Hilary Banks

"*I feel like I can't be successful if somebody's trying to change me, and I can't be myself. My recipes, they are my culture. I mean, some of the food that I showed y'all was passed down from my grandmother, and I'm not watering down a recipe so Becky in Ohio can feel more comfortable. Oh, and also, they told me that my ethnic family was not their target audience, so "Haute Cuisine" probably doesn't like your family either if you're a person of color. So how about you let them know what you think about that, Hilar-istas?*"
—Hilary to her followers[src]
**Hilary Banks** is a main character on Peacock's modern-day reinterpretation, *Bel-Air*. She is portrayed by Coco Jones.

The oldest of the Banks siblings, Hilary is an influencer and aspiring entrepreneur who dropped out of college two years ago to pursue her passion for cooking.

## Biography

### Haute Cuisine interview

Hilary embraces Will upon his arrival in Bel-Air and shows him off to her IG followers before taking him up to Carlton's room to find him something suitable to wear for the fundraiser underway just downstairs. It was her room until she moved into the pool house for more space and the kitchen, where she does her cooking tutorials. Hilary has big aspirations, and two years from now, she intends to be on Forbes. The next morning, Hilary makes breakfast for the family, as she prepares for her interview with "Haute Cuisine," the top food magazine in the country.

Hilary prepares breakfast using her secret recipe, which her family, Will in particular seems to enjoy. Taking their feedback into consideration, Hilary decides to use this very same recipe for the taste test for her Haute Cuisine interview, even as her mother advises her to pick something a little fancier. However, Hilary wishes to remain true to her brand. She'll never be a star if she does the same as everyone else. That evening, Hilary prepares a taste test for the two interviewers from Haute Cuisine. While they're impressed, before they can move forward with an offer, she must first be okay with their requirements: they would want to weigh in on her wardrobe for more neutral colors and before she could post anything, she'd have to submit it for review. However, Hilary draws the lines when they tell her to tone down the spices in her cooking. This leads to an argument with her mother, who can't believe she would throw away such an opportunity.

Hilary goes on live to talk to her followers about the high profile job she turned down from Haute Cuisine after they attempted to force her to change her recipes, which are part of her culture. She also outs them for saying her ethnic family wasn't their target audience.

### Kicked out the house

Hilary agrees to cater her mother's fundraiser with her sorority sisters, during which her mother gives her a shout-out and suggests that all her sisters get in contact with Hilary if they need catering in the future. However, Kendra is still waiting for an apology from Hilary after she accused Haute Cuisine of being racist and sexist, but Hilary refuses and is standing by her accusations, which receive the full support of her mother's sorority sisters, but her mother argues that Hilary's live lacks tact and good judgement, especially considering that Vivian got that interview as a favor to Hilary, who reveals that she never asked her mother to do that. However, Hilary dropped out two years ago without a thing to show for it, and her mother was simply trying to help.

Hilary attends Will's game with her mother and father, who kick Hilary out of the house, considering that she insists on finding her own opportunities. Vivian struggled for her passion, but because it was real, she was willing to sacrifice. And now, she wants to see if Hilary's is real, too, which is a decision that Hilary takes in stride, though she does have a question. If her mother's passion was so real, Hilary questions why she walked away from it.

### Helping Jazz

In search of a place to live, Hilary begins seeking housing with a number of influencer houses, but the house hunt isn't going as well as she hoped, which she shares with Will, who tells her to keep searching for the people who are going to champion her for what she does, but she fears it's not that easy. The real world scares Hilary, and she's already tried to look for an apartment, but she's clearly not ready for life on her own.

To further their father's reach, Hilary and Ashley are tasked with going to local business owners and asking to put his signs and stickers in their window. Their first stop is at Jazz's record shop, where Hilary offers to help with his store's social media presence. She creates him an Instagram and records Jazz as he gives a tour of his shop. She then encourages her followers to come shop with Jazz and follows him on IG herself. While she was happy to help, she wishes she could help herself as much as she helped him. She's terrified of what comes next, but Jazz believes that Hilary will find her way.

