Book Review: Paris Hilton’s path from party girl to style icon

Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton (Dey St. Books)

Dubbed the “OG Influencer,” club kid-turned-mogul Paris Hilton pioneered becoming “famous for being famous,” in the early 2000s, a playbook since adopted by everyone from the Kardashians to Housewives and countless social media influencers.

Hilton became a staple on the New York City club circuit in her teens in the late 1990s, decked out in designer fashion and towering heels, an irresistible magnet for paparazzi.

In her 20s, her fame became mainstream with the nearly simultaneous debut of her reality show The Simple Life, and the leak of a scandalous sex tape.

“I knew I wasn’t trying to build an ordinary career,” Hilton recalls of her early days of being paid to party and attract the paparazzi. “I was building a brand that would eventually turn into multiple income streams … but that sounds way more calculated than it was.”

Born into the family dynasty of hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, Hilton spent her childhood in a rarefied world of privilege, collecting a menagerie of animals like ferrets, gerbils and a baby goat and earning the family nickname of “Star.”

But a diagnosis of ADHD put a damper on the idyllic childhood, making it difficult to focus in school. Her constant need for excitement and penchant for escaping over fences and through bathroom windows branded her a troublemaker.