounded “weird”.
“Over a decade ago I thought of this amazing name. It's such a beautiful name, it's so unique. I love that it's not only a city but it also has other meanings that are just beautiful,” she said.
Hilton said she had chosen the name of Phoenix because it stands for “hope, rebirth and transformation”.
“Phoenix has a few good pop culture reference points, but more important it's the birth that flames out and rises from the ashes to fly again,” she said, reading an extract from her memoir, which was released in March.
“I want my son to grow up knowing that disaster and triumph go around and come around throughout our lives, and that this should give us great hope for the future.”
Scroll through the gallery below for celebrities who have welcomed children via surrogacy
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Socialite Paris Hilton and her husband Carter Reum have welcomed a baby boy via surrogacy, she announced in January. AFP -
Actress Rebel Wilson welcomed a daughter, Royce Lillian, via surrogate in November 2022. Getty Images -
'The Tonight Show' host Jimmy Fallon and his wife Nancy Juvonen's daughters Winnie Rose and Frances Cole were born via surrogacy in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Reuters -
Power couple Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are parents to two daughters, Sunday and Faith. While Kidman gave birth to Sunday in 2008, Faith was born via a surrogate in 2011. AFP -
Funnywoman Kristen Wigg and her husband Avi Rothman welcomed twins through surrogacy in December 2021. Getty Images -
Actress Gabrielle Union and NBA star Dwyane Wade had their daughter Kaavia James Union Wade via surrogacy in November 2018. Union has been open about her journey after several pregnancy losses. AFP -
Star couple Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have three children. Their first was born when Parker was 37. When she was 43, the couple decided to use a surrogate and had twins Marion and Tabitha in 2009. AFP -
Actress Elizabeth Banks and sportswriter and film producer husband Max Handelman have two sons, Felix and Magnus Mitchell, born via surrogacy. AFP -
Actress Ellen Pompeo had her second child, Sienna May, with husband Chris Ivery, via surrogacy in October 2014. They welcomed their third, Eli Christopher, in 2016. He is presumed to have been born via a surrogate, too, according to reports, though the couple have not officially commented on this. AFP -
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas made headlines by announcing the arrival of their first child through surrogacy on Instagram. AFP -
Model and TV host Tyra Banks and her former partner Erik Asla are parents to son York, who was born in 2016. After years of trying to become pregnant, the couple turned to gestational surrogacy to have a child. AFP
