How Paris Hilton shed her 'dumb blonde' image, overcame a sex tape scandal and became a billionaire when her hit TV show returned

TWO decades after the devastating leak of a private sex tape, Paris Hilton wants to prove her critics wrong.

The heiress and model was often dismissed as a dumb blonde because of her performance on her hit television show “The Simple Life”.

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Paris and her friend Nicole Richie, a well-known socialite, were a constant source of entertainment – they did not know that others did their own laundry, nor did they know who she was.

But now, following an announcement earlier this year, the reality show is returning after a 16-year hiatus and Paris is a different person.

Today, the 43-year-old is a billionaire and head of her own extremely successful company.

In addition, Paris is a married mother of two young children and has settled there.

However, motherhood has not dampened the entrepreneur’s ambitions.

She's back on the album charts with her new record, “Infinite Icon,” has a tour planned, is launching a handbag line and a juice drink, and her shocking 2023 memoir is being turned into a television series.

During her appearance on US television on the “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” she said: “I've been doing a lot of rehearsals with my choreographer and the dancers over the last few weeks, so we're getting ready for the tour. BBA stands for Bad Bitch Academy.”

“It's my new song. I wanted to make the ultimate bad bitch anthem.”

Paris also participated in the 30th anniversary campaign of lingerie company Agent Provocateur, nearly a quarter of a century after it opened its flagship store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles in 2000.

And when she appears without clothes these days, it's on her own terms – as a new topless shoot for US magazine Nylon proves.

In one photo, two strategically placed ice creams cover her breasts and in another, she lies on the hood of a red sports car.

And although she can still be seen in dazzling gowns on glamorous red carpets, Paris also has a serious side.

Her charity 11:11 Media Impact fights for the rights of young people abused in the public and private welfare system.

She tells Nylon: “People no longer see me as this dumb blonde character. They see me as a human being with feelings – real and vulnerable and honest.”

Even before the release of “The Simple Life” in 2003, Paris had acquired the image of one of America’s most notorious party girls.

She appeared in Vogue magazine and had a cameo appearance in the 2001 fashion satire Zoolander.

At a red carpet event, the mood was always livelier when Paris strutted in a daring outfit.

When she was asked to play the lead role in “The Simple Life,” the producers told her, “We want you to play this stupid, empty-headed character.”

She also had to maintain this appearance in public by appearing on talk shows with a youthful voice.

Paris says of The Simple Life: “I didn't know it would be such a huge success and that we would have to continue for five seasons.”

One of her ex-boyfriends, poker player Rick Salomon, seemed to capitalize on her fame by releasing a video titled “One Night In Paris” in June 2004.

It showed him having sex with the hotel heiress.

Paris always insisted that it was a private tape and filed legal action against its publication.

But in the meantime, she maintained her bubblegum pop image on her debut album, Paris, which included the top-five hit “Stars Are Blind,” and in films such as the National Lampoon comedy “Pledge This!” in 2006.

But it became clear that fame did not make her happy.

In 2006, she was sentenced to three years' probation for drunk driving and was required to attend an alcohol education course.

Happier place

Four years later, she went into rehab after police found cocaine in her handbag.

The roots of her inner conflict became clear last year when she published her autobiography, “Paris: The Memoir.”

She revealed that she was raped at the age of 15 and stalked by now-disgraced former film mogul Harvey Weinstein, and that she was forced into brutal boot camps between the ages of 16 and 18.

She said at the time: “I think I've just been through so much that I'm a warrior, I'm a fighter, I'm brave and I'm a daredevil.”

Hollywood actresses Dakota and Elle Fanning have acquired the rights to produce a television series based on the book.

Since she told the world about her shocking treatment in the youth camps where she was held against her will, other survivors have come forward with similar stories.

This encouraged Paris to launch the nonprofit initiative 11:11 Media Impact, which raises awareness of the abuses faced by many teenagers in the United States.

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Their efforts have helped put pressure on some U.S. states to reform their treatment facilities.

She said: “Everything happens for a reason. Maybe I had to go through this and maybe I was given this gift so I can use my voice and make a difference so this doesn't happen to other children.

Everything happens for a reason. Maybe I had to go through this and maybe I was given this gift so I could use my voice and make a difference so this doesn't happen to other children.

Paris Hilton

“In a way, this is my life's work now, and it's what means the most to me because I'm making a difference.”

The music industry certainly takes Paris much more seriously.

The music industry is also certainly taking Paris much more seriously.
“Infinite Icon” is their second album and stylistically more current than their debut.

Paris has earned a reputation as a highly respected DJ and earns hundreds of thousands from performances.

This is also reflected in the stars who work with her on the new album.

These include the hottest acts Rina Sawayama, Sia and Megan Thee Stallion.

Paris says: “My first album was very much about what my life was like at the time. It was my party girl era. The songs are just very lighthearted and fun, about going out hot and having a great time.”

However, she says of her latest album: “It definitely has a much deeper meaning and I just wanted the songs to really reflect my life and my path and be introspective.”

But that doesn’t mean that Paris is any less of an It Girl today than she was back then.

Eighteen years after her debut album, she doesn't seem to have aged a bit.

In the music video for her song “I'm Free,” she wears a series of revealing outfits – including a floor-length black leather piece and another with a heart-shaped metal plate covering her most intimate region.

The lyrics of this song include the line: “There’s nothing in the world that can bring me down.”

Certainly Paris seems to be a happier place today than ever before.

She married American venture capitalist Carter Reum, 43, in 2021 after a series of high-profile failed relationships, including with Hollywood playboy Leonardo DiCaprio and Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter.

We wanted our babies to be safe and I am grateful to the surrogate mothers for making my dreams come true because I always wanted to be a mother

Paris Hilton

Paris said: “I never let anyone into my heart because I had suffered so much pain that I had built a huge wall around it.

“When I met Carter, that wall just fell down.”

The other big change that Paris felt was necessary for her life to feel complete was becoming a mother.

This seemed impossible after several IVF treatment attempts failed.

But in January 2023, her and Carter's son Phoenix was born via surrogate, and in November of the same year, their daughter London followed him into the world in the same way.

Paris said: “We wanted our babies to be safe and I am grateful to the surrogates for making my dreams come true because I always wanted to be a mother.”