Nicole Richie

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Nicole Richie

Nicole Richie at the "Pleasures by Gwyneth Paltrow" Limited Edition Collection Launch.
Born September 21, 1981 (age 25)
Official site NicoleRichieWeb.com
Notable roles The Simple Life

Nicole Camille Richie (born September 21, 1981) is an American socialite, actress, author, and singer. The adopted daughter of Lionel Richie, she is best known for her role in the reality show The Simple Life.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Nicole Richie was born in Berkeley, California. According to an April 2006 Tatler magazine interview with Richie, her biological father was a drummer who worked with Lionel Richie; her biological mother was a backstage assistant for Lionel. When Nicole was 2, Lionel and his wife Brenda Harvey-Richie informally adopted her and raised her as their daughter. When she was 9, they went through the legal formalities of the adoption; she still speaks with her biological mother. Richie said of her heritage that she was a "mix of everything", but when asked she just says she is African-American. Nicole stated "jokingly" in an episode of "The Simple Life" that she was a natural blonde, but that statement is false. Her godfathers are Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones.

She blames her exceptionally troubled adolescence that included drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana at 13, snorting cocaine at 14, and injecting heroin at 19 on her father's absence.

A year later, Lionel and Brenda split, and in their guilt over the separation, "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.[1] She used marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, was arrested three times, and was involved in five car accidents. Not until she went into drug rehabilitation in 2003 did Richie and her parents have an open conversation about her addiction. "I'm now, at 24, and becoming more of a drug addict then I have ever been. Though I am slowly learning how to deal with my problems. I am now leaning towards drinking more then drugs.", she said in the interview.

Richie has studied the guitar, cello, violin, piano, and figure skating. Richie attended The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California. She also attended the University of Arizona to study Arts and Media for two years after graduating from Montclair Prep High School. 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."[2]

[edit] Career

[edit] The Simple Life

Promotional Image.
Promotional Image.

Richie and heiress Paris Hilton starred in the 2003 reality series The Simple Life, in which they lived for a month with a family in the rural community of Altus, Arkansas. In the second season, The Simple Life 2: Road Trip, the girls traveled the American South driving a pink pick-up and living in a trailer. In the third season The Simple Life 3: Interns, the girls traveled the East Coast on a bus, staying at 16 different families' houses.

In late 2005, FOX did not renew The Simple Life, explaining they did not see a place for it in their schedule.[3] A month later, cable network E! picked up the fourth season, 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.[4] The Simple Life 5 was scheduled to begin production in November 2006 and air in April 2007, however, filming has been put on hold due to Richie's health problems. This season is rumoured to have them being camp counselors.

The fifth season of The Simple Life, titled Malibu: Camp Simple Life is currently in production.

[edit] Acting

Richie made her acting debut with a supporting role as cheerleader Kelly Stepford in the 2005 movie Kids in America. She has also made guest appearances in such TV shows as MADtv, 8 Simple Rules, Six Feet Under, and American Dreams. Recently, Richie appeared in her father's music video for "I Call It Love", opposite Adam Rodriguez.

[edit] Music

Another project of Richie's is a music album. Nicole has 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. Richie was a member of the rock band Darling. She and model Josie Maran and socialites Soleil and Sofia Alberti were members.[5]

The songs reported to be done so far are a mixture of rock, soul and dance. One track, called "Dandelion", which is a demo 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 recorded a song called "Tell Him", which can be heard on American Dreams.

As of August 2006, Richie has six out of ten tracks finished for her record.[6] In September 2006, Richie announced that she will soon debut the artwork for her album on her official MySpace page, however 3 days after the blog was posted, it was taken down and her record label status was changed to "none." This caused the thought that Nicole has been either dropped from her label or the label wants to keep everything under wraps until promotion begins. As of March 2007 no artwork has been posted nor confirmed and her album has seemed to be put on hold. Speculation is that she is working on getting healthy and then starting promotion for her album.

[edit] Other career activities

The Truth About Diamonds,
The Truth About Diamonds,

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.

Richie is a former model for Bongo Jeans and former face of Jimmy Choo.

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."

