You probably saw some of them for the first time on a security camera. Now, the cast of The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist are in full view, right in front of the lens. The three-part series about the burgling squad of fame-hungry teenagers who robbed the homes of Paris HIlton, Audrina Patridge, Orlando Bloom and more drops on Sept. 28. It features extensive interviews with several of the important figures in the scandal, along with some supporting characters you might recognize from the 2010s internet. Ahead of the conflicting stories and hard-core MySpace-era nostalgia, get to know the key players.
Haines is a former actor, TV personality and Los Angeles party girl. Outside of her involvement with the Bling Ring, she and her family starred in a reality show called Pretty Wild on E!, which, among other things, documented Haines’ arrest and subsequent trial for her involvement in the burglaries. Though she maintains she was only involved in a single burglary (the home of actor Orlando Bloom), she’s thought of as the central figure in the Bling Ring story. Haines pleaded no contest to one count of residential burglary and accepted a sentence of 180 days in county jail to avoid trial (she served 32 days), as well as three years of formal probation after the event. After going to residential treatment for heroin addiction — Haines says her addiction got serious during the time of the events depicted in The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist — she’s been sober for 11 years, has two children and works as an advocate for people recovering from substance abuse.
Norgo was arguably the key player in the Bling Ring robberies, joining his then best friend Rachel Lee (who does not appear in The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist) on a multi-home robbing spree and stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. At the time, Norgo’s role was to stake out celebrity homes and plot entry points, and his involvement in the crimes was prolific. Once he was caught, he faced dozens of charges. However, he ultimately pleaded no contest to burglarizing the homes of Lindsay Lohan and Audrina Patridge and was sentenced to two years in prison (he served one). Today, Norgo runs an online business out of his home with his husband of five years.
Arlington is a former actor and the mother of Alexis Haines and Gabrielle Hames. Her unconventional and often questionable parenting practices (as well as her involvement with the Church of Religious Science) are discussed in The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist. Today, Arlington is a professional certified life coach. She’s also developing a book and YouTube channel dedicated to healing fractured relationships and family systems.
Hames is Arlington’s youngest daughter and was heavily featured in Pretty Wild (along with family friend Tess Taylor). Hames did not participate in any of the crimes depicted in The Bling Ring, and after the events that transpired from 2010 to 2012, she retreated from the spotlight. She’s married and has two children.
Patridge is a model, actor and television personality most known for her role in the 2006 reality series The Hills, which chronicles her life along with friends Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag and Whitney Port as they navigate life and love in and around Los Angeles. Partridge’s home was robbed of thousands of dollars worth of clothing, accessories and personal items by the members of the Bling Ring, and she says the event took a serious toll on her mental health and sense of safety in her own home. She’s the only celebrity interviewed in the series, though the group also stole from the homes of several other celebrities.
Hilton, born Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., is known as the internet’s first and most notorious celebrity gossip blogger. In The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist, Norgo describes using Hilton’s online gossip column to learn what celebrities were doing and when so they could more easily steal from their homes. Hilton’s work has repeatedly come under criticism for its invasive nature, sparking countless conversations on celebrities’ rights to privacy.
Kading is a former Los Angeles detective, known for being a part of the law enforcement task force that investigated the murders of Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. He’s interviewed extensively in The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist, offering insight into the tangled web of crimes committed by the group. In 2011, he self-published Murder Rap: The Untold Story of the Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations.
Kee and Kim are the Los Angeles deputy district attorneys who prosecuted Haines and Norgo for their crimes.
