Paris Hilton's Radiant Transformation Has People Turning Heads
Paris Hilton has been in the spotlight her entire life, turning her status as a member of the Hilton clan, who are known for their famous hotel chain, into a thriving career at the center of pop culture. During her time in the spotlight, Hilton has proven herself to be a shrewd businessperson who is always ready to defy people's expectations. And throughout her life, fans have eagerly followed Hilton's style evolution.
During a February 2023 interview with Glamour, Hilton opened up about her incredible life to date, telling the publication, "I think I've just been through so many things that I'm a warrior, I'm a fighter, I'm brave. And I'm a badass." In the same interview, Hilton addressed the idea that she was a "nepo baby," sharing that her work ethic helped her to establish the multi-faceted career she's had for more than two decades: "I can understand why people would think [I've been handed it all] if they don't know my businesses and what I've accomplished."
From her evolution as a style icon to her reality TV success and her well-documented family life, join us as we explore Paris Hilton's radiant transformation.
She always wanted to be a blonde 'icon'
Paris Hilton was born on February 17, 1981, in New York City to parents Rick and Kathy Hilton. As the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, who founded the Hilton Hotels brand, Paris has been in the public eye since birth.
It would seem that from an extremely young age, Paris had aspirations regarding the way she looked, and who she'd like to model her image on. Speaking to Esquire in 2008, Paris explained, "My grandma would call me Marilyn Monroe or Grace Kelly. Ever since I was little, it's what I knew I wanted to do — be a blond icon."
As well as having a firm idea of the image she wanted to cultivate, Paris was also accustomed to being photographed since she was a child. "I was the oldest granddaughter," she explained to Esquire. "Everyone was so excited that I was born, they would always take pictures of me." Basically, Paris' place in the public eye was all but guaranteed from the moment she was born, and she's embraced it in the best way ever since.
She started using perfume at age 6
Paris Hilton released her first fragrance in 2004, but the entrepreneur had been a fan of using perfumes since she was just a little girl. In an interview with Glamour, Hilton revealed, "I've worn perfume since I was six." She continued, "I used to go into my mom's boudoir when she was out and spray myself all over. I have always worn perfume. It's who you are." Hilton's early experiences with perfume presumably had a huge influence on the socialite, which led to her developing her own incredibly successful fragrance line.
During an interview with Really Ree in 2015, Hilton discussed what she values most when creating a new perfume for her fragrance line. "Well first it's about the scent," she told the site. "You need a scent that people are going to love and be attracted to and that stands out. One that when a woman sprays it, they feel confident and sexy." Hilton's winning formula has certainly helped her to build a super successful brand, and it's endearing to know that the celebrity first developed her love for fragrance when she was just a kid.
She was signed to Donald Trump's modeling agency
As a member of a famous family, Paris Hilton grew up with connections most of us can only dream of. Her position in the public eye quickly garnered the world's attention, which resulted in her being signed to a modeling contract when she was 19 years old. In February 2001, The Guardian reported on Hilton's burgeoning success, noting that she'd been signed to Donald Trump's modeling agency, T Management, in the summer of 2000. "I wanted to model and Donald was like: 'I want you at my agency,'" Hilton explained to The Guardian. "So now I'm with them and I'm loving it."
Despite being just a teenager when she was signed by Trump's agency, Hilton had been preparing to become a model for most of her life. "I've been modeling since I was really young," she told the publication. "I did charity shows with my mother as a child." The Guardian also noted that Hilton had already seen some success when she modeled for designer Catherine Malandrino and that she was already a regular in the front row of major fashion shows. From there, Hilton's influence on the fashion world would grow exponentially.
Paris Hilton became a reality TV star with The Simple Life
In 2003, Paris Hilton added reality TV star to her resume when she starred alongside Lionel Richie's daughter Nicole Richie on "The Simple Life." The show's premiere was a huge hit for Fox and saw as many as 13 million people tune in to watch Richie and Hilton attempt to live frugally and take on internships with businesses across the country. The show ran for a total of five seasons, catapulting Hilton and Richie to even greater levels of fame than they'd previously experienced.
One of the reasons "The Simple Life" was such a huge success was because viewers fell in love with Hilton's persona, which pitched her somewhere between a trust fund princess and a Barbie doll brought to life. In the years since the show aired, Hilton has revealed that she was actually playing a character on "The Simple Life," meticulously crafted to entertain audiences. In 2020, she revealed to People, "I knew what I was doing but the whole world didn't, so it was kind of frustrating to me to be perceived in that way because it's not who I am at all." She continued, "But it was such an amazing and entertaining show that I would just think of it as entertainment."
