A clip that Paris Hilton shared of the toast she gave at the birthday party of her mother, Kathy Hilton, has got people talking, not about what she said, but about the fact that Paris Jackson was sitting in a prime spot at the family soiree. Jackson, the 19-year-old daughter of the late Michael Jackson, also attended Paris Hilton’s birthday party last month.

So what gives? The truth is that Paris Jackson has long had a connection with Paris Hilton and the entire Hilton family, which began before either Paris was born.

Kathy and Michael were close friends when they attended the same high school, she explained on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight in May 2011.

“We met when I was 13 and he was 14, and developed a friendship and a bond throughout the years. And we always kept in touch,” Kathy said. “And then when I moved to New York and he would come, and we’d always go to his concerts. And, you know, we started with — we used to make prank phone calls together. And we were little kids.

“We had a really great time. And then he came and visited when Paris was born,” she continued. “And then he ended up living at the … ended up moving into the [Waldorf Astoria New York] for six months, when we were living there for eight years. And right before he died, he was at the Bel-Air Hotel [in L.A.], where we were living while we were renovating our home. So he was there about three or four months. So we got to spend, you know, great time.”

Kathy revealed that she was close to Jackson’s children, including Paris and her brothers — Prince, now 21, and 16-year-old Bigi (better known as Blanket).

“At the Bel-Air, he did not have any nanny at all. And when I’d go to pick up the kids to take them somewhere, he’d be brushing their hair and buttoning up the sweater and just so warm and wonderful. And I just — I love him. His whole family, they’re a really wonderful, beautiful family.”

Both Kathy and Paris Hilton, 37, described their shock when finding out Jackson had died suddenly on June 25, 2009. Kathy went to the hospital, where she said Michael’s siblings La Toya and Randy Jackson took her in to see their brother’s body. Paris went to Michael’s house to find the Jackson children.

View photos Kim Richards, Paris Hilton, La Toya Jackson, and Kathy Hilton attend the premiere party in 2010 for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. (Photo: Jason LaVeris/Getty Images) More

Paris Hilton remembered Michael fondly.

“One of the first memories I have of him was when my mom took us to the music video set of ‘Thriller,’” she said. “And we have the pictures still. I just always loved him. I used to go to his concerts and he’d bring my sister and I on stage, and we’d sing up there.”

Kathy also mentioned to Morgan that La Toya, who was also a close friend, had the story about how Paris Hilton and Paris Jackson came to share a first name. In fact, La Toya spoke about that very subject — their common family name — in a 2012 interview with Yahoo. She said that she, Michael, and Kathy made a name pact as kids.

“It’s so funny because when we were growing up, we all said that we were going to [one day] have children,” La Toya said. “And I told them, ‘Well, I’m going to name my first son Prince and my first daughter Paris.’ We all said it. Then Kathy had kids, she did it. Michael had kids, he did it. And me, well, I only had dogs!”

La Toya said that, from the time she was 16, she named all her dogs Prince and — yep — Paris.

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