Happy To Be Home!
I'm so happy to be back home in Los Angeles and enjoying this beautiful fall weather. Such a wonderful time of year!
The thing about working on a Paris Hilton interview is that there is no point trying to ‘Google research’ her. There are about 142 million entries, with sundry information, faux pas and random romantic linkups. The problem is that these ‘everything-youever- wanted-to-know-about-Paris’ sites, despite the claims, do not prepare you for the real Paris who sits in front of you in a pair of track pants and a T-shirt.No entourage, no over-opinionated hangers-on and no know-all ‘pal’ who will ‘decide’ what she looks good in. It’s just her, and a little duffel bag of stuff that she carries herself. Not quite the Paris Hilton, the heiress, the PR miracle, the star who loves her vanilla and lavender candles, that we were nervously expecting. We were told, “Paris needs candles lit and placed in the right corners of her vanity van, a DJ on the set, corn-fed chicken, lots of ketchup, a private plane bigger than a G-4, celebrity-tinted car windows...”
The Paris Hilton we meet turns out to be quite an antithesis of all that we were preparing ourselves for. She arrives bang on time in a car (not a jumbo jet) for the shoot (she didn’t give a damn about the candles or the chicken), walks right into the makeup van and gets to work. She has never worn Indian clothes before, but we insist on giving her a taste of a full-blown Indian bling brigade. She has probably never even heard of most of the ‘famous’ Indian designers. Paris, the fashionista,
doesn’t care.
She knows it is work and she must look the part. That’s the job and she is ready to play the Indian fantasy. The good news for all Indian designers out there is that she is now “obsessively in love” with Indian fashion. “It is so gorgeous and beautiful. I love the Swarovski crystals, the gowns, the blouse and the sari, which I hope to learn to drape one day.”
So, where is Paris Hilton, the diva, everybody loves to hate? Non-existent? Grown-up? Media-created? Hiding behind this chiselled face? I am not sure. The girl I talk to is a professional who keeps her interview time to the minute, a regular girl, a little child who collects toys and a woman who knows the pain of a broken heart.
“I think a lot of things have been written about me, so when people meet me and realise that I’m actually a down-to-earth, real person, they are surprised. I’m a true Aquarian, independent and strongheaded, which is probably misinterpreted at times. I don’t suck up to people and have never changed my ways to please others. Often people forget who they are,” says Paris, but readily admits that with time she, too, has evolved, not just as a professional, but also within her personal space.
“I think I’m in the process of growing up. I am a lot more focussed on work. I have grown up so much in the past few years. I have changed the way I look at the world and my place in it. I have always wanted to build a business empire of my own, not just live off of the Hilton legacy. That is my priority,” she says, taking the air of a no-nonsense woman who means business.
But why take the rough road? The daughter of Richard Hilton and actress Kathy Richards, Paris is the eldest of four children. Together with her three siblings, Nicky, Barron Hilton II and Conrad Hilton III, she is heir to the considerable Hilton fortune, which has been built on Why not just follow the regular inheritor path and enjoy the ride?
Paris Hilton at Mercato di Vetro
Petra Ecclestone and Paris Hilton Leave Spago's
Paris Hilton Product Launch in Mumbai
