Paris Hilton's Old AIM Screen Name Was So Her, but Nicole Richie's Had a Meaningful Backstory

Mar. 15, 2025

Paris Hilton (left) and Nicole Richie in 2004.Photo:Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

Paris HiltonandNicole Richiewere some of the defining starlets of the 2000s, and now they’re talking about something truly of the time: their AIM screen names.

On the Dec. 11 episode of theCall Her Daddypodcast, Hilton and Richie, both 43, opened up to host Alex Cooper abouttheir shared childhood and teenage years. When discussing how Richie mether husband Joel Madden, she mentioned that they would chat on AIM — AOL’s instant messaging service, which became popular in the late ‘90s and maintained its user base throughout the 2000s.

Cooper, 30, asked what Richie’s AIM screen name was. “My first name was PrincessNR because I had a dog named princess,” she shared. But then she had a second, BallerinaGirlNR.

Nicole Richie (left) and Paris Hilton in 2002.Jeff Vespa/WireImage

Jeff Vespa/WireImage

“ ‘Ballerina Girl’ is a song that my dad wrote, and the song is after me,” she explained.Her dad, Lionel Richie, included the song on 1986’sDancing on the Ceiling. But the screen name did lead to a funny misunderstanding.

“I said, ‘I cannot believe for a straight hour, you thought that my name was “Baller in a girl,” ' " she recalled. “So now some of my friends still call me that.”

Paris Hilton (left) and Nicole Richie in 2003.Ray Mickshaw/WireImage

Ray Mickshaw/WireImage

Hilton and Richie found widespread fame when they began starring inthe reality showThe Simple Lifein 2003, but they were friends from childhood, thanks to their famous parents. Hilton shared on the podcast, “Nicole and I were only allowed to sleep at each other’s houses.” Richie added, “We also used to get treated as one. So like if the leader of our [friend] group got mad at one of us, both of us were out.”

The Simple Lifeaired until 2007. Now, Richie and Hilton are reuniting in the three-part Peacock seriesParis & Nicole: The Encore. In it, they try to turn their iconic ‘Sanasa’ songinto an opera.

Back in 2020, Hilton told PEOPLE that filmingThe Simple Lifewas a little frustrating becauseviewers didn’t realize she was playing a character. “I knew what I was doing but the whole world didn’t, so it was kind of frustrating to me to be perceived in that way because it’s not who I am at all,” she explained. “But it was such an amazing and entertaining show that I would just think of it as entertainment.”

Paris Hilton (left) and Nicole Richie in 2001.Jeff Vespa/WireImage

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“Obviously, I’ve grown as a person,” she said. “I’m an adult now, but just to be judged and have so many misconceptions based on a character that I had invented myself was frustrating.”

Paris & Nicole: The Encorepremieres Dec. 12.

source: people.com