Nicole Camille Richie (born September 21, 1981) is an American socialite, actress, author, and singer. The adopted daughter of Lionel Richie, she is known for her role in the reality show The Simple Life and her turbulent personal life.
Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early life
1.2 Legal problems and arrests
1.3 Health
2 Personal life
2.1 Friendship with Paris Hilton
2.2 Romantic relationships
3 Career
3.1 The Simple Life
3.2 Acting
3.3 Music
3.4 Author
3.5 Other career activities
4 Trivia
Biography
Early life
Nicole Richie was born Nicole Camille Escovedo in Berkeley, California.[1] Her biological mother was a backstage assistant for Lionel.
Lionel Richie ran into Nicole first as a little girl playing on stage at a Prince concert, her mother was part of the wardrobe group. Nicole was playing a tamborine. Lionel became a guardian first for Nicole and later adopted her. “Parkinson - BBC” [2]
At age two, Nicole went to live with Lionel and his wife Brenda Harvey-Richie, who began to raise her as their daughter. When she was three years old, Nicole started attending weekly sessions with a psychotherapist and remained in therapy throughout her childhood. When she was nine, the Richies legally adopted Nicole. Shortly after the adoption was formalized, Lionel’s affair with another woman became public knowledge. Nicole told Ryan Seacrest that she learned about Lionel’s adultery when she read about it in a tabloid. The Richies went through a highly-publicized, bitterly acrimonious split, and, apparently feeling guilty about the end of their marriage, 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 magazine.[3]
Richie still speaks with her biological mother but has no contact with her biological father. The identity of her biological father is the subject of much speculation. In a November 15, 2005 CNN interview with Seacrest, Richie stated that her birth father (whom she declined to identify) was not a member of Lionel’s band. According to an April 2006 Tatler magazine interview with Richie, it is rumored that her biological father is musician Peter Michael Escovedo (brother of musician Sheila E.),[4], but Richie denied this in a November 2005 Jane magazine interview.
Richie’s godfathers are Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. She has one godmother, Nancy Davis, who is the mother of Brandon Davis. Quincy Jones said in a People magazine interview that he has “known her since she was a baby. She’s a very smart girl. When she was younger she worked eight hours a day for eight years to become an Olympic figure skater. She’s a very talented girl.”[5]
In addition to figure skating, Richie studied the guitar, cello, violin, and piano. In 1986, she started Kindergarten at The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California where she met Paris Hilton. Richie graduated from Montclair College Preparatory School in 2000. After high school, she studied Arts and Media for two years at the University of Arizona.[6]
Richie says of her heritage that she is a “mix of everything”, and self-identifies as African American.
Legal problems and arrests
The booking photo of Richie from December 2006February 2003, Richie was arrested in Malibu, California and charged with possession of heroin while driving with a suspended driver’s license.[7]
On December 11, 2006, Richie was arrested by the California Highway Patrol after she failed a field sobriety test. She was charged with driving under the influence on California State Route 134 in the Burbank/Glendale, California area. Several motorists had reported a black Mercedes-Benz G-Class entering the SR134 freeway on the exit ramp and traveling in the wrong direction.[8] She admitted to using marijuana and Vicodin before the incident.[8] Subsequently, on July 27, 2007, Richie was sentenced to four days in jail. Her sentence must be completed by September 28, 2007.[9]
Health
In the spring of 2006, Richie made media headlines with a dramatically thinner appearance, after spending two seasons of “The Simple Life” slightly heavier than her usual.[10] 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.” She also said, “I started seeing a nutritionist and a doctor. I was scared that it could be something more serious.” During this time it was reported that she had also sought the help of a psychiatrist and a personal trainer.[11] Later that year, in September, Richie stated “I am not anorexic. I am not bulimic. I do not have an eating disorder.”[11] In Elle Girl’s 2006 Prom issue, in which Richie appeared on the cover, she said that it upsets her when people come up to her and ask her if she has a problem. She maintained that skinny was her natural body type and there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
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.[11]
In March 2007, Richie was taken to the hospital for dehydration and on March 21 her reps announced she was diagnosed with hypoglycemia.[12] In a March OK! magazine interview, Nicole said: “I don’t care about any other rumor except the one that I have an eating disorder. That really bothers me because there are people who truly have eating disorders and it is a serious disease. To put that title on someone when it is not true is disrespectful. I’ve repeatedly said, ‘No, I don’t have an eating disorder,’ and it has fallen on deaf ears.”
