A minute with Paris
2008-09-18 15:24
Jill Serjeant
Los Angeles - Paris Hilton has come to epitomise the idea of "famous for being famous", but with a growing business to manage built around her life as a wealthy heiress and celebrity, she says her world is non-stop hard work - but also fun.
With a new film documentary, about the business of being Paris, a reality TV show in which she goes tongue-in-cheek in search of a new best friend, her own fashion line, and a new album coming soon, Hilton, 27, is likely to be even more in the limelight over the next few months.
Already one of the most photographed women in the world, Hilton sat down with Reuters to talk about the lines between privacy and trading on her fame, and how she sees her future.
Q: What's the most annoying misconception people have about you?
A: "The one that 'she doesn't work'. I am literally running a huge corporation. I have my clothing lines, my champagne, my watches, shoes and purses and dog clothes - every sort of product you can imagine. I am doing movies. I am doing my record right now, producing, starring in a TV show. So it is a 24 hour, seven day-a-week job. I work all the time, so I laugh when I hear people say that."
Q: Where do you draw the line between your privacy, letting the public see who you are, and the need to promote yourself.
A: "I am basically always on camera. From the moment I leave my house in the morning, the paparazzi are waiting there until I go to bed at night. So it is natural to be doing this TV show. I don't even know the cameras are there. I still have my private life. When I go home I have my pets and my boyfriend."
Q: Los Angeles city officials have been discussing proposals to curb the paparazzi, and create a "personal safety zone" between celebrities and photographers. Is that something you'd support?
A: "Yes. It is okay for paparazzi to go to a press event or a red carpet, but when it is every single day when you are going to the market or the tanning salon or to lunch with your family, it is a lot of pressure always having to be 'on'.
Sometimes there will be 50 or 100. They are like rats. All my cars are completely scratched up from their battery packs and cameras. They jump on your car and dent the windows."
Q: Do you actually enjoy being so famous?
A: "I don't think about it really. Since I was born, it's been like this. Sometimes when I go to random places and I'll be in a baseball cap with sunglasses - still people recognise me. But I try to do normal things.
I like doing things myself, like going to the market or shopping. Some celebrities become famous and they forget who they are or where they came from and hide out like some recluse. I'm not going to do that."
Q: Where do you see yourself in 20 years time?
A: "I'll probably be a mom with a couple of kids. I'd love to have a big family. Running my business and not travelling so much. I'll be in a lot of real estate businesses and hotels then. I'll be running my business from home."
Q: What's the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning?
A: "I always think about what I dreamed. I write down my dreams. I feel it is your subconscious talking to you. Then I think of my schedule which is going to be so hectic. And I feel so happy, lucky and blessed that I have this life and what I can do to be a better person every day."
- Reuters