Nicole Richie
Richie In Store Appearance David Jones Photo Call 2012
Born	Nicole Camille Escovedo (1981-09-21) September 21, 1981 (age 30) Berkeley, California, U.S.
Occupation	Television personality, actress, fashion designer, author
Years active	2003–present
Spouse	Joel Madden (2010–present)
Children	2[1]
Website
www.nicolerichie.com

Nicole Camille Richie (born Nicole Camille Escovedo; September 21, 1981) is an American fashion designer, author, actress, singer and television personality.

Richie rose to prominence for her role in the Fox reality television series, The Simple Life which lasted five seasons. Afterwards she turned her focus on other projects including charity work and environmental issues. In November 2007 Richie and husband, Joel Madden, created "The Richie Madden Children's Foundation".^[2] She is currently one of the three mentors on NBC's Fashion Star.

Richie's personal life has also attracted media attention, including her dramatically thin appearance, driving under the influence arrests in 2003 and 2006, as well as her extensive drug abuse throughout her late teenage years and early twenties.

Early life[link]

Nicole Richie was born in Berkeley, California.^[3] Her biological father is Peter Michael Escovedo, a musician who played for a brief time with Lionel Richie, and her biological mother Karen was the executive assistant for her aunt Sheila E. At the age of three, her parents agreed to let her move in with Lionel Richie and Brenda Harvey 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."^[4] Initially, Lionel Richie became her guardian.^[5] Lionel Richie and Brenda Harvey effectively raised Nicole as their daughter. She began attending weekly sessions with a psycho-therapist at age three, remaining in therapy throughout childhood.

Richie was legally adopted by Lionel and Brenda when she was nine years old. Shortly after the adoption was formalized, Lionel's affair with another woman became public knowledge.^[6] 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.^[7] Following the divorce, Lionel remarried and gave Nicole two younger siblings; Myles (b. 1994) and Sofia (b. 1998).^[8] Richie has one godmother, Nancy Davis, daughter of Marvin Davis and mother of Brandon Davis. Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson were each Richie's godfathers.^[9] Jones said in a People magazine interview that he has "known Nicole Richie since she was a baby. She's a very smart girl".^[10]

In 1986, Richie attended The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California, where she met Paris Hilton. Richie graduated from Montclair College Preparatory School in 1999 and then attended the University of Arizona alongside Kourtney Kardashian and Luke Walton, where she studied Arts and Media. Richie did not have a definitive study plan in Arizona, and eventually dropped out after two years and returned to California.^[9]

Career[link]

Television[link]

In 2003, Richie and her then best friend Paris Hilton starred in the reality series The Simple Life, in which they lived for a month with a family in the rural community of Altus, Arkansas. The series premiere debuted on Fox on December 2, 2003, to thirteen million viewers, increasing Fox's Adults 18-49 rating to 79%.^[11] The series continued for a second and third season, and Richie achieved superstardom for her out-spoken, comedic persona.^{[citation needed]}

The show was subsequently cancelled by Fox after a dispute between Hilton and Richie, but it was subsequently aired by E! Entertainment Television for the fourth season, which was a hit for E!, drawing nearly one million viewers and a relatively unsuccessful fifth season.^[12] More complications arose during the production of a fifth season. Both Richie and Hilton faced major charges for DUI, and were at risk of serving jail time. Hilton was sentenced to 23 days in jail, though this was after production of the season had finished.^[13] Richie accepted a plea agreement and was sentenced to four days in jail, again after production had wrapped.^[14] Despite talks of a sixth season,^[15] the series finished its run at the end of the moderately unsuccessful fifth season.^[16][17]

In 2005, Nicole Richie made her acting debut in the comedic drama Kids in America. Richie has guest starred in television series including Eve, Six Feet Under and American Dreams, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, and playing the recurring character Heather Chandler on Chuck.^[18] In July 2008, plans were announced to turn Richie's 2005 novel, The Truth About Diamonds, into a television series.^[19]

On January 1, 2010, it was announced that Richie would appear as a guest judge on Project Runway.^[20]

Richie is currently filming Fashion Star for NBC.

