Paris Hilton’s Secret to Her Success Will Probably Surprise You

Paris Hilton was and is a pioneer of reality television, music, and media, as Us Weekly correctly describes her. Since her debut on the scene in the early 2000s—unbelievably, The Simple Life premiered 20 years ago (!)—to her velour tracksuits, DJ career, and early experiments in the metaverse, Hilton always seems to be about two steps ahead of the rest of us. “I’ve always been forward-thinking,” she told the outlet. “And not afraid to take risks.”

Okay so yes, she was born into enormous wealth—her last name is Hilton, after all—but she’s built an empire for herself, becoming a walking, breathing version of the word multihyphenate and, just when we think she can’t reinvent herself anymore, she does. “It’s about staying true to myself,” Hilton said. “And having a bit of luck always helps.” 

And Hilton has done reinvention again, recently launching 11:11 Media, which Us Weekly describes as “a multiplatform global entertainment company focused on producing fashion and lifestyle content across film, TV, music, books, consumer products, and more.”

“It’s about telling stories that matter and uplifting voices that need to be heard,” Hilton said. And Hilton doesn’t just sign her name on the dotted line and do nothing: The company’s president Brush Gersh said that she is “the heartbeat” of the organization.

If new venture after new venture isn’t enough, Hilton is also a new mom to son Phoenix (she calls him “my little angel”), whom she welcomed with her husband of nearly two years, Carter Reum, in January. (She told the outlet that she “can’t wait to have a sister” for Phoenix.) Two decades into the glare of the spotlight, she’s nowhere near done, she said. “[I’m] using my platform and what I’ve built for good,” Hilton said. “I want to look back and see a legacy of positivity, change, and empowerment.”

Other tidbits we picked up from her Us Weekly sitdown? She wanted to be a veterinarian as a kid, and while she didn’t go that route, “my love of animals always stayed with me,” she said. “That’s why I have so many doggies.” She also described music as being healing and a vehicle of self-expression; to the doubters who didn’t understand her DJ career, Hilton said “I’ve always been about pushing boundaries and exploring different sides of myself.” She continued “It makes me so proud to really have proved everyone wrong and become such a success in this world.” (She also said she realized she wanted to DJ after making so many club appearances as a young and in demand socialite.)

The kicker? As she prepares to dip into new business ventures—a cookware line, for starters, and projects in the beauty, mommy and me, and pet spaces—Hilton, at last, tells us all the secret to her success: “I can see into the future!” she told Us Weekly, laughing. “I’ve always been ahead of my time, whether it’s been reality TV, social media, fashion, music. Maybe it’s being an Aquarius—I don’t know. It’s just part of my superpower.”