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Sarah Koudjeti

ENGW 1111

Dr. Clark

March 9th, 2022

The Life of Paris Hilton

In 1999, Paris Hilton was attending Provo Canyon School in Springville, Utah, a

boarding school for troubled teens. The rest of the Hilton family resided at the luxurious Waldorf

Astoria Hotel in New York City. The room is dark and bleak; the door is intimidatingly large and

locked, with a guard outside holding the key. Paris is just 17 years old, sitting in the corner of a

small room, locked up like an animal, cold and alone. She asks politely to shower; the male

guard barges in and guides her to the shower. The guard follows her into the shower, watching
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her at her most vulnerable. Paris pleads with the guard for privacy but is hit, causing a bruise on

her abdomen. Paris is then sent back to solitary confinement as punishment, leaving her naked.

Every day Paris is stuck in this cycle of verbal and physical abuse. She is forced to take

unprescribed medication and treated like a prisoner. She is silenced with fear and was taught to

repress this trauma. Her obsession with partying at an early age forced her parents to send her

away. Paris Hilton is not only an iconic celebrity and businesswoman but also a victim and now

activist of abuse.

The Hilton family is most well known for their hotel empire, Hilton Hotels. Paris Hilton

was a young celebrity icon in the early 2000s. Hilton was named one of the it girls " who

appeared to be famous for being famous" (Yang and Pearson). In the early 2000s, a new wave of
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young girls becoming famous from nothing had been created. However, Hilton's fame was much

more calculated than some may think; her manager in the early 2000s was Jason Moore.

According to ABC News Moore stated, "The first time I was really introduced to her, I saw a

real-life Barbie," (Yang and Pearson). From that moment, Moore created a character for Hilton

and knew that she could have fame without any talent. Hilton's fame officially began when

Moore produced her first catchphrase, "that's hot" (Hilton). Moore thought if he could create a

slogan like a company for Hilton, then everyone would know her name.

The 2000s were filled with toxicity and unrealistic standards. There was a heavy price for

fame; managers did not care if someone became famous for something good or bad. Fame was

filled with negative stories and exploitation, like "sex tapes released without the consent of their

participants (like Paris Hilton's) were treated as major news and entertainment events"

(Goldstein). Hilton had fallen victim to bad publicity; the illegal release of her sex tape created

an uproar of fame, causing her reputation to be tainted while simultaneously raising her social

status. The toxicity of being oversexualized at such an early age created stardom for most of the

iconic women in the early 2000s.

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Hilton's troubled past has pushed her to make a name for herself rather than riding the

coattails of her grandfather's hotel empire. She "...now runs 19 different product lines, ranging

from shoes and handbags to a fragrance line that she claims has done over $2.5 billion in sales."

(Ang). Hilton has created a brand for herself and is a multimillionaire because of her empire.

Hilton first began her career on The Simple Life's reality TV show. Based on her reality tv debut,

the public stereotyped her as a dumb blonde. Hilton revealed in an article with vogue, "I'm not a

dumb blonde. I'm just really good at pretending to be one." (Hilton). She created a persona and

character that the public only sees. However, she is exceptionally far from just being a ditzy

blonde. Hilton states, "I've proven myself as an intelligent businesswoman who's created a huge

brand. Being a woman in the industry, there's always stereotypes" (Hilton). The brand of Paris

Hilton has skyrocketed over the years.

Paris was overexposed to the clubbing scene at an young age in New York City, causing

her parents to worry about her whereabouts every night. Sending Paris to Provo Canyon School

was the only way her parents knew how to help her. Hilton states, "Although Provo Canyon
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School marketed itself as a premier treatment center, it was as if hell itself was on Earth"

(Hilton). The Hilton family had never known about Paris's traumatic childhood until she came

out with a documentary in 2020, This is Paris. The release of Paris's documentary created a new

chapter in her life. Her trauma was revealed to the public eye and to everyone she knew

personally. In her documentary, Paris described the solitary confinement in which she was

locked in without reason as a "small room covered in scratch marks and smeared blood with no

bathroom" (Hilton). Paris Hilton kept this school a secret for over 20 years until she realized she

wanted to help get rid of these abusive schools. The abuse led Paris to become an activist for

other victims abused by Provo Canyon School. She attempts to ban these institutions in all 50

states now.

Paris is most known for her business empires but has now detailed how traumatic her past

was. After her documentary was released, she settled down and married Carter Reum, a venture

capitalist. A new documentary was recently released in 2022 called Paris in Love, about how she

prepared for the wedding and all the troubles that came with it. Paris Hilton was one of the most

iconic exploited celebrities. However, some may not realize celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Kim

Kardashian, and Britney Spears were all similarly exploited in the early 2000s. The trend of the

early 2000s affected a multitude of young women; however, now, most of them have settled

down and have families of their own. Paris Hilton is just one of the many young women in the

early 2000s that had a traumatic upbringing and went on to create a business empire as she aged.

Paris ultimately redeemed herself in the public eye.

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Works Cited

Ang, Katerina. “Paris Hilton Tells Moneyish How She Became America's Most Underrated
Businesswoman.” MarketWatch, MarketWatch, 20 Feb. 2018,
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/paris-hilton-tells-moneyish-how-she-became-
americas-most-underrated-businesswoman-2018-02-19. 

Bell, Keaton. “Paris Hilton on Her Revealing New Documentary: ‘I'm Not a Dumb Blonde. I'm
Just Really Good at Pretending to Be One.".” Vogue, 15 Sept. 2020,
https://www.vogue.com/article/paris-hilton-talks-about-her-new-documentary. 

Goldstein, Jessica M. “'Reading the Story Today Makes Me Cringe': Female Stars and the Media
Machine of the Early 2000s.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 4 Mar. 2021,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/britney-spears-lindsay-lohan-magazine-
media-2000s/2021/03/02/46b4bf1c-76c5-11eb-9537-496158cc5fd9_story.html. 

Reinstein, Julia. “Paris Hilton Testified That She Was ‘Abused on a Daily Basis’ at a Treatment
Facility for Teens.” BuzzFeed News, BuzzFeed News, 10 Feb. 2021,
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/paris-hilton-abuse-testimony-utah. 

Yang, Allie and Pearson, Muriel “Starlets of Early 2000s Were Meticulously Created,
Collaborators Reveal.”, ABC News, 25 Sept. 2021 ABC News Network,
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/making-celebrity-kim-kardashian-paris-hilton-
collaborators-reveal/story?id=73226716.