For decades, Paris Hilton has been a household name, and her "baby voice" was one of her trademarks. But the Simple Life star has lifted the lid on how she crafted that voice as part of a 'dumb blonde' persona, as she discussed her life with Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.
The reality star discussed why she created iconic 'dumb blonde’ façade in the Spotify podcast Archetypes - and how she created the character for TV. She uses her real speaking voice on the podcast - after previously leaving fans baffled at her deep tone, with many used to her high-pitched voice.
Discussing how she wanted to disprove stereotypes foisted on her as a teenager, Paris told Meghan how she crafted the character.
She explained: "When you're on TV it's not the same - my voice...everything just changes like I have naturally a very low voice.
"But then on the show it's gets gets very high."
She added: "It was a reaction to having a mask to protect myself. So it could be like they're not talking about me, they're talking about this character that I created.
"It kind of helped the pain of the media just constantly being mean and very vicious and cruel to me for so long.
"That character shielded me from ever really having to feel anything."
They then played a clip from 2009, where Paris talked about how she played a bubbly Barbie, but in real life 'is the exact opposite'.
During the candid interview, the reality TV siren opened up about the struggles she had been through as a teen in the 1990s after her parents sent her away to boarding school due to her wild partying.
The socialite, now 41, claims she suffered daily physical and mental abuse when she was a student at Provo Canyon School in Utah, which changed ownership in 2000.
She alleges that staff at the school would hit and attempt to strangle students, as well as keeping them in solitary confinement and placing them in restraints when they were seen to have misbehaved.
Paris opens up about her alleged experience in her upcoming documentary This Is Paris, which comes out later this month.
As a teenager, she had lived in New York City's plush Waldorf Astoria Hotel with her parents, Rick and Kathy Hilton, and younger siblings Nicky, now 36, Barron, 30, and Conrad, 26.
She told Meghan how she would sneak out at night to attend parties, and would wake up to read new wild headlines about herself.
In a bid to halt her partying, her parents decided to send her away to a series of boarding schools that claimed to focus on behavioural and mental development.
She is now campaigning for legislation aimed at regulating residential schools, like the one she attended.
She said: "I've had thousands of people write me letters and come up to me on the street saying 'I went through the same thing that you went through at the schools'
"There are thousands of them around the world and there's a hundred and fifty thousand children, every year, being sent to these places.
"Now I'm pushing for federal legislation and going to DC and it's just been so empowering just to really turn my pain into a purpose."
She previously explained why she had made the change during an appearance on Australian breakfast TV program Sunrise, where she discussed that she had been 'playing a dumb blonde' for all those years.
"This entire time, I have been playing a character, so the world has never truly known who I am,' she explained.
"The real me is someone who is actually brilliant. I'm not a dumb blonde, I'm just really good at pretending to be one.
"I don't want to be remembered for some airhead, but the businesswoman I am.”
Paris previously made an attempt to speak out about the 'fake voice’ she felt obliged to put on in previous interviews.
In 2016 she appeared on the Today show in America, where the hosts presenters quizzed her about the sudden change in her voice – not believing it to be genuine.
"This is actually my real voice,” she said.
"My other voice – you know, that Simple Life kind of baby voice that I used to use. I actually have a low voice in real life.”
You can get help with your mental health and speak to someone through the charity Mind. Click here for more details.
