For over 40 years, Kathy Hilton has been raising her four children on the basic belief to be kind and true to yourself, and now Paris, 43, Nicky, 40, and Barron, 34, are all passing that motto on to their own children.
"I've got four wonderful children, a wonderful husband – we just celebrated 43 years of marriage – and I have eight incredible grandchildren that give me and Rick so much joy and most of all, to watch my son and my daughters enjoying this chapter," Kathy tells HELLO! in an exclusive new interview alongside her daughter Nicky, who is married to James Rothschild and is mom to three children.
"My mom has always taught me to be true to myself, and to always lead with kindness, always be grateful," adds Nicky, praising Kathy, 65, for guiding her children as they now raise their own families.
Kathy and Nicky have now teamed up with No7, the iconic British beauty brand Kathy was introduced to by her own mother, Kathleen, and she in turn has passed it on to her children, including Nicky, along with her most important skin care tip – SPF. The mother and daughter duo will be sure to introduce the next generation of the Hilton family to their go-to brand one day too.
Kathy is 'Kiki' to eight grandchildren, including Nicky's two daughters, Lila Grace, seven, and six-year-old Teddy, and son Chasen, two; Paris’ son Phoenix, one, and daughter London, five months, whom she welcomed with husband Carter Reum, and Barron and wife Tessa's three children, Milou, four, two-year--old Caspian and two-month-old Apollo.
With their family growing at an "exponential" rate, they stay close through family game nights, FaceTime and vacations, with Kathy sharing that the cousins are being raised as siblings, much as her own children were raised with their cousins. Giving an insight into their close-knit family life, beauty secrets and refreshingly normal day to day lives, Kathy and Nicky sat down with HELLO! to reveal all.
What does a typical day look like for the two of you?
Nicky: I'm up at 6:00am every day because I have three human alarm clocks that get me up every morning. I try to wake up ten minutes before and have a cup of coffee with my husband, then we do a big breakfast with everyone, get the girls ready for school, and once they're off, I try to squeeze in a workout.
I've been really good about it lately: three or four days a week, strength training or pilates, before my day starts.
Kathy: For me, I wake up at about 7:30 and I'm doing business in Australia now, so I'll be on the phone for an hour and a half. Then I will drink a cappuccino and guess what? I'll go back to bed at 9am and sleep till 10.30am if I can!
I am diligent about my beauty routine – even [my husband] Rick [Hilton] takes care of his skin, taking all my products and using enough for a week! I don't go out to lunch that much because I'm working with different charity organizations, and then I try to have date night with my husband, and my son [Conrad, 30].
We also have a family night once a week with Barron and his children; we just started this as the children are at the age when they can sit at the table with us.
What is one of your favorite family traditions?
Kathy: I love the holidays. I like getting dressed up for Mother's Day or Easter, wearing hats and being together. It will be so fun now with the high chairs and all the grandchildren. Our family feels so full right now.
Nicky: We're growing at an exponential rate.
Kathy: Four boys and four girls, and Nikki and James will come out to Los Angeles with the children every few months. The girls love to have a sleepover with Kiki and Papa. We make them a little tent at the end of our bed and they get so excited, they run in with their pillows and they get their jammies on.
Nicky: It's a big slumber party.
Nicky, how do your children react to the growing family?
Nicky: They love it, but we live in New York so they don't get to see their cousins as often. But they love to FaceTime with them and we are in LA for most holidays, Christmas and Thanksgiving or Easter, so the holidays are when we all come together.
Kathy: My sisters and I raised our children like they were sisters, and I feel that Nicky and Paris and Barron are really making that effort even while Nicky is living in New York.
Nicky: My little girls are best friends with Barron's daughter; the last trip we took, we were at Universal Studios and they wanted to have a sleepover with Milou, they got a kick out of it.
Nicky, you just turned 40, and shared how you are happier than ever and more confident. What is the best thing that you have found about getting older and really coming into yourself?
Nicky: The best thing is being really comfortable with myself. I am very content and very happy personally and professionally. I have a wonderful husband who is the most amazing father and I have three really special children who are sweet, kind, and empathetic.
Kathy: I just wish they had an English accent! If I lived with you, I'd have that English accent in about a month!
You have teamed up with No7. Which of the No7 Lift and Luminate products make you both feel really confident in your skin?
Nicky: I am loving the Lift and Luminate serum. Adding a serum into my beauty routine has really changed my skin; it hydrates it and preps it for makeup, allowing it to glide on smoothly and even out my skin tone.
Kathy: To give you a little background, my mother is a skincare junkie and when she would visit London, she would come back with No7 because they've been around for almost 90 years, so I've always loved it.
I love the new day cream with the SPF, and I'm absolutely in love with the new serum; I put that on after I've washed and toned, and I let it dry for a good minute then I put on my under eye concealer and I use it around my nose, then I'll put on my makeup.
Then, I put a little bit of the serum with some rose water in a little spritz bottle in my purse, so after dinner I'll spray a little bit around my eyes and my mouth to feel a little refreshed and glowy.
What does confidence mean to you both as you get older?
Kathy: As you get older you have learned so much and you've made some mistakes and we learn from those mistakes. I am the happiest and most confident right now I've ever been.
I've got four wonderful children, a wonderful husband – we just celebrated 43 years of marriage – and I have eight incredible grandchildren that give me and Rick so much joy.
Nicky: I think my mom has always taught me to be true to myself, and to always lead with kindness and to always be grateful.
Kathy: A lot of times when people enjoy success in life, they get full of themselves and I always wanted to make sure that my children were grounded, kind, thoughtful and sweet people – that is more important.
What is your favorite thing about being a mom?
Nicky: I get to be a kid all over again – eating the children's cereals and watching the cartoons and all the classic Disney movies.
Kathy: Going to Disneyland for the first time with your grandchildren, and to see it through their eyes.
Kathy, as your children have gotten older and are now parents themselves, who is most like you and your husband?
Kathy: With the grandchildren, Nicky's youngest daughter is exactly like me, and she acts just like me. Lila Grace, Nicky's older daughter, looks more like Paris than Nicky, which is really funny.
But I'm really surprised that Nicky's as relaxed as she is because I felt like I had a China doll [when I had my babies]. My children know a lot more than I did, let's put it that way. We're not given a manual for any of this parenthood stuff.