Paris Hilton: The brand

15 May 2008 03:22pm

She was virtually anonymous this time five years ago, but Paris Hilton is now one of the world's most recognisable faces.

From starring in a home sex tape to landing herself in jail, the socialite has had a busy few years.

But as well as racking up the controversies, the hotel heiress has been building up quite a little empire.

We take a look at some of her ventures.

:: Films

Paris started bagging small movie roles in the noughties but, until recently, was best known in celluloid terms for 2005's House Of Wax, which bagged her a Best Scream gong at the Teen Choice Awards.

Next came Bottoms Up, before a leading role in 2006's National Lampoon's Pledge This! - which went straight to DVD.

This year she starred in The Hottie And The Nottie which was widely slated - Rolling Stone gave it a half-star because "it takes guts (or gross dim-wittedness) [for Hilton] to appear on screen again after House Of Wax". Ouch!

However, Paris is clearly brave enough to face the critics again as she's signed up for Repo! The Genetic Opera, due out this year.

:: TV

The Simple Life was Paris's shining hour, with the reality show following the party girl and her best pal Nicole Richie.

Premiering in 2003 and running for five seasons, it featured the duo swapping their pampered existences for real life experiences such as cleaning rooms and labouring on farms.

Next up for Paris is MTV's My New BFF (Best Friend Forever), which will see the blonde searching for a new buddy.

"I'm looking for someone that I just trust and not someone who's going to stab me in the back - it's happened a lot in this town," she told People.com at the show's launch.

:: Music

Paris's fleeting pop career was something of a low.

She launched her assault on the charts in 2006, declaring pop success was something she'd dreamed of achieving.

"Ever since I was about six, I wanted to do this," she told The Guardian.

Her debut single Stars Are Blind did fairly well but the album, Paris, failed to set the music world on fire despite a pretty decent critical reception.

It's rumoured she's planning a second album.

:: Merchandise

In May last year the celeb put her name to a new range of watches which was launched via www.amazon.co.uk.

A few months later she became the face of the new Bliss collection by Italian jewellers Damiani. The range includes pieces in gold, stainless steel, wood, and of course, diamonds.

In August 2007 she continued her bid for world domination by unveiling her namesake clothing line.

"It's a dream come true to have my own clothing line," she said at the launch, wearing a gold sequinned mini-dress. "It's just Paris style: fun, bright and flashy."

The collection, which the socialite described as "really comfortable" and "really affordable", includes shoes, T-shirts and jeans.

She's also released three scents - Paris Hilton, Just Me, and Heiress - and is now following them up with Can Can.

:: Books

In the autumn of 2004, Paris released an autobiography of sorts.

Called Confessions Of An Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind The Pose, it was derided in some quarters for amateurish writing but reportedly netted her a tidy 100,000 dollar advance.

The publishers' faith was well founded - in a world obsessed with celebrity, it became a New York Times bestseller and Paris went on to publish a second book, Your Heiress Diary: Confess It All To Me.

© The Press Association