Kathy Hilton Shares Update on Bijou Phillips Amid Kidney Disease

Kathy Hilton and her family have stood by their longtime friend Bijou Phillips as she navigates her kidney disease battle.

During a conversation with Us Weekly at the Reality TV Greats dinner hosted by Threads and Dear Media on March 18 in West Hollywood, Hilton, 67, shared that Phillips initially faced significant fears regarding her condition. “She was really afraid, and she was crying,” Hilton revealed, noting Phillips’ apprehension about undergoing dialysis and her fear that it might not succeed.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star recounted how her husband, Richard Hilton, reached out to Phillips, 45, offering words of encouragement.

“He got her on the phone, [and] he said, ‘Listen, you listen to the doctor … You have a young child,’” Hilton recalled, mentioning that Richard also helped facilitate Phillips’ admission to UCLA. “She was like, ‘You’re right, you’re right.’”

Kathy mentioned that she and Phillips’ close friends form “a big family of friends” who support one another during difficult times. When Phillips was hospitalized, Kathy’s daughters, Nicky and Paris Hilton, were among the friends who stayed with her.

“There are a lot of people that were there every minute with her,” Kathy recalled.

Kathy expressed that Phillips has a “great group of friends” and an “incredible” family. Phillips intends to visit Kathy’s home soon to spend time with the Hilton family.

Phillips is “really grateful” for the support she has received, according to Kathy. Following Phillips’ recent Us Weekly cover story, nearly 1,000 people have signed up to be potential kidney donors.

“How unbelievable is that, and how great is that for the hospital,” Kathy reflected. “Not everybody will be a match, but these people are into it and want to stay on the list to help other people.”

Kathy shared that a friend of Nicki’s applied to be a donor for Phillips but was unfortunately not a match.

“She’s never met Bijou, but she still wants to continue on the journey,” she said.

Last month, Phillips revealed that she was in the hospital and in need of a second kidney transplant.

Related: Inside Bijou Phillips’ Health Struggles as She Seeks 2nd Kidney Donor

Even before Bijou Phillips disclosed her need for a second kidney transplant, she had been candid about her ongoing health issues. Born with underdeveloped kidneys to musicians John Phillips and Geneviève Waïte, she underwent her first transplant in 2017. “I’m asking as a friend, a sister, an […]

“That [first] transplant gave me 8 precious years to be a mother to my daughter — but I have had many complications since, including the BK virus which led to both a cellular and antibody rejection,” she wrote in a February statement. “I am currently under care of Dr Anjay Rastogi at UCLA and back on dialysis.”

In her Us cover story, Phillips shared her determination to fight for her daughter, Fianna, whom she shares with her ex-husband Danny Masterson. (Masterson is incarcerated after being found guilty of rape in 2023.)

“Before the first transplant, I went through a dark night of the soul. You get to this point where you have to be OK with your life and think, ‘You know what? I’m proud of myself. I’ve checked all the boxes I wanted to check. I feel confident leaving.’ I was married and able to let go and be at peace with it. It’s sort of the death of the ego, because there’s this part of you that wants to keep going and make another movie and make another album and fight, fight, fight,” she exclusively told Us. “You have that fire inside of you when you’re an artist … Now I’m a single mom and things are different. I want to be here for her, and I have to be here for her. The fight is back. That had been gone for a long time. I’m it. I’m all she’s got.”