Paris Hilton went from Los Angeles socialite to national TV star in 2003, when she teamed up with fellow heiress Nicole Richie for the Fox reality show The Simple Life. It took the two privileged young ladies and put them to work on farms, as camp counselors, at fast food restaurants and other places that were completely foreign to them. Paris was portrayed as the ditzy rich blonde on the show. Her mom Kathy Hilton, 60, revealed that she was not in favor of her daughter doing the The Simple Life, even though it helped propel Paris to stardom.
We caught up with Kathy at the Fourth Annual Entertainment Studios Oscar Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Feb. 9. She told HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY, “Well, I was completely against her doing the show, and then I was wrong. I think it was one of the cutest, most entertaining shows. I still go back on Paris 2000’s. They have all these different Instagrams.” Yep, there are several IG accounts devoted to moments from the show, which makes for such a perfect time capsule of fashion and looks from the mid-aughts. The Simple Life lasted for five seasons, eventually ending on the E! network after getting dropped by Fox in 2005.
Paris has come a long way since. She parlayed her worldwide fame into becoming a savvy businesswoman, with over 50 Paris Hilton stores globally. Her fragrance line is a billion dollar empire, and she has product lines including everything from handbags to footwear to skin care. The entrepreneur has a YouTube original documentary dropping in May called This Is Paris. Cameras followed the 38-year-old around for a full year in her day to day life.
She told our sister site Deadline that the experience was “emotional” and “raw.” “I’ve never done anything like this in my life,” she said. “In this film I discuss things I’ve never discussed before. I hope that people are going to see who I truly am.” We asked Kathy what she thinks about Paris showing her true self and opening up in her new documentary. “You know what? I think that it’s good therapy for her and it’s about time. I do,” she told us.