After her father's campaign fundraiser, Hilary gets word that she's been accepted into an influencer house after they saw what she did for Jazz. However, her mother is skeptical and tells Hilary that nothing in life is free, leading to becoming upset and telling her mother that a simple congratulations would've been nice.

### Joining the influencer house

Hilary asks for her father's help with packing up the pool house while she plans a dinner for her new house mates, which has proven to be a bit more difficult than she expected. Her father suggests that Hilary ask her mother for help, but they have different tastes and often end up fighting, but that's due to the fact that her mother loves her and worries about her. That night, after advising Will to stay in Bel-Air and do what's best for him, Hilary hosts a dinner to get better acquainted with her house mates. Minus Nathan and Jared's streaking prank, the event goes off without a hitch.

The next day, Hilary learns that Ashley has a crush on one of her friends, who happens to be a girl. Ashley hasn't told anyone else yet because she hasn't figured it all out, but Hilary reminds Ashley that she's only 12 and that she doesn't have to have it all figured out or tell anyone if she doesn't want to, though she is happy that Ashley decided to confide in her. Afterward, Hilary shares a moment with her mother, who reveals that she's proud of all she's accomplished.

Hilary begins recording for her first video at the influencer house, but her clip is interrupted by Nathan and Jared, who are recording a video of their own. They offer to assist her and also warn Hilary that she doesn't want Kylo doesn't play when it comes to his deadlines. She then gets a call from her mom, asking for help with the fundraiser. Before long, Hilary is back home in her family's Bel-Air mansion, cooking up for the guests of the fundraiser. However, she gets a call from Kylo, who tells her that she's approaching the 24-hour exodus, referring to the fact that if she goes a whole day without posting, she's going to lose 3% of her followers. She offers to make a cooking tutorial, but Kylo warns her that they're repetitive and advises her to try something else. With this in the back of her mind, Hilary resumes cooking, with Ashley at her side, as the girls discuss how their mom is on edge given that Gayle was like a sister to her.

After meeting Lucia for the first time, Hilary advises Ashley to tell her how she feels. Not long later, she is joined in the kitchen by Joan, Denise, and Monica, who heard she moved out. Hilary claims that it's been amazing, but they still tell her that Viv is keeping the pool house open in case she would like to move back. Hilary retorts that she'd rather go homeless than move back home. She then gets a message from Kylo, who warns her that she's only a few hours away from digital disaster. On her way out, Hilary finds Ashley sitting on the steps alone after Lucia revealed that she likes Will. Hilary tells Ashley that heart break is a part of life and offers to stay to keep her company, but Ashley refuses. Their parents are already convinced that Hilary is moving back, but Ashley told them it's not going to happen because Hilary is following her dream and won't give up no matter how difficult it gets. Hilary does just that by spicing up her cuisine tutorials by cooking in purple lingerie.

### Thirsty Chef

Hilary learns from Monica that Kylo went ahead and uploaded her Thirsty Chef video without her permission. Monica explains that showcasing her sexuality can be liberating. But black women are already hypersexualized, Hilary retorts, and that's not her brand. She tries texting Kylo to take the video down, but he ignores her calls. So, she goes to her mom for help, who advises Hilary to be her own savior and handle it herself rather than asking her father for help. Later that night, Hilary chaperones Will and Carlton's party, during which she is joined by Jazz. They head back into her father's office, where they kiss until Hilary gets word of Kylo's location.

Hilary and Jazz track Kylo down to an influencer party in Hollywood and demand that he take down the video. He was simply juicing the algorithm. However, Hilary has no intention of building an audience from gimmicks and clickbait, but when she is approached by two influencers, who salute her for her recent video, she begins to reconsider. Furthermore, Kylo reveals that he was just talking to some bigwigs from Victoria Secrets who wanted to meet Hilary. And while Jazz accuses her of selling her soul, Hilary sees this as a major opportunity to build her following.

