Kim K vs. Paris Hilton: Who Works The Spotlight Best?

Everything Kim Kardashian knows she learned from Paris Hilton. These two go way back. They were really good friends when they were kids and, during their 20s, Kim was actually employed by Paris. She was the heiress’ closet organizer! It didn’t take her long, however, to go from employee to best friend. Back in 2006, Kim went everywhere with Paris. It all seemed to come to an abrupt end when “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” debuted. Suddenly these two former friends were in direct competition with each other! These two have had similar careers, so we want to know who has worked the spotlight better – Kim or Paris? Vote at the end to let us know!

They Both Have/Had Reality TV Shows

Both Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian have been involved in numerous reality TV shows. Hilton was on “The Simple Life,” “Paris Hilton’s My New BFF” and “The World According to Paris.” The most popular of these shows was “The Simple Life.” It was a huge hit. For the first episode, 13 million viewers tuned in. It was during this show that many people first developed an interest in the heiress. She was beautiful, vacuous and ridiculously wealthy. While people may have liked “The Simple Life,” they didn’t like “The World According to Paris.” It was canceled after only one season.

Kim Kardashian seems to have been inspired by Hilton’s success with reality TV. In 2007, she and her family decided to try their hand at it by launching their own reality TV show, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” This show was an instant hit and became so popular that it has spawned numerous spin-offs, including “Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami,” “Kourtney and Kim Take New York,” “Kourtney and Kim Take Miami,” “Khloe & Lamar” and “Kourtney and Khloe Take the Hamptons.” “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” is going on its 10th season and it doesn’t look like it is anywhere close to slowing down.

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They Both Love Famous Men

Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian are both into famous men. Since she first became famous, Hilton has always dated men who are less famous than she is. Some of her more notable boyfriends include Nick Carter, Stavros Niarchos, Doug Reinhart, Cy Waits and River Viiperi. None of these guys, with the exception of Carter, were ever that famous before they started hooking up with Hilton and, once they broke up, many of them just faded back into oblivion. We think it safe to say that the heiress wants to be the star of the show, which means that all of her boyfriends better be okay with playing a supporting role.

Kim likes her men to be more famous than Paris does and has demonstrated that she has a thing for athletes. Since she’s become famous she has dated NFL pros Reggie Bush and Miles Austin, and NBA player Kris Humphries, who she married. None of these relationships worked out, so she hooked up with rapper Kanye West, who reportedly has always had a thing for her. These two are now married and being with West has brought Kardashian as close to the A-list as she’s ever been. Can Hilton say that she’s been on the cover of Vogue? Kim now can!

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They Have Both Scored Covers For Playboy

Both of these ladies have been on the cover of Playboy magazine; however, unlike Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton didn’t choose to pose for them. In 2005, they somehow got a picture of her wearing fishnet stockings and a red bustier, so Playboy put that on the cover of their March issue with the unfortunate headline, “Paris Hilton: Sex Star of the Year.” Once the magazine was on sale, Hilton’s rep made sure to tell People magazine that her client didn’t in fact pose for the adult magazine. According to her, Playboy had been trying to get the heiress to pose for them for some time; however, Hilton wasn’t interested.

Kim, on the other hand, willingly posed for Playboy. She appeared on the 2007 cover and bared all inside the magazine. This was all featured on an episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” The brunette reality star was a hesitant at first to take it all off for the magazine; however, her momager, Kris Jenner, managed to convince her that it was a good idea. She was a bit discreet about it all, wearing lots of beads to cover some of herself up. In 2010, Kim said that she regretted doing Playboy but, after having her daughter North, she expressed interest in doing it again!

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Scandals Sparked Their Careers

Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian both became famous because of leaked sex tapes. In 2003, right before Hilton’s reality TV show aired, her sex tape was mysteriously leaked, which got her a lot of attention. Many people think that if the sex tape hadn’t been leaked that she wouldn’t have been an overnight success and there are still other people who think that she leaked it herself. She claims that this isn’t true and, while she still poses provocatively for magazines, she refuses to do any nudity. If you want to see that, you’ll have to watch “1 Night in Paris.”

Like her former friend, Kim’s sex tape was also leaked shortly before her family’s reality TV show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” aired. The tape was filmed in 2003, yet it wasn’t until February of 2007 – just months before the premeire of KUWTK – that the tape was “leaked” to the public. Kim claims that she had nothing to do with the tape’s release and that she is horribly embarrassed by it; however, many people still think that her momager, Kris Jenner is the one who was responsible for leaking it. The sex tape definitely made the Kardashians, Kim in particular, and their reality show more interesting as a result. Even though she claims to be embarrassed by all of it, she still enjoys posing nude for various publications, making any of her former embarrassment seem more like an act.

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They Have Both Dabbled in Music

Another thing Kim and Paris have in common: both of these socialites have tried their hand at music. Paris Hilton released her self-titled album in 2006. Her single Stars Are Blind was an instant worldwide hit; however, reviews of the album were mixed. The Guardian said that Hilton sounded “both distracted and bored stiff” while AllMusic called the album “more fun than anything released by Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson.” Hilton still dabbles in music. In 2012, she released a single called “Drunk Text.” While many people didn’t take it seriously musically, some found it to be quite funny. It is almost as though she’s making fun of herself in the music video.

In 2010, Kim Kardashian released her first (and only) single “Jam (Turn It Up)” with a music video. The critics were not very kind. Jim Farber of the Daily News called the song a “dead-brained piece of generic dance music, without a single distinguishing feature.” It gets worse. He also suggested that the single made Kardashian the “worst singer in the reality TV universe.” Her singing isn’t great, but the video for this is even worse. It kind of looks like she made it by compiling a bunch of videos from her various photo shoots with a few shots of her looking greased up and nearly naked – boring.

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They Have Both Given Acting a Shot

Both of these reality TV stars have given acting a shot. Paris Hilton has dabbled in television, appearing on “Las Vegas,” “Veronica Mars,” “The O.C.” and “American Dreams.” She’s appeared in even more movies, securing a couple of starring roles. None of these movies did especially well. “House of Wax” received mostly negative reviews and didn’t exactly excel at the box office. Hilton hasn’t been involved in much film or television as of late. We think it is safe to say that her days as an actress are pretty much over.

Kim Kardashian has also dabbled in acting. She had a role in “Disaster Movie, ”which is considered by some to be the worst film of all time, as well as “CSI: NYC,” “Beyond the Break,” “Drop Dead Diva” and “American Dad.” We wouldn’t say that she’s had as many roles as her old pal Paris. Most of what Kim does on TV reality based. We don’t think either of these ladies ever had a shot of having a successful acting career. Both of them have won Razzie Awards for their efforts; however, Hilton has definitely won more than Kim – mostly because she has had more movie roles.

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Cate

Cate

Cate has a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature and has been the Managing Editor of Fame10 for more than 6 years. Despite having a love for the works of Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy and Lord Byron, she also has an intense fascination with pop culture. When she isn’t writing for Fame10, she’s planning her next big adventure in Southeast Asia.

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