The Best Paris Hilton Cultural Resets

Paris Hilton is undeniably one of the most influential celebrities of our time. As the namesake of craven gossip entity Perez Hilton in the early aughts, the heiress essentially invented the concept of being famous for being famous, which has come to define our current concept of celebrity today. Amongst a reckoning of how we as a culture treated young, female celebrities of that era, there’s been an overdue recognition of the impact Hilton had on our culture. In honor of her Netflix show Cooking With Paris, where she cooks with friends like Kim Kardashian, Saweetie, and Demi Lovato, we break down some of the heiress’ most defining cultural moments.

The Simple Life (2003-2007)

In this E! reality TV show, Hilton and Nicole Richie work low-playing, laborious jobs, like cleaning houses, milking cows on diary farms and in the kitchen of a Kansas Sonic, while saying “that’s hot,” and wearing stilettos, in this commentary on capitalism, income inequality, and celebrity that pivoted them both to uncharted fame and remains a seminal fixture of television history.