No one knows the real Paris
By KRISTIN FINAN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Her publicity stunts must number nearly as many as the four-figure purses in her closet.
First there was the sex tape, then the feud with Nicole Richie and the stolen Sidekick. Lately it’s been the kinkajou bite and the vow of celibacy.
But to hear Paris Hilton tell it, that’s not the real her. The real her is a talented businesswoman, singing and acting her way through a world that doesn’t understand her.
“It feels good to actually show the world that there’s a lot more to me than what they may read in the media or what they see on The Simple Life, because that’s basically a character that I’m portraying,” she said in a recent E! interview. “In real life, that’s not who I am.”
Surprisingly, Hollywood insiders who have watched as she launched a career based almost entirely on name and self-promotion agree: Paris “That’s hot” Hilton just might be one of the smartest businesswomen in the entertainment industry.
“She’s extremely savvy,” said Lea Goldman, an associate editor at Forbes magazine, which this year ranked Paris No. 56 on its list of the world’s 100 most powerful celebrities. “And she’s smart enough to know to surround herself with the right people.”
The “right people” include Scott Storch, a music-industry superstar who helped produce her new album; Chris Applebaum, who directed her sizzling Carl’s Jr. commercial and the video for her first single, Stars Are Blind; and Elliot Mintz, a Los Angeles insider who is now her publicist.
But even more than the people her fame and family fortune allow her to keep in her inner circle, Hilton stays on magazine covers because she knows what it takes to turn a name into a brand.
“Her goal is to develop the Paris Hilton name into a brand that can venture into TV, music, movies, hotels, merchandise,” said Ted Harbert, president and CEO of E! Networks, which airs The Simple Life and frequently features Hilton in its programming. “Paris fits in because, frankly, our audience is really interested in everything she does.”
It’s an interest driven largely by a younger audience that watches her, listens to her and reads about her online. The Web master at one popular fan site, www.parishiltononline.net, reports 150,000 hits a day, more than any other site the master runs, including www.jessicasimpsonfan.net and www.britneyspearsfan.net.
Goldman said that while Hilton herself made only about $7 million between June 2005 and June 2006, her media influence — like the way she’s turned certain L.A. venues such as boutique Kitson and restaurant Koi into photo-op hot spots — is extraordinary.
“We got a lot of heat (for her ranking) because some people said she’s not a celebrity, but really she epitomizes this new (group) of celebrities that requires just having a persona the public wants to follow,” Goldman said. “She really broke some rules and made us rethink how to become a celebrity.”
Not that Hilton, whose family is estimated to be worth $1 billion, ever had much to lose.
“She is the ultimate icon for consumerist America,” said Roger Casey, vice president for academic affairs and provost at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., who is researching the impact of stars like Hilton on today’s youths. “With her economic power and her family name, she’s got an empire.”
But will the public continue to buy into Hilton’s empire, which could ultimately have them spritzing her perfume, dressing in her clothes, reading her books and magazines, listening to her music, eating at her restaurants, staying at her hotels and watching her shows and movies?
Or will people hit a point where they’re sick of the Parisizing of America?
Probably not. Although she’s been named the 2007 Guinness World Records’ most over-exposed celebrity, no one, whether he or she loves her or loves to hate her, seems to mind.
“The question is, when do you reach overexposure?” Goldman said. “She comes perilously close, and yet people are still following her. You can’t pick up a magazine without a picture of her. If the public didn’t want it, the press wouldn’t print it.”
Why is everyone fascinated?
“She’s just interesting,” said Lisa Lynn, a 33-year-old Nashville, Tenn., resident who has a MySpace site dedicated to Hilton. “Anybody that lives a life like she does, you kind of live through her.”
On her page, which features comments like “I love your page, Paris is HOT!” and a friend list of almost 1,500 fellow fans, Lynn tries to update pictures and post stories about Hilton’s whereabouts. She said Hilton is her favorite celebrity because she seems real.
“She is who she is,” said Lynn, who, despite low expectations for Hilton’s album Paris, really liked it. “She doesn’t go in public and (act) like she’s somebody else.”
Unlike other stars like Britney Spears, whose public missteps have caused people to scratch their heads and ask, “What was she thinking?” Hilton’s damage control has been excellent.
For example, the 2003 Internet release of a sex tape with ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon only boosted Hilton’s popularity and expanded her appeal to include the porn world.
“It takes a special personality to have transcended the scandal that was that videotape,” Goldman said. “It could have destroyed a lot of people.”
Harbert, who has spent time with Hilton, said her success is due in large part to her openness about her personal life.
“She’s not private with her life,” he said. “People like celebrities who are involved in business and reveal their personal lives. Paris lives her life pretty openly.”
And while her public life might feel stale and scripted, you can bet people will watch. If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that Hilton will keep it interesting.
“She creates headlines all by herself. There’s always something going on around her,” he said. “I’m as fascinated with her celebrity as you are.”
