Paris Hilton Says This Royal Was One of Her Idols Growing Up

Paris Hilton wearing a blue sparkly dress clasping her hands and smiling with a bookshelf behind her — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Paris Hilton might be Hollywood royalty, but it turns out one of her biggest role models is an actual royal. In an Oct. 9 interview with W magazine, she revealed two of her inspirations as she chatted with bestie Nicole Richie about their return to TV together.

When asked about her female role models, Hilton replied, "Princess Diana had such a huge heart and was always using her platform to help children and help the world be a better place."

She also listed Marilyn Monroe as her "ultimate icon," explaining, "The camera loved her, she loved it, she knew how to work it. She was playing a character as well, which I can relate to."

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The pop star—who will star with Richie in Paris & Nicole: The Encore—noted that Monroe "wasn’t a dumb blonde; she was just very good at pretending to be one. Just like me."

As for Princess Diana, this isn't the first time the hotel heiress has mentioned her love of the late princess. In 2017, she told Marie Claire how her 2004 sex tape with then-boyfriend Rick Salomon was especially "hurtful" because of her admiration for the royal.

Princess Diana wearing a blue dress playing chess with children in a hospital — Hilton praised Princess Diana, pictured visiting a leprosy hospital in 1989, for her desire to "help children."

Hilton said, "my whole life I really looked up to Princess Diana, all these elegant, amazing women, and I feel like [Salomon] just took that all away from me," adding she "could have been like that" if not for her tape.

And during a Magic Breakfast Radio Show interview in 2023, she noted that she could relate to Prince Harry, too. "He has been through so much and I can’t imagine just losing my mom – Princess Diana has always been one of my idols," she said, adding it was heartbreaking to watch his family experience media scrutiny.

"And I know how it is with the media," Hilton continued of Harry. "It can be so hard when they are just invading your lives constantly and he has had that his entire life."

As for her return to reality TV with Richie, Paris said that with the 20th anniversary of The Simple Life, "it was perfect timing" for a new show.

"It was so fun to spend every day together. Every time I’m with Nicole, I feel like we’re teenagers again," she said.

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.