### Leaving Kylo's house

Hilary is building up anticipation for her next sexy chef video, otherwise it could get played out quick. However, Kylo reminds Hilary that her latest video did 3 million and that her regular tutorials barely do a fraction of that. He doesn't want her to lose momentum, but Hilary told her parents that it was a one-off thing, so she first needs to prepare them for more before moving forward. And she does just that. After reuniting with her Aunt Vy, who she's remained in contact with through social media, Hilary reveals that she not only intends to keep up her Thirsty Chef video, but that she plans to make more as well. This could impact her father's campaign, but Hilary isn't concerned, reasoning that this is a good business decision for her. While her mother doesn't quite understand what Hilary is trying to do, she asks if this truly reflects who Hilary is.

After giving her mother's words some thought, Hilary decides against making any more sexy chef video, which doesn't surprise Kylo, who accuses her of being a habitual quitter. She did so with college, as well as several jobs and internships. Hilary insists that she doesn't need his help and threatens to leave, but according to her contract, if she does, all the content she created in the house belongs to him and she'll owe him a $50,000 kill fee, which she accepts in order to be free. And while at Will's party, she apologizes to Jazz and admits he was right.

Hilary joins her family for church, where she runs into Ivy, an old friend and fellow influencer. They've been friends since they were children, when Ivy taught Hilary how to use eyeliner in the bathroom. Years later, Ivy now has 10.2 million followers, which leads Hilary to propose a collab. Hilary then heads inside, where Carlton is set to perform alongside the choir, but he chokes and flees the stage. Hilary writes it off as nerves, but Will informs her that Carlton has been using Xanax and coke, which she was unaware of. She advises Will to go talk to him, given that he has seen first-hand Carlton has been up to.

Hilary and Jazz break into Kylo's creator house to steal back her stuff, including her sign, leading Jazz to question why they're stealing her own stuff instead of just getting money from her father to pay Kylo's contract kill fee. Hilary explains that she'd rather do it on her own, with help from Jazz of course, for which she owes him. In that case, Jazz proposes they go back to his place after, but Hilary suggests he come back with her to her hotel room and order room service.

### Partnering with Ivy

Hilary attends her mother's gala in honor of her being awarded the fellowship and brings Ivy along with her. There, they discuss how they're all artists in some manner and how they can expand their reach. The following day, Hilary is in bed with Jazz when she learns that Ivy's post at her mother's gala got her followed by two top tier influencers, leading Jazz to remark that Hilary should look into better use of her strategizing abilities and partner with Ivy. She also gets a call from Will, who needs her help with Lisa.

Hilary advises Ivy at her photoshoot to rely less on her dress and body, and more on her story and drama. It's hard to get your audience to see you in a different light, Hilary says, before advising Ivy to move more and give "Michelle Obama Elle cover 2018." Hilary then proposes a partnership after she saw the boost they both got from one event and suggests that Ivy buy Kylo out of the influencer house, which they could rebrand as a female forward space and would also mean Hilary no longer owes Kylo. Later that night, Hilary tries to convince Will to stay after he learned the truth about his father.

### Managing the influencer house

Hilary and Ivy are now partners after having bought the influencer house, though Hilary quickly begins to feel as if Ivy is treating her as an inferior and expresses her frustration to Jazz, who urges Hilary to set the tone and then proposes that they finally go public with their relationship, but Hilary fears they may ruin a good thing by labeling it too soon. However, after watching Ivy push up on Jazz the entire night at Ashley's party, Hilary confesses that she and Jazz are dating. She was reluctant to say so earlier because she was scared, but now she's ready for commitment and asks Jazz to be her man.

Hilary and Jazz get into their first real fight after he catches Ivy driving his precious Impala for the influencer house photoshoot, despite him making Hilary promise that no one besides her would get behind the wheel. Jazz is upset with Hilary, accusing her of lying, but she says that Ivy decided to switch it up, leading Jazz to question the nature of their relationship and how she's always forcing Hilary to do things. He wonders if Hilary would've even called him her boyfriend if Ivy hadn't kissed him, but Hilary explains that was the moment she realized how much she cared for him. Jazz also realized that only he posted about their relationship on IG. Hilary never said she'd do that because she has to maintain an aura of obtainability, which frustrates Jazz, though she does later apologize and even takes their relationship to the next level by having lunch with her parents.

