Yahoo Finance Elle Fanning's Paris Hilton Homage Has Deep Roots: She and Dakota 'Used to Act Out' The Simple Life
Photographed by Elle Fanning
Paris Hilton's early aughts wardrobe has cemented its place in pop culture history. Just ask Elle Fanning.
As part of W Magazine's third annual TV portfolio, Fanning, 24, dressed as Hilton's famous Simple Life alter ego, Von Dutch trucker hat and all. Say it with us now — That's hot!
"Right, though every two years or so, I'll watch the show again. I love Nicole Richie. I love Paris Hilton. I've gotten to meet Paris a couple times, and she is the nicest and coolest," Fanning told W of fangirling over the 2003 reality show. "It was so fascinating hearing in Paris's documentary how she put on this persona for the reality show. It's quite clever. "
"My sister [Dakota Fanning] and I would watch The Simple Life and act out the scenes," the Emmy-nominated star of The Great added. "I would normally be Nicole Richie and she would be Paris. We would say 'That's hot' and 'Loves it.' Finally, I get to dress up as Paris and have the dog, because Dakota always had the chihuahua."
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Fanning joins a host of 2022 Emmy nominees in the portfolio, who all honor their favorite small screen characters by channeling their looks.
Included in the mix are Succession's Nicholas Braun dressed as Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights; Squid Game's HoYeon Jung dressed as Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, Severance's Adam Scott as Sam Malone from Cheers; Maid's Margaret Qualley as Dorothy from Golden Girls, and Nicole Byer as Michelle Tanner from Full House.
The feature also includes some of the year's biggest TV stars such as Jessica Biel as Don Draper from Mad Men, Zazie Beetz as Fleabag from Fleabag, Winning Time's Quincy Isaiah as Ted Lasso from Ted Lasso and Madelyn Cline as Peggy from Mad Men.
RELATED: Succession, Ted Lasso, The White Lotus Dominate 2022 Emmy Nominations: See the Full List
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"I love-hate Don Draper," Biel, who received rave reviews for her role in this year's Candy, told W. "You're so attracted to him, and you just want to strangle him at the same time. That's what I want my characters to feel like—I want you to want to be their best friend and also just wanna grab 'em by the hair, like, What are you doing?!"
Isaiah, in the feature, revealed the underlying messaging in Ted Lasso that has had a profound effect on him.
"I thought it was brilliant," the Winning Time star shared. "The way they touched on therapy, talking about mental health, toxic positivity, and not addressing the issues in your life — and how they can come up physically sometimes. You love his character, and you want him to realize that he doesn't have to put up this shield all the time. You want him to be more open about his feelings. If most people would do that, I think we would have better communication and fewer misunderstandings."
For the full spread of TV stars channeling their favorite small screen characters, check out W Magazine's 2022 TV Portfolio