She 'cried' when she hit the cover of Playboy
In 2023, Paris Hilton released her book "Paris: The Memoir," in which she got candid about a plethora of public and private moments from her life. Importantly, she decided to set the record straight about appearing on the cover of Playboy's March 2005 issue. In her book (via People), Hilton recalled Playboy's publisher Hugh Hefner making her multiple offers to appear in the magazine, all of which she turned down. "Even when he offered seven figures, I turned it down, because I knew my mom would lose her mind," she explained.
Despite rebuffing all of Hefner's offers to pose for Playboy, the socialite still found herself gracing the magazine's cover for its March 2005 issue. According to Hilton, no one from the magazine notified her about the magazine cover, and she instead found out about the release from a friend. "Hef had 'honored' me with the Sex Star of the Year Award, which means they can claim it's 'news' and not a pictorial," Hilton explained in her book.
As for how Hefner had secured photos of Hilton posing in lingerie, the reality star explained, "He got a picture from an old test shoot with a woman photographer." Understandably, Hilton and her parents were shocked by the publication, with the star of "The Simple Life" writing, "My parents were pissed, and I cried, but none of us confronted [Hugh Hefner], because you just didn't do that."
Paris Hilton 'invented the selfie'
In November 2017, Paris Hilton took to X (previously known as Twitter) to share two selfies taken with none other than pop icon Britney Spears. She captioned the iconic photos with: "11 years ago today, Me & Britney invented the selfie!"
In November 2023, she shared the same snaps on Instagram, this time captioning the pictures, "Tag me in your most epic selfies to celebrate the most iconic invention." As the photos feature both Hilton and Spears, it's undeniable that the pair captured a special moment in pop culture history. However, critics were quick to call into question Hilton's claim that she'd "invented the selfie" with Spears.
The New York Times was one of the first publications to dispel Hilton's 2017 X claim that she'd invented the photographic art form — in an article that was equal parts research and humor. The publication interviewed a number of experts, all of whom pointed to much earlier selfies, some of which had been taken as early as 1839. The New York Times also pointed out that many of Hilton's fans had rebuffed her claim on X by replying to the post with their own examples of selfies taken much earlier than in 2017. Still, it would seem that Hilton remained unperturbed by any and all criticism, as one of her 2017 tweets read: "Jealousy is a disease get well soon." Plus, it's fair to say that Hilton and Spears popularized the selfie.
She launched her music career
On August 14, 2006, Paris Hilton released her debut album "Paris" on AOL Music, with physical copies arriving in stores on August 22. The reality star's musical offering received mixed reviews from critics but found commercial success. "Paris" sold 198,000 copies in the United States, and the singer was signed to the label Cash Money in 2013 to record a second album. However, this never materialized.
The pop cultural influence of Hilton's debut album has been wide-ranging, though, especially when it comes to the song "Stars Are Blind," which was featured in the 2020 movie "Promising Young Woman."
In 2023, Hilton gave all of her fans hope that her long-awaited second album was finally on the way during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." "I'm doing my new album and Sia is executive producing it," she dished to Fallon, proving that her music career is far from over. And with Sia on board, the sky really is the limit for Hilton.
She'll only wear a dress once
As a popular reality TV star, model, and influencer, it's perhaps unsurprising that Paris Hilton doesn't want to have repeat pics of her clothing. "Once I've worn a dress, I can never wear it again," she told Esquire in 2008. "I give them to charities and they auction them off to help people with breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, and AIDS."
While Hilton gives away a lot of clothing, she also revealed that some pieces are too important to let go of. "Some that are really, really special, I keep in storage for my daughters," she told the publication. "They'll be vintage by then. I think my daughters will love them."
While it may seem wasteful that Hilton can only wear a dress once, the reality star's style throughout the 2000s has been celebrated by multiple fashion publications, with Vogue dubbing her "the Ultimate Aughts Muse." As someone who is regularly photographed by the paparazzi, it makes sense that Hilton would want the opportunity to showcase new outfits wherever possible.
She launched a career as a DJ
Despite already having carved out a multitude of careers as a singer, reality TV star, and fashion icon, Paris Hilton realized that she wanted to explore the world of DJing in the 2010s. In an interview with Billboard, Hilton reflected on building her career as a DJ, explaining, "My first show was in Brazil. Like 30,000 people, closing for Jennifer Lopez, it was so much fun." She continued, "I loved it so much that after that I really just got more into it and really just learned the technique."
While Hilton has received some mixed reactions regarding her decision to become a DJ, her successes speak for themselves. In 2020, Billboard noted that Hilton's five-year residency at Amnesia in Ibiza was a particular highlight, along with the fact that she'd already performed at electronic dance music festival Tomorrowland twice.
In 2023, Hilton returned to Tomorrowland to DJ and faced criticism from some crowd-goers who accused her of not performing live. However, Hilton was reportedly quick to deny that she wasn't actually DJing, telling the naysayers in the crowd (via EDM Tunes), "Sorry I'm a girl, I'm hot, I'm blonde. We can do everything. Go hate on someone else."