Personal life
Friendship with Paris Hilton
On April 20, 2005, amid media reports that their friendship was in trouble, Paris Hilton, who had been friends with Richie since childhood, released a statement saying, “It’s no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends”, and “Nicole knows what she did, and that’s all I’m ever going to say about it.” A circulating rumor was the story that Richie had shown Hilton’s sex tape at a party; though Richie has denied this.[13] Richie, however, said “There’s nothing that really happened, we’ve just grown apart.”[13]
In October 2006, Richie and Hilton reportedly reconciled their friendship.[14]
In an interview in the March 2007 issue of OK! magazine, Richie said: “It got so blown up that at the VMA’s in August, the woman who was looking after me was having this intense vibe with her walkie-talkie, like, ‘Okay, come to the stairs, go through this back door.’ I didn’t understand why I was doing this maze, and finally Paris and I crossed paths. The escorts were really trying to make it so we didn’t see each other. It was ridiculous. When we ended up talking again, we recapped that night and laughed.”
Romantic relationships
Had a rumored relationship with actor Tobey Maguire.
Richie dated Elijah Blue Allman, son of Cher and Gregg Allman.
She dated Canadian music producer and entrepreneur Brad Salyn for several months in 2002. [15] The two continue to be friends, with Salyn producing several tracks on Richie’s upcoming debut album.
Richie dated club DJ Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ AM, since 2004. In February 2005, they became engaged, but they broke off the engagement December 7, 2005. They were seen together again in public in March 2006 and. [16] Nicole was also seen leaving Adam’s house in the end of 2006.
In August 2006, Richie began dating Brody Jenner, a life-long family friend. According to US Weekly, Richie and Jenner split up in October 2006.[17] Nicole posted an entry on her official MySpace blog to clear the air: “I know there are rumors regarding my “breakup” with Brody Jenner. The truth is, we were never really together. We hung out, and he’s a nice guy, but my heart was never in it. Anything further is just a cry for publicity.”
On September 19, 2006 Steve-O told in Howard Stern show: “She had her back to me and she was dead asleep when I rubbed the first one out. I was, like, trying to wake her up when I was rubbing one out … and ultimately I squeezed her hard enough the second two times she was totally awake. She never rolled over to face me. I was being so careful not to offend her in anyway because I wanted to be in those tabloid magazines!” When asked if he had a problem with her being too skinny, he said: “I didn’t care what she fuckin’ ate. I think she looks a lot damn better skinny than fat!” [18] The two dated a short period in 2006.
Richie is currently dating Joel Madden of the band Good Charlotte. After months of speculation, Richie announced her pregnancy on July 31, 2007 in an interview with Diane Sawyer saying that she is nearly 4 months pregnant and Madden is the father.[19]
Career
The Simple Life
Main article: The Simple Life 2: Road Trip
Nicole and Paris ‘The Simple Life Goes To Camp’Richie and heiress Paris Hilton starred in 2003 in Season 1 of the reality series The Simple Life, in which they lived for a month with a family in the rural community of Altus, Arkansas.
In Season 2, The Simple Life 2: Road Trip, the girls traveled the American South driving a pink pick-up and living in a trailer. They have no money, credit cards or cell phones. They stay with families or in trailer parks. On one occation a nudist resort. There jobs include farmworkers, mermaids in an under water show, hotel cleaners, sausages makers, crawfishers, working for a baseball team, working in a Beauty Salon, Deputy Sherrifs, and working on a cattle ranch.
In Season 3, The Simple Life 3: Interns, the girls traveled the East Coast on a bus, staying at 15 different families’ houses. But unlike Season 2, this time around the girls did not have a swanky home on wheels and instead were travelling around the northeast in a regular Greyhound bus that was also ferrying normal members of the public that are travelling to the same destination.
Season 2 DVD Cover, a parody of the original Easy Rider movie posterIn late 2005, FOX chose not to renew The Simple Life, explaining that they didn’t see a place for it in their schedule.[20] A month later, cable network E! picked up Season 4, The Simple Life 4: ‘Til Death Do Us Part, in which the girls traveled around California, acting as the mother of the family, raising kids for a day and acting as a wife to the father, though both would do tasks separately and not be seen together on screen.[21]
Season 5, The Simple Life 5: ‘The Simple Life Goes To Camp, debuted on E! on May 28, 2007, with Paris and Nicole making up on Nicole’s birthday. In this season, Paris and Nicole work as counselors at Camp Shawnee. The camp will be host to five different specialty groups: Wellness Camp, Pageant Camp, Couples Camp, Survival Camp and Drama Camp, with two episodes focused on each specialty group. Although Season 4 was a hit for E!, drawing nearly one million viewers per episode, Season 5 saw a sharp decline in ratings. While the premiere episode and ones that followed during this season drew about the same viewership, by the the 7th episode the ratings had declined to around 650-700 thousand viewers. It was announced on July 30, 2007 that the show will not be renewed for Season 6.[22]
In an interview in the August, 2007 issue of Nylon - magazine Richie talked about The Simple Life: “It’s not a reality show, though. It’s unscripted television; that’s what the audience likes. No one wants to see a show of Paris and I talking about the war or who we think the next President should be. That’s not what the show is about. The show is for one purpose only: to keep people laughing.”
