Two Blondes Walk Into an Opera

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are the architects of our millennium. Before “influencer” was a viable career path; before Instagram or even Facebook; before “bestie” entered the Oxford English Dictionary; before Kris Jenner wielded more power than a studio exec; before the average high-schooler could use “nepotism” in a sentence, Hilton and Richie were inventing ways of being in front of over 10 million TV viewers a week.

It’s always difficult to be ahead of your time, but Hilton and Richie came up during the peak tabloid era, which makes The Simple Life that much more of a reality TV miracle to revisit in 2024. Working without a blueprint, the famous socialites milked their fish-out-of-water dynamic across the country over the course of five seasons, going from a jailhouse to a sausage-packing plant to a theater camp. Like a couple of brilliant blonde Borats, they played off of strangers’ perceptions and biases, came up with shocking, hilarious one-liners off the cuff, and played heightened versions of themselves for maximum laughs. Looking back, it was some true auteur shit.

In the decades since, they’ve remained cultural mainstays as their careers have evolved: Both are mothers now, and Hilton is an activist and touring DJ with a new album, while Richie has followed her comedy muse to hilariously fresh and bizarre places. The latest destination? Vulture Festival, where the iconic duo promoted their new, three-part reunion special on Peacock, Paris & Nicole: The Encore, and celebrated their legendary friendship. Sanasa! Sanasa!

How does it feel to be working together again?
Paris Hilton: We have been having so much fun. When Nicole and I get together, I feel like I’m a teenager again.

How did you decide that this was the right time to come back and make a show together?
Nicole Richie: Both of us have been approached, both separately and together, to do some version of a reboot. But we didn’t want to just do something just to do it. We were texting each other last year and Paris sent me a photo of Braxton, a 3-year-old boy we lived with when we shot the show who is now 23. Paris said, “You know, it’s about to be 20 years since we shot the show.” And I said, “Should we do something?” And then Paris’s reply was “should we?” And I said, “Okay, we’re both away on vacation right now. Let’s let this marinate, let’s come back in the New Year.” On January 2, we got together and we talked; if we were gonna have a reunion, what would that look like and what would that be? We wanted to do it in our own way, and we got to do that.

So you text each other about making this happen, and then what?
N.R.: It was really important for us to create the entire show before we brought it to anyone. We did everything from how many episodes we wanted it to be, what the reunion would look like to episodic breakdowns. We just really wanted it to be completely developed — that’s what I would suggest in this day and age, because it’s very easy for it to just get away from you.

And then you landed on producing an opera. 
P.H.: We love doing the unexpected.

You both have done music before, but as far as I know, neither of you are opera singers, although —
N.R.: We are now!

How did you land on that idea during your planning sessions?
N.R.: We were like, “You know what? We wrote this song when we were 6 or 7. It’s an international sensation and we didn’t even mean for it to, and it deserves to be an opera.” It really wasn’t a question of “why,” it was “why not?”

What are some of your earliest memories of your friendship?
P.H.: When there would be a Christmas party or something at our parents’ house, we would come up with these entire plays, go in our moms’ closets, get all dressed. Nicole did liquid-eyeliner cat-eye on me for the first time, and that was life-changing. Just sneaking out to the school dances. Our parents were really strict when we were growing up. I was only allowed to sleep at Nicole’s house, and she was only allowed to sleep at mine. Every memory I have is with you. I love you.

N.R.: I love you.

Which of you was the bigger troublemaker growing up?
N.R.: In what respect?

Interpret the question as you wish.
N.R.: Okay, here’s what I’ll tell you. There were many times where our punishment was “you can’t hang out with each other.” We could see each other’s windows from each other’s houses — they were separated by the Bel-Air Country Club — so we bought megaphones and we took the megaphones at like, 11 in the morning, and we would be singing our song, “SANASA! SANASA!” through the hills of Bel-Air until they would let us hang out again.

Was this the sort of thing you’d do a lot as kids? Make up words?
P.H.: Yes. I mean, we have a whole language. We could do a whole dictionary with everything.

The Simple Life set the template for reality TV for the next 20 years. There wasn’t a blueprint for this. 
P.H.: This was the first of its kind, so, you know, Nicole and I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We were just ourselves. It makes me feel really proud and amazing that we’re the OGs and we invented this whole game.

N.R.: I think now, and this is not a knock, but there is a formula. You can go on TV and you can build your brand. We were not thinking that at all. We had no idea there was going to be — I didn’t even think about a season two, let alone a season five.

Which is interesting in retrospect considering your careers since. During those first couple of seasons, you both created these character versions of yourselves that are still in pop culture today. What was it like developing these fun, heightened versions of yourselves?
N.R.: Pretty early on, we got what the point of shooting this show was. We were in on the joke, but also the families were very much in on it, and they were down. No matter what we did at people’s houses, they were so happy to have us and they were sad to see us leave. We had a really good experience with all of the families.

P.H.: I’ve always been a very shy person, so playing the character made it really fun for me. Then it just kind of became a part of me, and now I just see it as my fun, playful side.

I think something really fun about rewatching this show is you were both so young, and you were comedians. There are so many funny moments and memes that have lived on from those seasons. What comedy do you guys like? 
P.H.: The Simple Life.

N.R.: I’m a big fan of 30 Rock. I love the Tina Fey crew. I ended up doing a show with them, Great News. John Early is so funny. Oh, Mary! — it is the best show on Broadway right now.

Do you have a favorite memory from filming The Simple Life?
N.R.: On season three, we were on the East Coast in a different city every day and hip to the show at that point. We’d say good night on-camera and then go out after. I view the whole time we shot that show as just us being in our 20s and having freedom to really do what we want. It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime moment for all of us.

