Perez Hilton always wanted to be a celebrity, says Sara Wilson in Los Angeles. As a chubby young acting student named Mario Lavandeira, he dreamed of a career on TV or in the movies, but had to settle for a bit part on the weight-loss reality show From Flab to Fab. Today, the 31-year-old blogger runs a catty celebrity website that is valued at $32 million and visited by 1.3 million people daily. He previously held many jobs, including as a reporter at Star magazine. But stalking the famous wasn’t his strong suit—“I just felt dirty”—and he became suicidal, gobbling prescription pills and curling up in a fetal position in his shower. When Star fired him, he decided to try writing a blog in which he could comment on the celebrity news of the day. “It was so much fun,’’ he says. “It was my own little world.” Hilton’s dishy, snarky site was a hit, and he quickly reinvented himself, talking his way into A-list parties, wearing outrageous clothes, and dyeing his hair psychedelic colors. His life, he says, is a perfect illustration of the motto, “Fake it till you make it.” He’s even begun calling himself “Perez” in his real life, and bristles at the suggestion that there’s anything wrong with that. “You know what? It’s not lame at all. Perez brought opportunity to my life. Perez made me happier.”
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