Paris Hilton’s Rise From Heiress to Mogul

Paris Hilton’s Rise From Heiress to Mogul

Everyone knows or has heard about Paris Hilton. I’ve often felt like the world woke up one day and suddenly the name Paris Hilton was all people ever knew. Of course, that is just my biased opinion because Paris has been famous her whole life given how she was born into richness and fame. However, how exactly did she rise to become a mogul because truth be told, she did not only rely on her family’s riches and popularity. Here’s how Paris Hilton rose from being a heiress to a mogul.

1. She released a documentary

Roger Casas-Alatriste, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In a bid to show the world who she really was, Hilton released a new documentary of the same title as her podcast, to shed more light into the kind of woman she was behind her ‘spoiled rich girl’ character that everyone associated her with. In this documentary, she revealed alleged incidences of abuse at a residential behavioural school that she was sent to as a teenager and which allegedly left her ‘traumatized.’ She quoted that staff at Provo Canyon (the school she attended) “got off on “torturing children and seeing them naked.” She recalled incidences where she was physically and mentally abused forced into solitary confinement and given prescription drugs. Of course, the documentary received mixed reactions but this made her even more famous in her own right.

2. She debuted as a socialite at only age 15

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At only 15 years old, Paris debuted as a socialite in New York and began frequenting popular nightclubs and high-profile events. In fact, in 1999, a profile in the New Yorker was written about her and Nicky Richie that said, “At 16 and 18, Nicky and Paris Hilton are the littlest socialites in town. Thin, blonde, and wellborn… they moved from LA with their parents three years ago and are now out and about with the city’s most entitled teens.”

3. Paris started pursuing modeling at age 19

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Apart from being a socialite at such a young age, Paris also began pursuing a modeling career at 19 years old and signed with Donal Trump’s agency, T Management. She managed to nail the modeling thing quite well seeing as how people started knowing her more because of this and not because of her rich family that she always seemed to be crucified for.

4. She was featured in various prominent magazines

nicolas genin from Paris, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In September 2000, Paris was featured in that month’s issue of Vanity Fair alongside her sister. She then walked in the New York Fashion Week in 2001 and later on also appeared on the covers of US Vogue, British Tatler, Giola, and FHM  magazines in Italy. This skyrocketed her fame beyond being rich and during this period she became the face of so many advertised products.

5. She ventured into screen acting too

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In the early 2000s, Hilton dabbled in screen acting, starring in independent teen thrillers like ‘Sweetie Pie,’ and made a cameo appearance as herself in Zoolander, alongside Ben Stiller. Around 2006, she also made a guest appearance in the popular thriller series, Supernatural where she acted as herself. She went on to also guest star in the OC, Las Vegas, and Veronica Mars. During her acting, she proved to the world that she isn’t really a ‘dumb blonde’ but that she can really act.

6. She started a reality TV Show alongside Nicole Richie

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Paris ended up cementing her image in the pop culture world when she starred alongside a fellow socialite, Nicole Richie in a reality TV series that was known as ‘The Simple Life,’ which was released on Fox. The show premiered in 2003 and it very quickly became a television phenomenon seeing as how the first episode attracted 13 million viewers and increased the adult rating of Fox by 79%. The show was carried on for five seasons and it showcased Hilton and Richie taking on jobs like cleaning rooms, farm work, serving in fast food joints, and working as camp counselors. Kim Kardashian even made an appearance in the show. While speaking to Vogue in relation to her show, Paris said, “I don’t want to be remembered as that dumb blonde airhead from The Simple Life. That’s not who I am, and I wanted to show that because I’m very proud of the woman I am and what I’ve created.”

7. She appeared in a viral sex tape scandal

Office of Senator Mitt Romney, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 2004, a private sex tape that was featuring Hilton and her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon leaked on the internet. Rick rode a bit longer on the scandal and later sold a longer version of the tape which of course Paris sued him for. She opened up about this while doing an interview with Vanity Fair and admitted that the scandal was “something that will hurt me for the rest of my life”. She said, “It’s always there in the back of my mind. When it happened, people were so mean about it to me. The way I was spoken about on nightly talk shows and the media, to see things with my family was just heartbreaking.”

8. She has had so many business ventures

Joella Marano, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Apart from her modeling and TV careers, Paris has never stopped hustling and venturing more into different types of businesses. For instance, she has released at least 25 different perfumes, launched sunglasses and footwear, and appeared in dozens of ad campaigns, from fast food chains to SodaStream.

9. Hilton has also proved herself to be a talented DJ

Image by 453169 from Pixabay

Hilton has done so many things in the span of the period she has been alive. She has proved herself to be a talented DJ, even hosting weekly “Foam and Diamonds” parties in Ibiza and becoming a resident DJ at Harrah’s Atlantic City’s “The Pool After Dark the year after. She even won a number of awards for her DJing skills and became the highest-paid female DJ by the end of 2014.

10. She also tried her hand in music

Bit Boy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In 2006, Hilton released a self-titled debut album with her very first single, “Stars Are Blind.” The song did extremely well, becoming a global hit and reaching the top ten in the charts of about 17 countries. She also got featured in many popular and well-doing music videos, including Demi Lovato’s “Sorry Not Sorry” and Kim Petras’ “I Don’t Want It At All”.  In 2021, she appeared in an ad campaign for Kardashian’s brand skims.

Paris Hilton is not just a dumb blonde contrary to common belief. She has worked hard for herself even though she comes from one of the richest families in the world.