Paris Hilton has spent much of her life in the spotlight, but the socialite has revealed that she has one reliable trick for keeping her identity under wraps.
The 45-year-old media personality explained how she has managed to move through public places without being recognized or overwhelmed by attention during the past 20 years.
As the heiress linked to one of America’s best-known hotel empires and the star of the hit reality series The Simple Life, Hilton needs more than sunglasses to go incognito.
“If I wanted to be low-key, or if I’m going to Disneyland or the mall or something on the weekend, I always wear a brown wig,” she told Us Weekly.
Hilton said the disguise is part of her routine, although she stops short of permanently changing her hair color. “It’s something that I do all the time, but I would never fully do it because, being blonde, I don’t want to mess with it.”
Switching repeatedly between brunette and blonde can take a toll on the hair, Hilton explained. She recently shared photos from her lavish summer getaway in Italy.
Paris Hilton has revealed the disguise that helps her avoid unwanted attention in public. Above, Hilton walks in The Blond’s 20th Anniversary Runway show in New York City on September 14.
With her name closely associated with the family behind a major American hotel chain and the reality series The Simple Life, Hilton requires more than dark sunglasses to blend into a crowd. Above, she attends the US Open on September 12.
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Hilton also embraced a brunette look in May when she walked in New York City’s GucciCore Fashion Show. On that occasion, the transformation came at the request of Gucci creative director Demna Gvasalia.
“For the Gucci show, Demna wanted me to go with the dark hair — brunette — which I absolutely loved and I actually do that all the time when I’m going undercover,” Hilton told the outlet.
The mother of two returned to the runway for The Blond’s 20th Anniversary Fashion Show on Monday, wearing the platinum blonde style that has become her signature.
Since rising to fame in the early 2000s, Hilton has remained a prominent force in pop culture and fashion.
“I’m not someone who follows trends — I’m someone who starts them and wears things first,” she said. “And I feel like I’ve always been really ahead of my time, and I just know what I love.”
Hilton’s comments about her go-to disguise come as she continues teasing a new collaboration with longtime friend Nicole Richie, 44.
The pair became household names after starring together on The Simple Life, which ran from 2003 through 2007 and helped propel both women to superstardom.
“Nicole and I are talking now and making plans for another new project soon, so I cannot wait,” Hilton previously told Us Weekly.
Hilton wore brunette hair for New York City’s GucciCore Fashion Show last May, revealing that the look is also part of her usual strategy when she wants to go undercover.
“If I wanted to be low-key, or if I’m going to Disneyland or the mall or something on the weekend, I always wear a brown wig,” the former reality star said. Above, Hilton walks in the GucciCore Fashion Show in New York City on May 16.
While Hilton’s sister Nicky has often dyed her blonde hair brunette, she generally doesn’t wear disguises. Above, the siblings on September 12 out and about in New York City
Hilton has shared that motherhood is the ‘most beautiful thing.’ Above, Hilton on January 20 with husband Carter Reum and their children London, two, and Phoenix, three, at the Los Angeles premiere of her documentary concert film Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir
‘Nicole and I have been best friends since we [were] two years old, so all of my memories have been with her. I’m really excited for the new project that we’re working on now.’
Hilton and Richie, the daughter of legendary singer Lionel Richie, reunited in 2024 for Paris and Nicole: The Encore, and Hilton admitted that she relished shooting the show.
Hilton, who has son Phoenix, three, and daughter London, two, with her husband of five years, Carter Reum, recently shared that she’s found motherhood to be the ‘most beautiful thing.’
‘Being a mom, it’s the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced, the kind of love that’s so deep, it changes you forever,’ Hilton said in Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir, a 2026 documentary concert film about her life and music.