Hilary gives a Simply Spiked drinks marketing executive a tour of the influencer house in hopes of developing a partnership to market the product. If they decide to move forward, the associate would like to know if Ivy would be willing to participate, which Hilary insists she would. However, Ivy's lawyers advised her against endorsing the competition, which Hilary finds laughable, as Simply Spiked is an international brand whereas no one even knows what Ivy's drink is. Ivy disagrees and turns down the partnership. Despite this, Hilary informs the marketing executive that she's looking forward to closing the deal.

### Meeting Jazz's parents

Hilary takes the next step in her relationship with Jazz by meeting his parents. To Jazz's surprise, Hilary arrives in a hijab and greets his parents accustom to their Muslim religion. Throughout the night, she takes her research of the Muslim culture too far and begins reciting her knowledge of their religion until Jazz stops her and suggests they change the subject. When they awaken the following morning, Jazz and Hilary lay in bed and discuss how she came to dinner in a hijab and was spouting Muslim facts as if she was Wikipedia. Hilary simply wanted his parents to like her and in the process she acted a little crazy, which she regrets. Hilary wonders if they're too different, but Jazz insists they aren't and says they will always ride for each other.

### On the outs with Jazz

The ladies begin to grow inpatient, as they've been missing out on opportunities ever since Hilary took control of the house. Hilary urges them to be patient, as she's close to closing the Simply Spiked deal. After some words of encouragement from her mother, as well as her blessing to promote the influencer house from the upcoming gallery show, Hilary invites Monica, Phanta, and her ex-boyfriend and current NFL superstar Lamarcus Alton to help promote the influencer house. However, in inviting him, she causes a strain on her relationship with Jazz. Nevertheless, the engagement they receive through LaMarcus finally allows Hilary to secure the Simply Spiked deal.

Hilary grows concerned, as Jazz has not been responding to her messages and has been a bit distant lately. She invited him to the reunion, but he hasn't responded, which Ashley points out is likely due to the fact that she invited her ex-boyfriend to their mother's art show. Will agrees, adding that his pride is likely hurt after finding out she dated a top NFL draft pick. Hilary continues to text Jazz without response. It's then that Lamarcus arrives at her father's behest. Hilary pulls her father to the side and questions why he would invite him. Phil figured she'd be okay with it, given Hilary invited him to her mother's art show. Hilary then asks to speak with Lamarcus alone and tells him that they're not getting back together. They split up initially because she had bigger dreams than just being his arm candy.

### Breaking up with Jazz

After expressing to Will how she would just like to see Jazz put forth some effort, Jazz plans a date for him and Hilary at her favorite restaurant. Just as they're about to kiss, the waitress reveals that his card has declined. Jazz becomes upset and insists that his card has money. Hilary offers to pay, frustrating Jazz even further. When they return home, Jazz insists that he had the money and wishes Hilary would've given the waitress enough time to check his card. He's upset that she didn't believe he had the money and brings up Lamarcus, though she insists that wasn't the case. She tells Jazz that he's ruining the night and that she's tired of dancing around his insecurities. She asks him about the date and says that how much money he has doesn't matter to her. Jazz doesn't believe that's true and is doubtful she wants to walk red carpets with an Uber driver. Hilary refuses to argue any further. If Jazz can't look past their differences, then they can't be together, with Hilary declaring the end of their relationship.

In the days following her break up with Jazz, Hilary spends much of her time in bed. However, after being convinced by Monica and Phanta to capitalize on their momentum, Hilary approaches Lamarcus with a cross promotion idea, one that he greenlights without even reading her proposal. Later, he surprises Hilary with a billboard on Sunset. While he claimed to only want to be friends, as soon as he saw her, there was no question he wanted her back. He refuses to lose Hilary again, and for as long as it takes, he will continue to pursue her. He's now left her speechless twice in one day, leading Hilary to hug Lamarcus, who then takes a photo of Hilary in front of her billboard.