Her style has influenced multiple celebrities
Paris Hilton wasn't always taken seriously as a fashion icon, but her style influence became glaringly obvious when younger celebrities started emulating some of her most famous looks. For instance, in November 2016, Kendall Jenner attended her 21st birthday party wearing a chainmail dress covered in $9000 worth of Swarovski crystals. Importantly, the dress was a replica of the iconic outfit that Hilton wore to her own 21st birthday party in 2002.
In an interview with Vogue (via Grazia), Hilton addressed the model's homage to her famous Julien Mcdonald chainmail dress, saying, "We were laughing about how the dresses look exactly alike and she looked stunning in it, it was such a beautiful dress. To see that re-created just brought back a lot of memories."
Hilton was understandably thrilled that her style throughout the years has started to influence fashion in a wider sense, too. During a 2017 interview with W magazine, Hilton gushed, "To now see things on the runway, and to see girls wearing things that I used to wear is really cool because nobody really dressed like me back in the day."
She's never had plastic surgery and stays out of the sun
Plastic surgery, Botox, and fillers may be popular with many people (and celebrities in particular), but not with Paris Hilton. The entrepreneur, who continues to exude youthful energy after more than two decades in the public eye, claims that she's never had any work done at all, and that includes getting fillers or Botox. "I'm natural," she told The Standard in 2017. "I've never had any plastic surgery, never done filler, never done Botox. Nothing."
She also revealed that her mom had always been a huge influence over her beauty choices, which included taking care of her skin from a young age. "Stay out of the sun your whole life; my mom gave me that advice when I was 12," she told The Standard.
During the same interview, Hilton noted that she had grown in confidence over the years and that she was well aware of the important influence she had in the world and on young women. "I want to be a good influence on other girls to inspire them to be businesswomen and show, like, girl power and to not depend on a guy," she told The Standard. "I love that I could be a light to them." When it comes to altering her appearance, it would seem that Hilton simply isn't interested.
She's built a fragrance empire
Having loved perfume since she was just a child, launching her own fragrance line made total sense to Paris Hilton. The reality star debuted her very first fragrance, simply named Paris Hilton, in 2004, and by 2023, she had released a whopping 29 different scents.
In 2020, Paper reported that Hilton's popular fragrance line had made more than $2.5 billion since its inception in 2004, proving that the celebrity knows what she's doing when it comes to the perfume space.
During a 2019 interview with Gay Times, Hilton discussed the incredible success of her perfume brand, saying, "I love perfumes and have done since I was a little girl. I just always loved perfumes and I remember when I was making my first, and now I'm soon to be launching my 25th fragrance which is such a dream come true." While speaking to Esquire, Hilton also teased, "I put pheromones in a lot of my fragrances, and that attracts people to you." Whatever the secret is, Hilton's fragrance empire has shown just how successful celebrity brands can become.
She married Carter Reum
On November 11, 2021, Paris Hilton married Carter Reum, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist who previously worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. The pair wed in a fairytale wedding in Bel Air, at the home of Hilton's late grandfather. The wedding was attended by a plethora of Hilton's celebrity friends, including Kim Kardashian, Paula Abdul, and Ashlee Simpson. "It was the best day and night of my life," Hilton wrote of the occasion on her website. "If I could do it all again I would in a heartbeat."
Hilton and Reum's love story began in November 2019, when they reconnected at a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Reum's sister, Halle Hammond. During an interview with People, Hilton opened up about her romance with Reum, saying, "I've known him for 15 years. Then [Reum's sister Halle Hammond] invited us to Thanksgiving and we just had this incredible chemistry. We had our first date and haven't spent a night apart since. It's pretty amazing." The couple got engaged in February 2021 while vacationing on a private island for Hilton's 40th birthday.
She became a mom
Paris Hilton welcomed her first child, a baby boy, via surrogate on January 16, 2023. After sharing news of her baby's arrival, she told People, "It's always been my dream to be a mother and I'm so happy that Carter [Reum] and I found each other." Hilton later revealed that they'd named the boy Phoenix Barron Hilton, with his middle name being a reference to her late grandfather. In December 2023, in an episode of her reality show "Paris in Love," it was revealed that Paris didn't change Phoenix's diaper for a full month after his birth, instead relying on a nanny to do the job.
In November 2023, Hilton revealed that she and Carter had welcomed their second child, this time a daughter named London. During a December 2023 interview with Romper, Hilton revealed that they'd sought out a surrogate for their second child before Phoenix's birth. "They are such good babies," she told Romper of her two kids. "They're on an amazing sleep schedule, eating schedule, so they don't cry. They're so happy." It would seem that Hilton is incredibly happy embracing her latest challenge yet, and is firmly focused on her growing family. "I'm in my Mom Era," she told Romper. "This is my best era yet."