[edit] Media spotlight

[edit] 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.[7] There were also rumors of Hilton's being jealous of Richie's rising stardom.[citation needed] Hilton released a track on her 2006 self-titled album, called "Jealousy." The track was seen by many to be a jab at Richie, containing such lyrics as "I thought you were my best friend....You used to be that shoulder....you sold your soul for your fame." Richie, however, said "There's nothing that really happened, we've just grown apart."[citation needed] In the November 2005, Jane magazine interview, she also said, "We really haven't been friends in probably about two years."[citation needed] Richie is still friends with Hilton's sister Nicky, who was to serve as a bridesmaid at Richie's wedding, until it was called off.[citation needed] On October 9, 2006 Richie and Hilton reportedly reconciled their friendship[8].

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."

[edit] Drugs and driving arrests

In February 2003, Richie was arrested in Malibu, California and charged with possession of heroin. She was also driving with a suspended driver's license.[9]

On December 11, 2006, Richie was arrested by the California Highway Patrol after she failed a field sobriety test and was charged with driving under the influence of drugs on California State Route 134 in the Burbank/Glendale, California area. Several motorists had reported a black Mercedes-Benz G-Class entering the freeway on the exit ramp and traveling in the wrong direction. She admitted to using marijuana and Vicodin before the incident.[10]

[edit] Health issues

In the spring of 2006, Richie made media headlines with a dramatically thinner appearance, after spending two seasons of The Simple Life slightly hefter than usual.[11] 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.[12] Later that year, in September, Richie stated "I am not anorexic. I am not bulimic. I do not have an eating disorder."[13]

In Elle Girl's 2006 Prom issue, in which Ritchie 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. She added that besides, she couldn't imagine having to always wear a beautiful bra.

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.[14]

In March 2007 Richie was taking to the hospital for dehydration and on March 21 her Reps announced she was diagnosed with hypoglycemia.[citation needed]

In an interview of OK! magazine on March 2007 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."

[edit] Personal life

Richie dated Canadian music producer and entrepreneur Brad Salyn for several months in 2002.[citation needed] The two continue to be friends, with Salyn producing several tracks on Richie's upcoming debut album.[citation needed]

She became engaged to club DJ Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ AM, in February 2005.[citation needed] They had been dating since 2003 and were set to marry in the summer of 2006.[citation needed] On December 7, 2005, she and Goldstein broke off their nine-month engagement,[citation needed] but they were publicly seen together again in March 2006.[citation needed]

In August 2006, Richie began dating Brody Jenner,[citation needed] a life-long family friend.[citation needed] According to US Weekly, Richie and Jenner split up in October 2006.[15] 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."[citation needed]

Richie is now dating Joel Madden of Good Charlotte.[16]

[edit] References

  1. ^ she soon after ballooned with weight because of her depression issues.Vanity Fair - Press Room: Nicole Richie Talks About Her Weight, Being a Role Model, and What Happened with Paris
  2. ^ Lansing, Kimberly. "Quincy Jones: Nicole Richie Is 'Caught Up in Hoopla'", People, 2006-12-15. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
  3. ^ People.com - Paris & Nicole's Simple Life Canned
  4. ^ E!Online - "The Simple Life" Lives
  5. ^ http://www.nicolerichie.nu/411/nicole.php?bio
  6. ^ TV Guide Interview
  7. ^ Hollywood.com - Nicole Richie: 'Paris & I Just Grew Apart'
  8. ^ Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie: Friends again?
  9. ^ The Smoking Gun - May 9, 2003
  10. ^ The Arizona Republic, azcentral.com, Dec. 11, 2006, 10:24 AM – Nicole Richie arrested for DUI
  11. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/HealthyWoman/story?id=754080 ABCnew.go.com
  12. ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1190900,00.html People.com
  13. ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1534093,00.html People.com
  14. ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1551510,00.html People.com
  15. ^ TMZ.com - Nicole and Brody Split -- Nic's Heart "Never In It"
  16. ^ US Magazine.com, February 21, 2007 - Nicole & Joel Say "I Love You"

[edit] External links


The Simple Life
Episode list | Official site
Starring Paris Hilton | Nicole Richie
Recurring

Tinkerbell | Kathy Hilton | Nicky Hilton | Richard Hilton | Natalie Reid | Lionel Richie
Places Malibu, California | Altus Arkansas | Sonic Drive-In | WBFF
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