Nicole Camille Richie (born September 21, 1981) is an American socialite, actress, television personality, author, model, 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.

Nicole Richie was born Nicole Camille Escovedo in Berkeley, California. She is reportedly the biological daughter of percussionist Peter Escovedo III and a black woman identified only as a backstage assistant on Lionel Richie's 1980 world tour; Escovedo was a member of Richie's band. Reportedly, Nicole's mother was never a factor in her life, and Escovedo raised her alone. Escovedo took Nicole to Richie's shows and recording sessions, and she became something of a mascot for the band.

Lionel Richie first met Nicole as a child playing tambourine onstage at a Prince concert. Richie became Nicole's guardian and later adopted her. At age two, Nicole went to live with Lionel Richie 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.

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.

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.), but Richie denied this in a November 2005 Jane magazine interview.

Richie has one godmother, Nancy Davis, daughter of Marvin Davis and mother of Brandon Davis; Nancy was related by marriage to Paris Hilton. Richie's godfathers are Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. 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."

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.

:Main Article: The Simple Life In 2003, Richie and Paris Hilton starred in Season 1 of the reality series The Simple Life, in which they lived with a family in the rural community of Altus, Arkansas for a month. The series debuted on FOX on December 2, 2003, to high ratings. The premiere episode drew 13 million viewers, increasing FOX's Adults 18-49 rating to 79%.

In Season 2, The Simple Life 2: Road Trip, the girls traveled the South driving a pink pick-up and living in a trailer. The girls had no money, credit cards or cell phones and were required to work various jobs during their trip to earn money. Their jobs included farmworkers, mermaids in an underwater show, hotel maids, sausage makers, crawfishers, working for a baseball team, working in a beauty salon, Deputy Sherrifs, and working on a cattle ranch. The girls also stayed with different families or in trailer parks and on one occasion, a nudist resort.

In Season 3, The Simple Life 3: Interns, the girls traveled the East Coast on a bus, staying at 15 different families' houses. Unlike Season 2, the girls did not have a swanky home on wheels and instead were traveling around the north-east in a regular Greyhound bus that was also ferrying normal members of the public that were traveling to the same destination. In late 2005, FOX chose not to renew The Simple Life, explaining that they didn't see a place for it in their schedule. A month later, cable network E! picked up the series for its fourth season, The Simple Life 4: 'Til Death Do Us Part, in which the girls traveled around California, acting as wife and mother to various families, though both would do tasks separately and not be seen together on screen.


Season 5, The Simple Life 5: The Simple Life Goes To Camp, debuted on E! on May 28, 2007, with Hilton and Richie reconciling on Richie's birthday in the season opener. For Season 5, Hilton and Richie worked as counselors at Camp Shawnee. The camp was 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 7th episode the ratings had declined to around 700,000 viewers. It was announced on July 30, 2007 that the show would not be renewed for a sixth season.

Richie was a member of the rock band Darling in 2004 .

Since 2005, Richie has been working on her debut album. A release date has not yet been announced.

Richie has guest starred in television series including Eve and American Dreams. In American Dreams, Richie portrayed Brenda Reid, the lead singer of the girl group The Exciters, and sang the group's hit song "Tell Him".

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 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.

In early January 2006, The Truth About Diamonds peaked number #32 in Hardcover Fiction on The New York Times Best-Seller List.

In addition to acting and singing, Richie has also modeled and has appeared in ads for Bongo Jeans and Jimmy Choo.

In April 2007, Richie announced plans to start a jewelry, accessories, and sunglasses line along with a perfume and style book.

Richie has had a string of high-profile relationships. She dated DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) from 2004 to 2005, and they broke up after a nine-month engagement . Richie was also briefly linked with Brody Jenner of The Hills .

Richie is currently dating Joel Madden of the band Good Charlotte. Richie has confirmed that she is pregnant with a child conceived with Madden . The couple are reportedly engaged.

On April 20, 2005, amid media reports that their friendship was in trouble, Paris Hilton, 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. Richie, however, said "There's nothing that really happened, we've just grown apart." Richie and Hilton reportedly reconciled after Hilton called Richie on her birthday in September 2006.

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 weight. 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. Later that year, in September, Richie stated "I am not anorexic. I am not bulimic. I do not have an eating disorder." 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.

In March 2007, Richie was taken to the hospital for dehydration and on March 21 her reps announced she was diagnosed with hypoglycemia.

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

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 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. She admitted to using marijuana and Vicodin before the incident. July 27,2007, Richie was sentenced to four days in jail, but served about 82 minutes of the sentence as Richie checked herself into the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood, California on August 23, 2007 at 15:15 PDT and was released at 16:37 PDT.

A spokeswoman for the sheriff's department told People magazine that Richie "was released early due to overcrowding in the jail system. This is standard procedure for nonviolent offenders." After spending 82 minutes in jail Richie was "Of course pleasantly surprised to be released so quickly," said her attorney.

Richie signed up for an 18-month SB 38 anti-drinking driver education program, according to papers filed with the Superior Court of California.

In November 2007, Richie and Madden created The Richie Madden Children's Foundation. The charity will create and promote an online registry to inspire the purchases of items for moms and their families in need.

*Kids in America (2005)

*The Simple Life (54 episodes, 2003-2007) *Eve (1 episode, 2004) *Rock Me Baby (1 episode, 2004) *American Dreams (1 episode, 2004) *8 Simple Rules (1 episode, 2005)

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