Writing[link]

In 2005, Richie wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Truth About Diamonds, which was released by Bharell Jackson Publishing. The novel is loosely based on her life, but is mostly fictional. It chronicles the life of Chloe Parker, the adopted daughter of a singer who makes her way through all of the popular nightclubs and parties in Hollywood while battling a drug addiction.^[21] In early January 2006, The Truth About Diamonds peaked at number #32 in Hardcover Fiction on The New York Times Best-Seller List.^[22]

Richie's second novel, Priceless, was released on September 28, 2010.^[23] It tells the story of a girl who loses everything and then learns about what really matters in life.^[24]

Fashion[link]

Richie's own personal style has become popular among fans and fashion critics and has led to her status as a fashion impresario and icon. She has been the face of Bongo Jeans and Jimmy Choo advertising campaigns. In April 2007, Richie announced plans to start a jewelry, accessories, and sunglasses line along with a perfume and style book.^[25] In October 2008, she debuted a jewelry line, House of Harlow 1960.^[26] The line became available at Kitson's online boutique.^[27] In Spring 2010, the line was extended to include apparel and shoes.^[28] In 2009, Richie joined maternity store A Pea in the Pod to create the new collection maternity clothes.^[29] The line was titled "Nicole" which had pieces that she would wear as an expectant mother.^[30] In February 2010, Richie expanded her fashion business with a women’s line called Winter Kate, her daughter's two middle names. The collection was inspired by timeless prints and shapes, beautiful paisley and florals.^[31]

In 2010, she won "Entrepreneur of the Year" for her House of Harlow 1960 brand at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards.^[32] House of Harlow 1960 was also nominated in the category "Celebrity Fashion Line" at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards.^[33] In July 2011, it was reported that Richie's House of Harlow 1960 line has unveiled a 14-piece handbag collection. The House of Harlow 1960 handbag collection will be available at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Shopbop.com.^[34] In July 2011, it was announced that Richie would be one of the three mentors in NBC's new reality show Fashion Star alongside Jessica Simpson.^[35][36]

Music[link]

Richie made her musical debut in February 2005 with a live appearance on ABC's The View playing the piano.^[37] Although widely speculated that Richie is working on an album, she denied the rumors to People. She was quoted as saying, "I do eventually [want to record an album], but right now I have a lot on my plate".^[38] In February 2010, Richie was featured on the charity single "We Are the World 25 for Haiti". "I was four years old in a studio, watching my dad record "We Are the World" and today I get to do it again. Excited to help make a change," she later said of the experience.^[39]

In 2004, she auditioned for the part of Maureen in the popular Broadway hit, Rent, but did not get the part. In 2008, she was offered the lead role in the hit musical Chicago as Roxie Hart.^[40]

Personal life[link]

Richie and Joel Madden in March 2010

Family and relationships[link]

In April 2005, reports surfaced that Richie and longtime friend Paris Hilton were no longer speaking. Hilton commented: "It's no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends. Nicole knows what she did, and that's all I'm ever going to say about it."^[41] Neither Richie nor Hilton spoke publicly about the cause of the split, though it was speculated that the pair fell out due to Nicole showing one of Paris' homemade sex tapes to a group of their friends. They eventually reconciled in October 2006.^[42]

She dated DJ Adam Goldstein from 2003 to 2005, but broke up after a nine-month engagement.^[43] Richie was also briefly linked to childhood friend Brody Jenner of MTV's The Hills.^[44]

Richie began dating Good Charlotte lead singer Joel Madden in December 2006.^[45] They have two children: daughter Harlow Winter Kate Richie Madden (born January 11, 2008)^[46] and son Sparrow James Midnight Madden (born September 9, 2009).^[47] The couple confirmed their engagement in February 2010,^[48] and married on December 11, 2010.^[49] In February 2008, the first photos of Harlow were sold to People, who paid $1 million.^[50]

Health[link]

In early 2006, Richie made headlines for her dramatically thinner appearance, after spending two seasons of The Simple Life slightly heavier than her usual weight.^[51] In May she told Vanity Fair, "I know I'm too thin right now, so I wouldn't want any young girl looking at me and saying, 'That's what I want to look like.'"^[52] She also said, "I started seeing a nutritionist and a doctor. I was scared that it could be something more serious."^[53] During this time it was reported that she had also sought the help of a psychiatrist and a personal trainer.^[54] Later that year, in September, Richie stated "I am not anorexic. I am not bulimic. I do not have an eating disorder."^[54] On October 27, 2006, it was announced that Richie was seeking treatment for "an inability to put on weight," though it is not treatment for an eating disorder.^[54]

In March 2007, Richie was taken to the hospital for dehydration. On March 21, her representatives announced she was diagnosed with hypoglycemia.^[55]

Richie's December 2006 mug shot

Legal issues[link]

In February 2003, Richie was arrested in Malibu, California and was charged with possession of heroin while driving with a suspended driver's license.^[56]