Nicole Richie | |
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Richie at the 82nd Academy Awards
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Born |
Nicole Camille Escovedo September 21, 1981 Berkeley, California, U.S. |
Education | Montclair Preparatory School |
Occupation | Television personality, actress, fashion designer, author |
Years active | 1996–present |
Spouse(s) | Joel Madden (m. 2010) |
Children | 2 |
Parent(s) | Lionel Richie (father) |
Relatives |
Benji Madden (brother-in-law) Cameron Diaz (sister-in-law) |
Website | nicolerichie |
Nicole Camille Richie (born Nicole Camille Escovedo; September 21, 1981) is an American fashion designer, author, actress and television personality. Richie rose to prominence for her role in the Fox reality television series, The Simple Life, alongside her childhood best friend and fellow socialite Paris Hilton, which lasted five seasons. The Simple Life was a hit for the Fox network, premiering with 13 million viewers. Richie's personal life attracted significant media attention during The Simple Life's five-year run, and she was a constant fixture of tabloid journalism before and after her appearance.
Richie is married to musician Joel Madden and they have two children, Harlow and Sparrow. Richie and Madden founded "The Richie Madden Children's Foundation" in 2010. Richie has starred as one of the three mentors on NBC's Fashion Star. In July 2014, Richie's reality show Candidly Nicole premiered on VH1. The show was renewed for a second season which premiered in July 2015.
Richie was born in Berkeley, California, and has Mexican, English, and African-American ancestry. Her biological father is Peter Michael Escovedo, who is the brother of Sheila E, and her biological mother is Karen Moss. When she was three years old, her biological parents agreed to let her move in with Lionel Richie because they could not afford to provide for her financially. "My parents were friends with Lionel," she told People in 2003. "They trusted that they would be better able to provide for me." Initially, Lionel Richie became her guardian.
Lionel Richie and his wife Brenda Harvey legally adopted Nicole when she was nine. Shortly after the adoption was formalized, Lionel's affair with another woman became public knowledge. Lionel and Brenda went through a bitter public split; as a result, they indulged Nicole's every whim. "Their way of making me happy was to say, 'yes,' to everything I wanted, but I don't think a little girl should have that much freedom," said Richie in an interview with Vanity Fair. Following the divorce, Lionel remarried and had two more children: Myles (b. 1994) and Sofia (b. 1998).