| Real Name: | Pamela Hilburger |
| Birthday: | 1951 |
| Net Worth: | $1 million |
| Height: | N/A |
| Occupation: | Jewelry Designer, Former Wife of Hiroaki Aoki, Mother of Devon Aoki |
Pamela Hilburger works as a jewelry designer. You might be wondering how a little-known jewelry designer is in the media spotlight. Well, she is famous for being the former wife of Hiroaki Aoki, and the mother of Devon Aoki.
Her former husband’s connections helped her grow her business. And being the mother of Devon has brought in some perks as well.
Her former husband is a famous Japanese-American businessman who established the Benihana chain of Japanese restaurants.
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Who Is Her Famous Daughter?
We said that Pamela has made it to the media spotlight because of her former husband and celebrity daughter. While she got divorced from her husband many years ago, she continues taking care of her daughter.
Born Devon Edwenna Aoki in August 1982, she is an American actress and fashion model. Devon Aoki was born in New York City and grew up in Malibu, California. She attended high school at The American School in London.
Her father was former wrestler turned restaurant magnate Hiroaki Aoki, sometimes called Rocky Aoki. Devon has English and German heritage from her mother’s side, and Japanese from her father’s side. The young woman began her modeling career at 13 years, the same year her godmother introduced her to Kate Moss. Nowadays, she is the aunt of fellow model Yumi Nu.
Devon grew up with her older sister and younger brother, as well as her half-siblings. One of them is the famous DJ Steve Aoki.
In 1997, Devon made her runway debut, and since then has walked for brands like Balenciaga, Chanel, and Comme des Garcons. In 1998, when she was 16 years of age, she replaced Naomi Campbell as the face of Versace.
Over the years, Devon has been featured in campaigns for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Hugo Boss, Lancome, Tiffany, Oscar de la Renta, Jean Paul Gaultier, Celine, Marc Jacobs, and many more. As a model, she has appeared on the cover of magazines like Nylon, Elle Girl, Cosmo Girl, Harper’s Bazaar, Her World, Vogue, and many more.
Thanks to her modeling career, Devon has been cast in several movies. Her most famous arguably is in the Fast and the Furious franchise, appearing in the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious. She has also appeared in Sin City, Dead or Alive, Mutant Chronicles, and more.
Devon was cast as Tatsu Yamashiro in Arrow season 3, but due to a scheduling conflict, she was replaced by Rila Fukushima.
In the fashion industry, Devon is considered an icon, with some calling her a cult model and “one of the most recognizable alternative faces of the 90s”. During her teenage years, Devon was one of the most in-demand girls.
Devon is married to James Bailey. Together, they have three daughters, making Pamela a grandmother. In 2009 she retired from acting to focus on motherhood. As we said before, model and singer Yumi Nu is her niece.
With her half-brother Steve Aoki, she co-chaired the 2018 Red Cross Gala in San Francisco.
Quick Bio
Now let’s go back to her mother, Pamela Hilburger. She is known as a jewelry designer for some well-known companies. And it is all thanks to her husband’s connections. When you are the former wife of a big Japanese name, you can easily knock on doors and have them opened for you.
But many more people recognize her as the mother of Devon Aoki since her marriage to the Japanese businessman was long ago.
Born to Rosa D. and Edwin Hilburger, she has five siblings. She is the eldest of her siblings. Her older brother Mark Hilburger passed away, leaving her as the eldest child of the family. The names of her siblings include sisters Richard Hilburger and Valerie Hilburger, and brothers Derek Hilburger and Larry Hilburger.
Her actual date of birth is unknown. Yet, some sources claim her birth year is 1951, making her a woman in the early 70s as of May 2023.
Marriage To Hiroaki Aoki
As we said before, many more people recognize Pamela as the mother of Devon than the former wife of Hiroaki. The reason for that is that the two began dating in 1981, and several months later tied the knot.
Their relationship lasted for only a decade, calling it quits in 1991. That was way before social media and news outlets were as popular as they are today.
Which is why fewer people recognize her as a former spouse. They divorced many years ago but remained friends and raised their three children together.
Pamela was his second wife. Hiroaki got married to his first wife, Chizuru Kobayashi Aoki in 1964, and that marriage lasted for two decades.
Following his divorce from Pamela, Aoki got married to his third wife, Keiko Ono in 2002. They remained together until his eventual death in July 2008.
Pamela and Aoki’s marriage produced three children, Devon, Denika Aoki, and Cindi Aoki.
Is She On Social Media?
As far as we know, Pamela is not active on social media. She doesn’t have a profile on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. And it is understandable. Pamela is a woman in her 70s and would probably spend her time otherwise than browsing and scrolling through feeds.
Her daughter, Devon, on the other hand, has an Instagram profile with more than 950k followers. You can sometimes find pictures of Pamela on her daughter’s profile.
Net Worth
So, do you want to know how much you can earn as a jewelry designer in Hollywood? Well, a well-connected one like Pamela can earn a decent amount of money.
Per some reports, her net worth is $1 million. That is nothing compared to the money her daughter and husband have earned. For comparison, her daughter, American model, and actress Devon Aoki has a net worth of $30 million.
We also have to talk about the net worth of her former husband. In 2005, he sued four of his children, Grace, Kevin, Kyle, and Echo for an alleged attempt to take control of the companies he founded. At the time, those companies had a value close to $100 million. The children assumed control of their father’s estate after a long battle before his eventual death.
Yet, they do not have access to the money. The money is in a stock-holding trust invested in Benihana of Tokyo and operated by Keiko Aoki. They will have access to the money when each of them turns 45. Two of those children are Devon and famous millionaire DJ Steve Aoki.
