The Truth About Kim Kardashian's Time As Paris Hilton's Assistant
It's almost hard to imagine now that there was once a time where Kim Kardashian was not a household name and was mostly known as Paris Hilton's quiet sidekick. But that is exactly the way of the world in the 2000s — a time of Juicy Couture and Motorola Razrs and a new invention called social media, which was hooked on Hilton's every move. Of course, that attention was made possible, at least in part, by Kardashians job as Hilton's stylist.
Kardashian and Hilton were friends before either of them was really famous, but Kardashian also spent time as Hilton's employee. In 2015, Hilton told Yahoo's Style Session that they have been friends since they "were little girls," and the two had at least one mutual friend in Hilton's The Simple Life co-star Nicole Richie. They've also both mentioned being in the company of the Jackson family (yes, those Jacksons) as kids, so it's possible they met that way.
In any case, Hilton and Kardashian ran in similar circles. It was when Kardashian began working directly for Hilton, however, that her career really took off.
A look back at Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton's 'simple life'
When Paris Hilton was at the peak of her fame in the 2000s, Kim Kardashian was often around or next to her, even if people didn't really know who she was at the time. Kardashian appeared on The Simple Life a handful of times, including to help Hilton organize her closet. At this point, Kardashian was more punching bag than BFF.
Kardashian also tried to set the record straight in 2017 on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, telling the host, "I would work with Paris, and I would love to organize and clean out their closets and get rid of all their stuff and sell it on eBay and then shop for them, shop for her. That was my job. I loved it. But people will say 'assistant.' They always have it wrong."
While Kardashian didn't say what she would call herself rather than "assistant," she probably preferred the term "stylist." In either case, Kardashian was linked to Hilton and worked with her from roughly 2003 until 2006. Things changed in 2006 after Nicole Richie and Hilton had a falling-out. With Hilton's former bestie out of the picture, Kardashian ascended out of the role of employee and into the role of BFF.
Paris Hilton took Kim Kardashian to Ibiza
Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton have both shared various throwbacks of a trip they took at the height of their friendship to Ibiza in 2006. Kardashian reflected on this period of her life to Rolling Stone in 2015, telling the magazine, "We'd go anywhere and everywhere just to be seen... We knew exactly where to go, where to be seen, how to have something written about you. All you had to do is go to this restaurant, or this party, talk about whatever you want to talk about, and it would be in the paper the next day."
While both starlets look back on this period fondly, it wasn't long before things changed. Kardashian got her own show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, in 2007, which happened to correspond with the leak of her sex tape. As Kardashian's star rose, Hilton insulted her to the press, with TMZ reporting that Hilton said Kardashian's butt looked like "cottage cheese stuffed in a trash bag" in 2008. By 2011, Kardashian told Harper's BAZAAR that she and Hilton didn't "really talk anymore," explaining, "There comes a point where you just grow apart and you realize you're not as similar as you thought." Ouch.
Kim Kardashian still says Paris Hilton gave her a career
By 2014, it seems that Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton had patched up the beef between them. Kardashian shared a photo on Instagram reminiscing about their trip to Ibiza in 2006, and, in 2015, Hilton told Glamour magazine that she was proud of Kardashian. "She's always had a great work ethic like me and she's always been determined," Hilton glowed. "And that's what it's all about." The two were spotted at the same parties in the following years as well.
In a 2019 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kardashian spoke frankly about what her relationship with Hilton all those years prior had meant to her. "I really would want to do anything for her. She literally gave me a career," Kardashian confided. Maybe Hilton thought she was just giving Kardashian a career as an assistant, but she ended up giving her a platform that Kardashian evolved into one of the most notable in the world.