Remember when Paris Hilton was everywhere in the news? She was the stereotypical “dumb rich blonde,” which became a source of stand up comedians and late night hosts for years.

But the dumb blonde ain’t so dumb. In fact, in a new Access Hollywood interview, Paris claims the whole ditsy routine was part of an act, and that she parlayed it into her business — which is still thriving by the way.

“I am a very hardworking businesswoman and entrepreneur, and that’s what I want to be known as now,” she said when reflecting about her years on the hit show The Simple Life with Nicole Richie. “[Producers] said ‘Nicole you play the trouble maker, Paris you play the ditzy airhead.’ We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into or what a huge success it would be and that I’d have to continue playing this character for five years.

“You kind of just get trapped in that character when you have to continue doing it on a TV show,” she continued. “I don’t mind because I feel like I really parlayed it into a huge business and it was a lot of fun. I think if I was my serious self on the show it wouldn’t have been such a huge success.”