Paris Hilton Spent 23 Days in Jail in 2007, Calling It a "Traumatic Experience"

Few celebrities have had a more polarizing, fascinating career than Paris Hilton. After setting a number of trends in the early 2000s, things got a little rocky for the hotel heiress later in the decade. Perhaps one of the low points in her public life came in 2007, when Paris spent 23 days in prison.

Almost two decades later, there are still people who want to know more about why exactly Paris wound up in prison, and what she's said about the experience since she was released. Here's what we know about why Paris wound up in prison in the first place.

Paris had to spend 23 days in a California prison in 2007 after she violated her probation related to a previous traffic violation. The drama started in September of 2006 when was arrested for driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent. In November of that year, her license was suspended, and in January of 2007, she pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charge. She was put on 36 months of probation and was also fined $1,500.

In February of 2007, she was stopped for driving with a suspended license, and signed an agreement saying that she was not supposed to be driving. The next month, she was caught driving 70 mph in a 35 mph speed zone without headlights on at night, and with a suspended license. She was charged by the Los Angeles count prosecutor's office with violating her parole both through the traffic violation and because she had failed to enroll in a court-ordered alcohol-education program.

In May of 2007, she was sentenced to 45 days in prison for violating her parole. Paris said that she planned to appeal the ruling, and also that she was seeking a pardon from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ultimately, she dropped her plans to appeal and reported to start serving her sentence on June 5, 2007, entering the Century Regional Detention Facility two days after attending the MTV Video Music Awards.

While it seemed like she might initially be granted house arrest over an unspecified medical issue, she ultimately served more than three weeks in prison before ultimately being released.

After her release, she appeared on Larry King Live and said that the experience of being jail had given her a new outlook on life.

“It was a very traumatic experience, but I feel like God does make everything happen for a reason," she explained. "It gave me a time out in life. … I took that time to get to know myself. I have a new outlook on life."

Paris had another run-in with the law in 2010 when she was arrested in Las Vegas for cocaine possession.

While she managed to avoid a felony convicition in that case, and avoided any jail time as a result, she was forced to pay additional fines and complete community service. She was also sentenced to another year of probation.