P.H.: I really loved spending time with the families and especially Curly, the grandma. She taught us how to make apple pies.

N.R.: She also taught us to make our grilled cheeses in bacon grease.

Do you keep in touch with Curly and Braxton?
P.H.: Braxton and I have been writing to each other on Instagram for many years, so he’s always giving me the family updates and pictures. He told me when Grandpa died, and then Curly right after, and that was just so sad to hear. He’s now a lawyer, and I was just so proud of him.

We’ve spoken about you guys coming up with the idea. But then you go to Peacock and you say, “We want to do something together. It’s an opera.” And they were like …
P.H.: “Loves it.”

In the last-ever episode of Simple Life, you stage a musical about the past four seasons.
N.R.: Weirdly, we both forgot about that, and we were reminded of it as we started doing this opera. We were just on the road and we subconsciously did not know it!

And that also ends with a group number of “Sanasa.” Very meta. Was there any network pushback this time?
N.R.: If we went into the room with just a broad idea, it would have been, but our idea was fully fleshed out so people could see the vision and how it would play out. Part of the fun of going back is to really dive into a world that we are not familiar with at all, which is in line with what The Simple Life was. This time, we are mingling with the musical elite.

What was that culture clash like?
N.R.: Opera is its own field. Paris and I have a long history with the orchestra. In third through sixth grade, we played violin, and then I moved to cello. We met with our old orchestra teacher, Mr. Hauser, who has a cameo in the show. What we realized is that this was a long time coming. We were meant for this.

And then you both have helmed successful brands and businesses, and I’m curious about what skills you’ve learned from that that can also apply to making TV and art.
P.H.: What have we learned from making brands? Sorry, I have ADHD.

Like your song, “ADHD,” which is a banger and an anthem. Over the years, you’ve presented more real versions of yourselves in the public eye, like sharing your ADHD diagnosis. 
P.H.: Thank you. With ADHD, it’s something that is such a part of me and I wouldn’t be who I am today if I didn’t have it. I think that there’s a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions. I really believe that my ADHD gives me my creativity to be innovative, to take risks, to do things first. My mind is thinking of so many things at once, and I don’t think I’d have this many successful businesses if it wasn’t for it. So I call it my superpower. I know how difficult it could be for kids in school, so I just want them to know that they’re not alone and that they are the most creative people in the world. School wasn’t built for people like us, but you can still become very successful in life if you harness your superpower and really put all of your energy and focus into what you love, because the only thing that we can’t focus on — people think we can’t focus — but we just can’t focus on boring things. Love you, ADHD fam!

Is your friendship so strong because Nicole is one of the least boring people ever?
P.H.: Yes, definitely. I’m allergic to boring people.

Have your kids watched the new show?
N.R.: This one? Oh, no.

But they’ve watched the old one?
N.R.: Yes. The Simple Life was having its own moment on TikTok. We didn’t push it, it just organically happened. They were a very big part of me wanting to do this reunion, period.

Can you tell us a bit how Sia got involved in the The Encore?
P.H.: Sia’s executive producer of my album, Infinite Icon. She’s like a sister. And we knew that she’d be good at spotting the talent.

How many people did you audition?
P.H.: Hundreds of people.

And those were clearly the best of the best.
P.H.: Trained opera singers, all of them.

N.R.: Not all of them, but trained opera singers, musicians, we are a very inclusive group, so we wanted anyone to be part of the opera to have the opportunity to do that.

P.H.: Some parrots are in the show too. And the fans as well. I did a video on TikTok and I basically said, “Nicole and I are doing this special thing, can you guys please make a video of why you love The Simple Life and sing ‘Sanasa’?” And so many fans sent in videos and Nicole and I were just watching them, and Rawlins was one of the people that right away we were like, “Oh my God, he would be so perfect for our opera.”

I want to know, your fur babies and human babies, what’s their bond like? Are they siblings? 
P.H.: Yes, because they’ve all grown up with each other. They think that they’re all brothers and sisters.

How about your kids, Nicole? Did the teenagers bond with the chickens?
N.R.: My teenagers bonded with the chickens much more when they were a little bit younger. Now they very much have their own lives. My daughter stays far away from the bees. She’s been stung seven times — but not by my bees. My bees would never do such a thing, my bees are perfect.

You guys really popularized the idea of the purse dog. Do you guys think you helped invent emotional support animals? 
P.H.: Those were our first babies.

N.R.: But before that — which, by the way, I did not know this wasn’t a normal thing until recently — we loved having pet rats. So there was a store on La Cienega called Tropical Fish, and we would go there all the time to buy pet rats. We were obsessed. We named all the rats after characters from 90210. I had Tori Spelling, Paris had Jenny Garth. We were obsessed with them. Then we’d go to Vegas to the Boulevard Mall, where they had an exotic pet store, and we’d get ferrets. I had a ferret, her name was Kennedy after the MTV VJ. We would smuggle them into California because they were or are illegal in California, I’m not sure. But we had tons of them, and chinchillas and parrots. We just always loved animals. That has just always been our thing. We’ve just always loved having animals around us.

P.H.: Nicole had a tarantula.

N.R.: Bambi! I loved her.

P.H.: Bambi was so scary.

N.R.: She was so cute!

P.H.: She was not! It was terrifying!

N.R.: Was it?

P.H.: It was like something out of a horror film!

N.R.: Did you like my ball python Cleopatra?

P.H.: Yeah!

N.R.: I used to take her to clubs.

Your ball python?
N.R.: Her name was Cleopatra. This was during my roller-skate-to-club stage. I’d wear her around my neck like a necklace, and she loved the music.

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