As planned, Hilary stages a cross promotion event for her influencer house and Lamarcus' football team. Hilary claims that she and Lamarcus are just friends, but the girls aren't convinced, especially after Lamarcus kisses her on the cheek. Hilary then gets a calendar alert for Jazz's first meet and greet at the store today, which she helped him plan. She contemplates texting Jazz and wishing him good luck with his meet and greet, but ultimately decides to enjoy her event instead. After their game, Hilary watches Jazz meet and greet, which is being streamed through his IG live. After the event comes to an end, Hilary declines Lamarcus' offer to join him in the hot tub to instead attend Jazz's meet and greet, but upon her arrival, she finds him dancing with girls. Upset, Hilary returns to Lamarcus' place and kisses him.

After a night together, Hilary and Lamarcus discuss taking a trip to Paris. However, Hilary doesn't want to leave while the house is finally gaining traction. After the amazing night they had, Lamarcus doesn't want to lose touch with Hilary and believes that the trip could be a good way to reconnect. And so, Hilary agrees to at least consider his offer. After seeks counsel from her parents, Hilary receives an unexpected visit from Jazz, who doesn't want to leave anything unsaid. She's the perfect woman, and everything he said and did was to push her away before she could do it to him. She didn't get out of bed for days, sent every call to voicemail, canceled all her appointments, because that's how hurt she was. Jazz tells Hilary that he loves Hilary. He can't promise her that she'll never hurt again, but he's willing to take that chance on her and asks if she's willing to take it on him, but she's not sure. When she does, Jazz tells Hilary that she knows where to find him, as he kisses her before leaving. Unfortunately for Jazz, Hilary decides to go on her trip.

## Appearances

* Keep Ya Head Up
* Yamacraw
* Canvass
* PA to LA
* The Strength to Smile
* Payback's A B\*tch
* No One Wins When the Family Feuds
* Can't Knock the Hustle
* Where To?
* Speaking Truth
* Compromised
* Don't Kill My Vibe
* Excellence Is Everywhere
* Let the Best Man Win
* Under Pressure
* Pursuit of Happiness
* Just Like Old Times
* Don't Look Back

## Trivia

* Hilary is more intelligent and independent in the reboot, a contrast to the original series, where she was self-centered and spoiled.
* Hilary's Instagram name is "Belairprinc3$$" and she has 50,000 followers, who she refers to as "Hilar-istas." She also has 275,000 TikTok followers.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Season 1, Episode 1: ***Dreams and Nightmares***
2. ↑ Season 1, Episode 2: ***Keep Ya Head Up***
3. ↑ Season 1, Episode 3: ***Yamacraw***
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Season 1, Episode 4: ***Canvass***
5. ↑ Season 1, Episode 5: ***PA to LA***
6. ↑ Season 1, Episode 6: ***The Strength to Smile***
7. ↑ Season 1, Episode 7: ***Payback's A B\*tch***
8. ↑ Season 1, Episode 8: ***No One Wins When the Family Feuds***
9. ↑ Season 1, Episode 9: ***Can't Knock the Hustle***
10. ↑ Season 1, Episode 10: ***Where To?***
11. ↑ Season 2, Episode 1: ***A Fresh Start***
12. ↑ Season 2, Episode 2: ***Speaking Truth***
13. ↑ Season 2, Episode 3: ***Compromised***
14. ↑ Season 2, Episode 4: ***Don't Kill My Vibe***
15. ↑ Season 2, Episode 5: ***Excellence Is Everywhere***
16. ↑ Season 2, Episode 6: ***Let the Best Man Win***
17. ↑ Season 2, Episode 7: ***Under Pressure***
18. ↑ Season 2, Episode 8: ***Pursuit of Happiness***
19. ↑ Season 2, Episode 8: ***Just Like Old Times***
20. ↑ Season 2, Episode 8: ***Don't Look Back***