Paris Hilton was recently crowned worst actress of the decade at The Razzies (the alternative to the Oscars). Unlike other Razzie recipients (Sandra Bullock — simultaneous worst (see below) and best actress of the year) Paris did not come out to accept her prestigious award that she worked so hard for.

Sandra Bullock

Paris has done some really superb movies over the past few years including National Lampoon’s Pledge This, House of Wax (see below), Repo! The Genetic Opera, and The Hottie and The Nottie (see below). If you’ve seen all/any of these, please let me know. I guess I have to give her credit for never letting striking out (a flop) keep her from playing the game (making movies).

House of Wax

The Hottie and the Nottie

At first it seemed Paris was a novelty in the film industry. She was plastered on DVD covers looking like the star when she didn’t even survive the whole film (like in House of Wax). I, embarrassingly enough, remember Paris talking up Pledge This for what seemed like forever. I will confess this: I was a big Paris Hilton fan initially. When The Simple Life came out, I was fascinated/jealous of the 22-year-old heiress. I thought it might be interesting to see her act in a movie. But I never did either because they didn’t make it to theatres, took to long to come out, or looked awful.

When I was a “fan” of Paris, she was in her early 20s. She was rich, beautiful and seemingly fun. Now she is 29 years old. She is still looking for her “New BFF” in the U.S. and Dubai. She still travels the world getting paid to party — although for far less and with far less opportunities than years ago (and compared to the Jersey Shore cast). 29 is not old … but it too old to sustain a career based on partying and even new BFFs. Paris has extended her brand to music, books ( Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose and Your Heiress Diary: Confess It All To Me), perfume (Paris Hilton, Can Can, Just Me, Heiress, Fairy Dust, and Siren), and whatever else is dreamt up during all her meetings.

Perhaps the greatest juxtaposition to Paris Hilton is her former BFF (pre-My New BFF days) — Nicole Richie. The 28-year-socialite has cleaned up her act since her Simple Life days, with stints in rehab for heroin addiction and receiving a DUI being among the events in her darker days. Now the only think dark in Lionel Richie’s daughter’s life is her hair. Nicole is now engaged to rocker Joel Madden and has two gorgeous children, Harlow and Sparrow. She has an accessories line and designed maternity clothes. Not sure why, but somehow that sounds more serious than Paris Hilton’s relentless branding of herself. (Nicole’s brand is aptly named House of Harlow 1960 — a nod to her daughter and bohemian style.)

While Paris probably sees the lifestyle her former friend has cultivated and yearns for a similar one — she dated Joel’s twin brother and now constantly tweets about her boring lifestyle at home with boyfriend Doug Reinhardt — she seems to need a push in the right direction. She has the credibility with a long list of designer and producer credits to her name, but it is time to apply that credibility to her lifestyle. The days of Paris Hilton on the weekly gossip magazine covers are long gone. At the very least the U.S. has lost interest in Paris and the image she created. Yet we are still loving Nicole Richie …

I can’t say I know what it’s like to be an heiress as much as I would like to. But I can say the best heiresses are the ones that grow up beautifully and maturely, not the ones that unfortunately crash and burn.