This week in nostalgia history: Paris Hilton violates probation (again)

Victoria Beckham gives birth to her first child, March 4, 1999

1999 was a big year for the Beckhams, who welcomed a seven-pound, beautiful baby boy on March 4, 1999 a few months before tying the knot in signature OTT style. Brooklyn Joseph Beckham was born at 7:48 p.m., via caesarean at the Portland Hospital in London, he same hospital Scary Spice a.k.a. Mel B., gave birth to her baby girl, Phoenix Chi two weeks prior.

Shortly after the birth, David Beckham addressed the media outside the hospital saying, “It’s brilliant. Victoria is very well. She is sitting up drinking champagne and has spoken to the other girls. It’s something I’ve always wanted, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. It was very exciting but also a little bit scary. There were no complications. It was lovely.”

Rumours about the baby’s name hinted at it being a reference to them conceiving him whilst in Brooklyn. Victoria Beckham debunked those rumours in her autobiography Learning to Fly though, saying, “It was when we were in Marbella that we came up with the name Brooklyn. We already knew he was a boy and so I knew he could end up a footballer, so it had to be a name that was a bit blokey. I had always liked the name Brooke and then we suddenly thought about Brooklyn. I’d always like it as a place – it’s very multi-cultural, very grounded. And it was only afterwards that I realized how appropriate it was because it was in New York that I found out I was pregnant and where David came after the World Cup.” His middle name Joseph was chosen as a family name and it is both David’s middle name and his Grandfather’s proper name.

When the couple wed in July (just over a year after getting engaged in 1998), baby Brooklyn appeared in many the photos from the nuptials, adorably perched in David Beckham’s arms.

Paris Hilton violates probation (again), February 27, 2007

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton landed herself in county jail for 23 days after violating her probation twice, first on January 15, and again on February 27. These two probations were linked to her DUI on Sept. 7, 2006 in Hollywood, when she was pulled over by police for reckless driving and failed a field sobriety test (her blood-alcohol level was at .08 percent).

After her first violation for driving with a suspended license, Hilton was sentenced to 36 months of probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines. The second time around, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department pulled her over for reckless driving with her headlights off. As a result, her Bentley was impounded. According to Quad City Times, Elliot Mintz, Hilton’s spokesperson, said Hilton wasn’t aware at the time that her license was suspended, although a copy of the document Hilton signed on January 15 was found in her car’s glove compartment, stating otherwise.

At her court hearing, Hilton relayed her grievances to the judge before he announced the sentence, which CNN reported, saying, “I’m very sorry and from now on I’m going to pay complete attention to everything. I’m sorry and I did not do it on purpose at all.” Ignoring her pleas, the judge sentenced her to 45 days in county jail, saying, “I can’t believe that either attorney did not tell her that the suspension had been upheld,” continuing, “She wanted to disregard everything that was said and continue to drive no matter what.”

Ryan Seacrest secured an exclusive interview with Hilton for E News while she was in jail. When asked what the toughest part of the experience, she replied, “Well, you know, it’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to experience in my life and, I don’t know, it’s just so surreal. It’s so crazy. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would’ve ended up in…At first, I went through so many emotions. You know—anger, upset that all of this happened.”

Hilton served 23 days of a 45-day sentence during which she was in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. During an interview with Larry King after she was released, the heiress said she passed her time in the cell by meditating, reading books, writing in her journal and opening fan letters.

We’ll be covering more about Hilton’s jail time later this year.