Long Beach firefighter's 3-year-old daughter becomes a TMZ star

Celebrity Paris Hilton approached family at LAX when she noticed their child was crying

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A minute and 22 seconds into the video, Paris Hilton tries to calm Sam and Jessica Pinto's 3-year-old daughter, Zoey.

Local firefighter Sam Pinto and his family ended up on TMZ after an impromptu encounter with celebrity Paris Hilton at Los Angeles International Airport on June 6.

Pinto and his wife, Jessica, were at LAX preparing to head back to New York after attending a wedding in California when Hilton came off of a flight and noticed their 3-year-old daughter Zoey crying.

Hilton took a moment to greet the family and tried to cheer their daughter up after their eventful weekend in Los Angeles, and paparazzi video of the encounter quickly spread on social media.


Three days prior to their encounter with Hilton, Pinto said that he and his daughter ran into former President Bill Clinton at an In-N-Out Burger outside L.A., where Clinton was reportedly campaigning for his wife, Hillary.

“It was exciting,” said Pinto, who is also president of the Eastholme Civic Association. “It’s not often that you travel and meet one well-known person. What started off as a family weekend for a wedding turned into speaking to a former president and a celebrity in the same weekend. It was a great experience.”

Although his daughter may not fully remember the encounters, Pinto said that he believes it will be a great memory to share with her when she grows older.

“When she grows up, we are going to look back and laugh, telling her, ‘Look how many famous people wanted to meet you,’” Pinto said.