Los Angeles, Mar 17 (IANS): American socialite Paris Hilton said that her on-screen persona was a "trauma response" and a way to deal with the pressures in her life.

The TV personality, 42, was catapulted to fame in the early noughties in show 'The Simple Life', where she and pal Nicole Richie swapped their lavish lifestyles for humble homes, reports Mirror.co.uk.

However, the person she was while the cameras rolled and on the red carpet was a "mask", the star said as she appeared on 'The One Show'. Paris spoke to Rylan Clark and Jermaine Jenas this evening about her book, 'Paris Hilton: The Memoir', where she recalled the terribly dark times in her teenage years.

The new mum has spoken of how she was drugged and raped aged 15, groped by a teacher, and sexually abused while attending boarding school in Utah.

Mirror.co.uk further states that as an heiress and model, Paris was already known in the NYC social scene, then scooping 'The Simple Life' in her early twenties, which ran for four years.

'The One Show' host Jermaine asked the entrepreneur whether she had "two characters", and if she found "herself trapped between two versions of Paris Hilton, the real Paris Hilton and the characters she's created?"

The TV star replied: "I think that what I went through it was a trauma response where I created this character, this Barbie doll fantasy life so I didn't have to think about what I went through, and then I got 'The Simple Life', and then I had to continue playing that character season after season and then almost got stuck in it because I got so used to doing it. It was sort of a mask to deal with all of the pressures.