'I Can Make It Through Anything'

Surviving Child Abuse, a Sex Tape Scandal, Fame... Paris Hilton, the OG influencer, reality star and celebrity entrepreneur, opens up like never before in her latest documentary, Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir

- by DAN WAKEFORD

Driving through the panoramic hills of L. A. to Paris Hilton's home, it strikes me that interviewing her for a series titled Just Like Us feels like a bit of a stretch. This area is home to some of the most extravagant properties in the most unrelatable city in the world. After a 15-minute security check to access her estate, it's clear my instincts are right.

I find myself in a home unlike any I've ever experienced before. The scale is so immense, you barely notice the 50 or so staff buzzing around, going about their jobs. The mansion, a 30,500-square-foot structure emblazoned with a “P” for Paris on its roof, features a five-hole golf course, a pink tennis court, an ice skating rink, an 8,000-square-foot spa and longevity center and an onsite office where her 30-person team builds her empire. I knew Hilton had done well, but I didn't realize her success supported such a scale of opulence.

The idea of Paris Hilton still conjures an image of someone impossibly unrelatable. She was the original influencer, the socialite queen of nightlife with a famous last name. But after a very public betrayal involving a leaked sex tape, she did something unexpected: she leveraged her notoriety to create a groundbreaking reality show and an entertainment empire valued at approximately $1 billion. Today, the 44-year-old mom of two (she and her entrepreneur husband of four years, Carter Reum, also 44, are parents to son Phoenix, 3, and daughter London, 2; both were born via surrogate) — is a multihyphenate entrepreneur with ventures in music, fashion, skincare and more.

So how could she be Just Like Us? Stay with me... In recent years, Hilton has evolved and opened up about what was truly happening behind the glitter and glamour. Through this journey, she's made valuable contributions to the world. In her 2020 documentary,