Barbara Walters’ Conversation With Paris Hilton

“‘I used to act dumb. It was an act. That act is no longer cute. It is not who I am,'” Walters quoted the hotel heiress as saying when she recounted the phone call she had with Hilton Monday on “The View.”

In jail serving out the remainder of her sentence for violating probation on reckless driving charges, Hilton, 26, phoned Walters to discuss her state of mind, her experience behind bars and how she feels she has changed.

“‘I’m not the same person I was,'” Walters said Hilton told her, reading from notes she’d taken during the conversation. “‘I know now that I can make a difference.'”

She told Walters she wanted to do something meaningful with her life, like raise money for breast cancer since she’s had relatives who have been afflicted with the disease.

Hilton also said she wanted to be a better role model for the young girls who look up to her, according to Walters. She said she decided to drop her appeal because she didn’t want to cause any more trouble, and prison and the chaos surrounding her sentence have made her realize she must clean up her act.

“God has given me this new chance,” she said. “I’ve become much more spiritual.”

Walters said she sounded tired, but totally aware of what she was saying. Hilton told Walters how terrible her initial three days in jail were.

“I was not eating or sleeping,” she said. “I was severely depressed and felt as if I was in a cage. … It was a horrible experience.”

Walters said Hilton was reading The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and all the fan letters she’s received while she was in her room. During short breaks outside her cell, she plays ping pong, she told Walters.

Walters said Hilton didn’t complain or cry during their conversation. Walters said Kathy Hilton told her that her daughter said she will never take another drink and drive.

Edited Fox News