Photos: Paris checks inKEY POINTS:
She's done the crime, and now she's doing the time.
Multi-millionaire A-list celebrity heiress Paris Hilton is now officially a jailbird, and jail staff are so far describing her as a "polite and gracious" prisoner.
According to celebrity news website Tmz.com, barely a day into her 23-day sentence, remorseful Paris is winning over the jail staff and is said to be coping well with being confined to a tiny cell.
Her lawyer, Richard A Hutton, describes her as "doing well under the circumstances" and praised the star for being "gracious, polite and thankful" to those around her.
Her attitude is: I'm going to come in here, I'm going to do my time, get it over with, and I'm going to show the world who I really am."
Hutton told TMZ Paris is in and "administrative segregation" (another name for solitary confinement) cell because of her celebrity status.
The 26-year-old socialite will serve a 23-day jail sentence for violating probation on a drink-driving charge.
To avoid a media frenzy, cunning Paris surrendered at the LA Men's Central Jail yesterday a day early and was driven to the women's prison with little fuss or fanfare.
Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Hilton was co-operative and easy to work with.
"Her demeanour was helpful. She was focused, she was cooperative," he told Associated Press.
During her checking in, Hilton was booked, fingerprinted, photographed, medically screened and issued with the official prison clothing - a short-sleeved, orange jumpsuit.
Hilton was later given her first meal: cereal, bread and juice.
According to TMZ, the actress-cum-pop singer is said to be unhappy with her situation, but is resigned to getting the job done and seeing out the remainder of her jail sentence.
A far cry from her usual lavish surroundings, Paris is being housed in a "special needs" unit at the jail, separate from the other 22,000 inmates. As for her modest cell, it's described as measuring 12x8 feet (3.7m-by-2.4m), with a bunk bed, sink and toilet.
The facility, a sterile-looking two-story concrete building located in an industrial area 19km southeast of downtown Los Angeles, is labelled by inmates as "hell" and an "awful, dirty place."
Paris made an appearance at the MTV Movie Awards earlier yesterday before heading to jail, where she told reporters: "I'm definitely scared, but I'm ready to face my sentence."
"I am ready to face the consequences of violating probation," Paris said beforehand. "During the past few weeks I have had a lot of time to think and have come to realise I made some mistakes."
- NZHERALD STAFF
