Dakota & Elle Fanning Teased Their Paris Hilton TV Project

Sisters and Hollywood stars Dakota and Elle Fanning are good at keeping secrets. Though they’re working on A24’s much-anticipated TV adaptation of Paris Hilton’s 2023 memoir, they’ve spilled few details about the project. Luckily for fans, they chose to dole out some tidbits during their cover interview for the October issue of Vanity Fair.

Adapting Paris: The Memoir

The Fannings’ involvement was first revealed in October 2023, when Deadline reported that they were executive producing alongside Hilton, 11:11 Media’s Bruce Gersh, Lewellen Pictures’ Brittany Kahan Ward, and Middle Child Pictures’ David Bernad. No actors or writers have been announced.

In the Vanity Fair piece, Dakota offered insight into their vision, teasing that they want “to weave that outward persona — the glitz, the glam, the Chihuahuas in clothes — with the darker underbellies of Paris’s journey.” Her update further revealed that it has been “a childhood dream come true” to be working with the heiress-turned-icon.

The stars’ paths first crossed more than 20 years ago, when the Simple Life vet had a cameo role in The Cat in the Hat and Dakota starred as Sally. “They grew up watching my career unfold, so they understand both the cultural impact and the personal journey behind it,” Hilton told Vanity Fair. “They see beyond the catchphrases and sparkle.”

Forming A Friendship

Their shared experience in the spotlight was important to Hilton. “Growing up in the public eye, especially in the middle of peak tabloid culture, was intense in ways you can’t really explain to someone who hasn’t lived it,” she explained.

The two sisters discussed their very public childhood during their Vanity Fair interview, too, with Elle recalling that Dakota dealt with the worst of it. “Someone was always trying to catch her doing something,” she said.

In October 2024, Dakota told The Cut that she thinks she and Hilton are similar in “loving to surprise people and subvert people’s perceptions.” They’ve “connected a lot over that,” she added, and have been having “a fun adventure so far.”

At the 2025 Oscars in March, Elle told E! that she couldn’t “say much” about the project, but she did discuss the Fannings’ bond with Hilton. “We have gotten to work really closely with Paris, which is just a dream come true to get to say that she’s become a friend,” she said. “I was so obsessed with her when I was young.”

That same night, Hilton shared that the appreciation is mutual. “I am so excited to be producing this with Elle and Dakota,” she told Extra. “They are so sweet. I love them so much. They are so, just so smart, beautiful, kind, lovely, so talented, and we’re doing it with A24 as well — just White Lotus and Euphoria and all the most amazing shows — so it’s very exciting.”