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Nicole Richie

Nicole Camille Richie (née Escovedo; born September 21, 1981) is an American television personality, fashion designer, and actress. She came to prominence after appearing in the reality television series The Simple Life (2003–2007), in which she starred alongside her childhood friend and fellow socialite Paris Hilton. Richie's personal life attracted media attention during the series' five-year run and thereafter.

Nicole Richie

Nicole Camille Escovedo

(1981-09-21) September 21, 1981[1]

Nikki Fre$h

  • Television personality
  • fashion designer
  • actress

1996–present

(m. 2010)

2

Following the conclusion of The Simple Life, Richie continued her career in television, appearing as one of the three judges on the reality competition series Fashion Star (2012–2013). She later starred in the unscripted comedy series Candidly Nicole (2014–2015), which ran for two seasons. From 2017 to 2018, Richie starred in her first series regular acting role as Portia Scott-Griffith in the sitcom Great News. In 2020, she became a judge on the reality competition series Making the Cut. In fashion, she is the founder of the lifestyle brand House of Harlow. Richie has also published two novels.

Early life, family and education[edit]

Nicole Camille Escovedo was born in Berkeley, California. She is of English, Mexican, and Creole African-American descent.[3] Her biological father, Peter Michael Escovedo, is the brother of musician Sheila E. and nephew of guitarist Alejandro Escovedo,[4] and her biological mother is Karen Moss.[5] When she was three years old, her biological parents decided to leave her under the care of Lionel Richie and his first wife Brenda Harvey Richie's family because they could not afford to provide for her.[6] Initially, Lionel and Brenda Harvey Richie became her guardians.[7] His 1986 hit song "Ballerina Girl" was written about Nicole.[8][9][10]


Brenda Harvey and Lionel Richie legally adopted Nicole when she was nine years old.[11][12] When Lionel and Brenda went through a bitter public split, they were indulgent to the young Nicole. "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 a 2006 interview with Vanity Fair.[13] Following the divorce, Lionel remarried and had two more children: Miles (b. 1994) and Sofia (b. 1998).[14][15] Richie's godmother is Nancy Davis, daughter of Marvin Davis and mother of Brandon Davis.[16] Richie regularly interacted with musicians her father knew, including Michael Jackson (who was her godfather), Prince and Kenny Rogers.[17] Quincy Jones said in a People magazine interview that he has "known Nicole Richie since she was a baby. She's a very smart girl".[18]


Richie graduated from Montclair College Preparatory School in 1999, then attended the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, alongside Kourtney Kardashian and Luke Walton, where she studied Arts and Media. She did not have a definitive study plan in Arizona, dropped out after two years, and returned to California.[19][11]

Unearthed (2020)

. New York: Harper Entertainment. 2005. ISBN 0060820489. OCLC 487161489.

The Truth About Diamonds: A Novel

. New York: Atria Books. 2010. ISBN 9781439166154. OCLC 995490419.

Priceless: A Novel

at IMDb

Nicole Richie