She’s seen as a sex symbol, a reality TV star, and a punch line. Is this really all about her, or is it a character she created herself? This intimate and confessional documentary, This Is Paris, seeks to unmask the real Paris Hilton, clear up long-standing misconceptions and restore her damaged image.
Paris, the great-granddaughter of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton, apparently grew up in luxury. She has carried this image into her career and business ventures. On her reality show, The Simple Life, she comes across as a shallow, privileged clown. The revelation of a private sex tape further tarnished her image in the eyes of a rapacious media and a critical public. She was the first of many public figures to achieve fame, and her fame spawned many of the social media phenomena that are prevalent today.
“I’m not,” Paris claims at the beginning of the film. “Nobody knew who I really was.” Those closest to her — including her mother and sister Nikki — shared her memories of Paris as a child, a beautiful and precocious tomboy who loved animals. But her childhood was shattered by incidents of abuse at boarding school. It was a secret she kept from the public until the film was released.
Plagued by frequent nightmares and the demanding demands of the brand machine, Paris slowly began to lose his vigilance in front of the camera. It was a new experience for her; she was used to maintaining the no-nonsense demeanor of a runway model or the carefully cultivated personality of a low-key reality star.
Over the years, she began to see the limits of this personality and worked to build a more respected brand worthy of the name. Seventeen global beauty brands are now named after her. Their fragrances alone have earned over $3 billion.
It’s an unexpected portrait of a character that is likely to entertain and inspire both her die-hard fans and her most skeptical critics.
Directed by: Alexandra Dean
