Paris Hilton: I want to be known as a businesswoman, not a reality star

Don’t call her a reality TV star.

In a profile for Harper’s Bazaar published Tuesday, Paris Hilton talks coming into her own as a businesswoman, maintaining that the "spoiled, materialistic, bratty" party girl fans came to know on her reality TV series, The Simple Life, is no more.

"I have really grown past that," says Hilton, who has emerged as a mogul in her own right, with a portfolio that includes 35 eponymous boutiques, three hotels and 20 fragrances in addition to her manufacturing empire, which produces everything from accessories and handbags to cosmetics and children’s wear.

"Now I mostly focus on … my brand,” she continues, "rather than everything else that comes with the reality star kind of life."

But Hilton does concede that The Simple Life helped serve as the launch pad for her brand, allowing her to parlay her partying into a "lucrative business."

"No one had ever been paid to go to a party," Hilton says. "I was the first one to kind of invent that in Las Vegas at 20 years old. Back in the day, a DJ would maybe get $200 and they would be hidden in a DJ booth. Now they are headliners, making millions of dollars—the whole attraction is them. I saw that coming before it was actually happening."

As Hilton explains, it's that kind of marketing savvy and foresight that has helped her grow her empire. "Every dollar I have ever made, I have made myself," she says. "Yes, I feel very lucky to have come from a privileged family, but I have done it all on my own."