Way back in the Internet hinterlands of the early 2000s, there was a woman named Paris Hilton. This may surprise you. She’s remained largely out of the spotlight since some high profile bad behavior made her more infamous than famous. Most people know her for two things. The first is unmentionable and the second is The Simple Life, a first-generation celebreality show she starred on alongside Nicole Richie.
A new profile in Broadly emphasizes that while she may no longer be quite the household name she once was, she’s still very busy — and very successful. To wit: she has sold over $2 billion worth of perfume and operates 50 “Paris Hilton” stores in 40 countries.
Her secret?
"I learned that from a young age," Paris tells Broadly, "If my boyfriend got mad at me and I was a teenager, I'd [say in a baby voice], 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.' Then [boys would] just forgive you."
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She says that the voice may actually have deeper roots:
"[The baby voice] developed when I was like really young, when I was a baby or a kid. If I wanted to get something from my dad, I'd be like, 'Dad, I really want this!'"
Her sister Nicky confirms:
"Her voice octave went very high and sweet when she wanted something.”
When it came time to develop her reality show, she knew she had to go back to the baby voice that had treated her so well.
"When I was developing the character for The Simple Life I just was like, 'This is your voice for the show, do it all the time,'" Paris says. "I think if you're actually like that in real life, it's, like, beyond. But if you're in on the joke, you know what you're doing, you're aware of it, and you're doing it purposefully, I think it's actually smart."
So there you have it. They key to success? Baby voice.