Paris Hilton Uses “Hundreds Of Wigs” To Go Incognito In Public

Paris Hilton understands the art of fame. In her new Nylon cover story, published Sept. 5, the star opened up about navigating celebrity, a conversation that’s gained steamed recently amid Chappell Roan’s viral comments about fan interactions.

To promote her new album, Infinite Icon, Hilton talked to Bebe Rexha for Nylon. The latter recalled how invasive the paparazzi was to the heiress in the early 2000s, but Hilton said she’s used to the attention since she’s been in the public eye for so long.

“Nothing fazes me anymore,” she said. “Wherever I go, whenever I’m eating dinner, people are always coming up, and I always am so polite — I’ll take photos with everyone. Sometimes I feel bad because I’m with my family and I don’t want to take away the time from everyone, but then I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I have such empathy for people, so I never want anyone to feel sad.”

How Paris Goes Unrecognized

Hilton still desires to go out unrecognized, especially since welcoming her two children with husband Carter Reum, 1-year-old son Phoenix and 9-month-old daughter London. “I want to be able to go to Disneyland [with my kids],” she said. “I want to be able to go to the farmers market.”

Therefore, she goes to extreme lengths to walk around undetected. “The way I deal with it now is I’ll be in a full disguise,” she told Rexha. “The black, short wig… Well, I have hundreds of wigs. So it could be any color with giant sunglasses, a hat, a hoodie, sometimes a face mask. Just to be able to be undercover and run around and do fun stuff and be normal.”

Paris’ Relationship With Fame

Hilton said her relationship with fame changed after having children, a sentiment she expresses in “Fame Won’t Love You,” a duet with Sia on Infinite Icon. (The new album, which examines fame, empowerment, and motherhood, is executive produced by Sia.) “In the start of my career, I felt like fame was the ultimate validation,” she said. “And of course I was happy, but it does leave you feeling empty inside if you don’t have that real love.”

While fame may no longer motivate her, Hilton still wants to use it for good. She now views it “as a superpower to make others happy,” recalling a recent meet-and-greet she did with Nicole Richie for their upcoming Simple Life reunion special.

“It brought me to tears to hear what an impact I’ve had on people’s lives, and how I helped shape who they are,” she said. “Or they were going through hard things in life, but because of me, I brought them happiness, confidence.”