The Simple Life & The Frenzy
Reality TV explodes: The Simple Life premieres alongside the private-tape scandal that turns her into the most-photographed woman alive. The chihuahua, the memoir, the fragrance empire and her first horror-movie lead — peak paparazzi chaos.
Part of Paris Hilton
44 moments in this segment.
- — 2003 — The Simple Life premieres on Fox with Nicole Richie. The reality series, in which Hilton and Nicole Richie left luxury for rural Arkansas, premiered December 2, 2003 on Fox and drew roughly 13 million viewers for its first episode.
- — The Simple Life — the interns. More fish-out-of-water comedy from the original Simple Life.
- — "That’s hot". The two-word catchphrase Paris trademarked — the slogan of an era.
- — The Simple Life — funniest moments. Paris and Nicole Richie loose on an Arkansas farm — the show that defined reality TV in 2003.
- — 2003–2004 — a private tape leaks and the media frenzy peaks. A private tape filmed in 2001 surfaced just before The Simple Life debuted and was released commercially in 2004; Hilton later said she felt humiliated and pressured into it. The episode made her one of the most-photographed people in the world.
- — 2004 — "That's hot" becomes a registered trademark. Her Simple Life catchphrase was everywhere — so she trademarked it. The application for "That's Hot" was filed July 27, 2004 and registered in 2007, making the throwaway line a piece of intellectual property she would later defend in court.
- — 2004 — Tinkerbell, the chihuahua who started a trend, goes missing. Her teacup chihuahua Tinkerbell — tucked into a handbag on The Simple Life — kicked off the Y2K dog-as-accessory craze. When Tinkerbell briefly vanished in August 2004, Hilton posted a $5,000 reward; the dog was found within the week, and the saga ran on every front page.
- — 2004 — the memoir Confessions of an Heiress hits the bestseller list. Her tongue-in-cheek book Confessions of an Heiress reached number seven on the New York Times Best Seller list, cementing the self-aware "heiress" persona.
- — Paris Hilton on Conan O’Brien (2004). Late-night at the peak of Simple Life fame, September 2004.
- — 2004 — launches the fragrance empire with Parlux. Her debut perfume "Paris Hilton for Women" launched with Parlux Fragrances, the start of a celebrity-fragrance franchise that would become one of the best-selling of all time.
- — Paris Hilton SNL monologue (2005). Her SNL opening monologue.
- — Paris Hilton: Double Entendres — SNL (2005). Paris hosting Saturday Night Live at the height of the frenzy, Feb 2005.
- — 2005 — the Nicole Richie feud blows up The Simple Life. The original frenemy saga: Hilton and co-star Nicole Richie stopped speaking, and the rift was public enough that Hilton confirmed it ("it's no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends"). Later seasons were shot with the two filmed apart before they reconciled in 2006.
- — 2005 — "See Paris die": the House of Wax marketing stunt. Warner Bros. leaned all the way into the backlash, selling "See Paris die" T-shirts and plastering the slogan across the campaign — a peak-2000s moment of a star monetizing her own hatedom.
- — 2005 — House of Wax, her first major film role. The horror film released in May 2005, grossed over $70 million worldwide, and won her both a Teen Choice Award and a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress.
- — "House of Wax" — trailer (2005). Paris in the 2005 horror film — her infamous big-screen role.
- — 2005 — the Carl's Jr. car-wash ad detonates. Her bikini-and-Bentley Carl's Jr. commercial first aired May 19, 2005, drew thousands of complaints to the Parents Television Council, and became one of the most-talked-about ads of the decade — the platonic ideal of a Y2K tabloid moment.
- — Paris Hilton’s mug shot (2007). The booking photo from her 2007 jail sentence — one of the most-circulated images of the decade.
- — Paris Hilton — Larry King interview. More of the post-jail Larry King conversation.
- — Paris Hilton — first TV interview after jail (Larry King, 2007). Her first sit-down after the 2007 jail sentence — a media event in itself.
- — Paris Hilton — Larry King Live (2007). The full Larry King interview following her release.
- — Paris Hilton in 2007. A 2007 appearance during the most scrutinized year of her career.
- — "Letterman owns Paris Hilton". The infamous Letterman exchange where he wouldn’t let the jail topic go.
- — Paris returns to Letterman after the jail interview. Letterman needling Paris about jail — the awkward late-night moment, Sept 2007.
- — Paris Hilton at the 2007 Scream Awards. Back on the red carpet after the summer 2007 jail saga.
- — Paris Hilton at Sundance 2008. At the Sundance Film Festival, January 2008.
- — Paris Hilton at the 2008 MTV VMAs. On the VMA red carpet in 2008.
- — Paris at TIFF for "Paris, Not France" (2008). Arriving at the Toronto premiere of her documentary "Paris, Not France."
- — Paris Hilton at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. The reality-TV-and-music multi-hyphenate at the 2008 VMAs.
- — A rewind of My New BFF. Revisiting the 2000s BFF-search show.
- — Repo! The Genetic Opera — "Zydrate Anatomy". Paris in the 2008 cult rock-opera film.
- — Paris Hilton’s My New BFF. The 2008 reality competition to find Paris a new best friend.
- — Paris Hilton in 2009. The socialite still firmly in the tabloid spotlight.
- — Paris Hilton on Late Show with David Letterman. One of many Letterman appearances across the 2000s.
- — Paris Hilton at the Venice Film Festival (2009). On the Lido at the 66th Venice Film Festival.
- — Paris Hilton with Ellen in her ear. A playful Ellen DeGeneres Show segment.
- — Paris Hilton in February 2011. A 2011 portrait.
- — Paris Hilton’s 30th birthday (2011). Marking 30 — a decade after the lavish 21st.
- — The World According to Paris (trailer). Her 2011 reality series.
- — Paris Hilton storms out of an interview. A 2011 ABC interview Paris walked out of — peak defensive-era Paris.
- — Paris breaks down her favorite 2000s trends (W Magazine). Paris the living archive of Y2K fashion.
- — Inside Barbie’s Dreamhouse — SNL (Paris parody). The SNL sketch riffing on the Paris-Hilton-style heiress archetype.
- — Paris & Lindsay: the real mean girls of 2007. A retrospective on the legendary mid-2000s LA party-girl trinity.
- — Paris on the Nicole Richie feud. Paris reflects on the falling-out with her Simple Life co-star that stopped them speaking for years.