Richie is also a producer on The Simple Life and she has a control over what airs and what doesn’t.
Acting
Acting debut, supporting role as cheerleader Kelly Stepford, 2005 movie Kids in America.
Guest appearances in TV shows: MADtv, 8 Simple Rules, Rock Me Baby, Six Feet Under, and American Dreams.
Appeared in two episodes of Punk’d.
Appeared in father Lionel’s music video for “I Call It Love”, opposite Adam Rodriguez.
In 2007 Richie appeared in one episode of America’s Next Top Model with Paris Hilton. She got into a fight with one of the models at a party.
In 2005 Richie was nominated in Kids Choice Awards for Choice TV Personality: Female.
Music
Richie was a member of the rock band Darling in 2004, along with model Josie Maran and socialites Soleil and Sofia Alberti were members.[23]
Richie made her TV musical debut in February 2005 in a live appearance on The View. She played the piano.
Richie stated to Tyra Banks while appearing on her talk show that her main career focus was and has always been music and that she’s wanted to be a singer since she was a young girl.
As of August 2006, Richie had six out of ten tracks finished for her record.[24] The songs reported to be done so far are a mixture of rock, soul and dance. One track, called “Dandelion”, which is her first single recording and a cover of a song by boy band LFO, was leaked early; it is a melodic pop-track. In recent magazine articles, Richie said the demo ‘Dandelion’ will not appear in her debut album. She also performed a song called “Tell Him”, which can be heard on American Dreams. The album is currently on hold due to Richie’s pregnancy.
Author
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 Chloe Parker, the adopted daughter of a singer who makes her way through all of the hottest nightclubs and parties in Hollywood and battles a drug addiction. It was rumored that a character in the book, Simone Westlake, was based on Paris Hilton. The first sentence of the book is: “Chloe Parker would be a terrible role model if she were famous.”
Richie said in a Nylon magazine, in 2007 that she has been working on her second book, a style guide which has its main focus “the fact that a lot of my inspritation for what I wear is pulled from many different decades,” to be published later this year by Simon & Schuster.
Other career activities
Former model for Bongo Jeans and former face of Jimmy Choo.
In 2005 Richie received the Young Hollywood’s Style Icon award from Hollywood Life magazine. “I get ready pretty fast,” she said. Her then-stylist Rachel Zoe said: “She’s so low-maintenance because she’s so beautiful naturally. Like her skin, it’s so perfect that she doesn’t need a lot of makeup. She never ever wears makeup during the day.”
Richie was voted September, 2006 Beauty Icon of the month in a visitor survey conducted by BeautyRiot.com.
In an interview in the March 2007 issue of OK! magazine, Richie said: “I have a style book that I’m working on. And I’m launching a jewelry-and-accessories line, a sunglasses line and doing my own perfume.”
Has a makeup line in Japan. She is also working on an accesories line, which will debut in seven months. It includes jewelry, neck and head scarves, and sunglasses.
Trivia
Has been looking for a good location to open her own nightclub in Los Angeles.
Has said that she would never agree to do reality show about her personal life.
Is set to inherit her father’s, Lionel’s , $200 million fortune.
Says if she could go back in time and have a second chance to try heroin, she would still say yes.
Was released on a $10,000 bail, when she was arrested in Malibu, 2003.
Nicole, on how many children she wants: “I want five. I want three girls and twin boys.”
In February 2007, Mischa Barton was driving Richie’s car. She dropped Richie off at a tanning salon, then bumped her car into another.
Used to be good friends with actress Lindsay Lohan. Richie was one of the guests at Lohan’s 19th birthday party.
Richie has nine tattoos: two wings on her shoulder blades (one on each side), a cross on her lower back, a bow with “Richie” below it, on the back of her neck, a Rosary on her ankle, the word “virgin” on her right wrist, a tiara on her hip, a shooting star on her left wrist, and a picture of a ballerina on her lower hip. She considered having the tattoos laser removed–they are frowned upon in the Jewish religion–and may have converted to Judaism for her ex-fiancé, Adam Goldstein.
She has two dogs, Honeychild and Foxy Cleopatra.
After her experience with on “The Simple Life” (2002) when she stayed with a family that practiced Islam, Richie became interested in and started studying different religions.
When Elle Girl asked Richie what the biggest misconception was about her was, she replied that thanks to pictures, “People think that all I do is shop and eat.”
Was one of the celebrities invited to Beyonce Knowles’ 25th birthday party held on August 31, 2006.
