Paris Hilton

Famous, yes. Talented? That’s in the eye of the viewers, and poor little rich girl Hilton found plenty of them in 2003 as the dimmer of two dumb blondes on the popular reality series The Simple Life. The granddaughter of hotelier Conrad Hilton, this skinny starlet was already well known in society circles as a die-hard party girl and middling model. But The Simple Life — which placed her and equally pampered pal Nicole Richie in situations where they were actually required to work — turned her into a household name. As audiences snickered at her empty-headed antics, Hilton — who was already disgustingly wealthy — laughed all the way to the bank. She even managed to trademark her inane catchphrase, “That’s hot.” While Hilton parlayed her celebrity into roles in a number of movies and TV series and even released a self-titled album, she didn’t show much promise and remained in the spotlight due to her outrageous personal life, including high-profile romances (Nick Carter, Paris Latsis, Stavros Niarchos III), an infamous sex video, a hacked cell phone, a public fallout with costar Richie, drunk driving and a controversial 2007 jail stint for driving with a suspended license.