Paris Hilton: I've learned that loving yourself isn't arrogance'

"But now the heiress once known for her endless parties, baby voice and chihuahua, Tinkerbell has swapped cocktails for baby bottles and claimed her own voice literally. In fact, the baby voice was always part of the persona of Paris Hilton. Like other iconic blondes such as Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe journalist Hugo Rifkind called Paris Hilton the Marilyn Monroe of the 21st century it was the product of an ongoing performance."

"I'm not a dumb blonde, I'm just very good at pretending to be one, she said at the time. She knew how to turn fame into a career and, far from merely spending her fortune, ensured it grew through DJ gigs, a skincare line, 30 fragrances, music albums, and a seemingly endless list of ventures to which she now has added another role: model for Karl Lagerfeld's fall-winter campaign."

"Karl told me it was one of his favorite shows, which I thought was iconic. He could understand the show. It was a surreal moment for me and made me realize just how much of a cultural impact that show had, explains Paris, who arrives first to the video call, proving that diva behavior is absolutely not her style and that, indeed, is hot."

Paris Hilton cultivated a public persona defined by a baby voice, party image and the Tinkerbell nickname while deliberately performing a dumb-blonde act. She converted fame into sustained business success through DJ gigs, a skincare line, 30 fragrances, music albums and numerous ventures. She added modeling for Karl Lagerfeld's fall–winter campaign, reflecting the cultural impact of The Simple Life. She released a memoir and a documentary that revealed vulnerability after decades of performing the character. The persona functioned as armor for a naturally shy person and helped her cope with past trauma, prompting her to reclaim her true voice.

Read at english.elpais.com