Nicole Richie is a popular figure on television, owing to her close friendship with Paris Hilton. Was she adopted as a child?
Nicole Richie was adopted at the age of nine by singer Lionel Richie and his wife. Her biological parents couldn’t provide for her, and Lionel became her legal guardian. Six years later, he legally adopted her.
Read on to learn more about Nicole Richie’s upbringing and childhood.
Unaffected
Nicole Richie first found fame through a method that some would call undeserving. In 2003, she and Paris Hilton, another socialite best friend, starred on a reality TV show on Fox. In this show, the typical rich-kid socialites had to live for a month in a rural, back-to-basics community in Arkansas.
Before that, she hadn’t done anything worthy of praise except be the adopted daughter of Lionel Richie. She’d attended the University of Arizona but had dropped out after just two years without securing any accreditation.
As a child, Richie grew up in Berkeley, California, a relatively affluent location. However, her biological parents mutually agreed to have her move in with friend Lionel Richie in 1981. This decision came as a result of the daunting realization that the couple couldn’t afford to raise her.
When Nicole Richie was nine years old, Lionel legally adopted her, along with his then-wife Brenda. Not long after the adoption was made official, Lionel cheated on his wife and they went through a disruptive separation.
At that point, Nicole became the center of attention for both adoptive parents. They reportedly both wanted to please Nicole, and to win her affection. In doing this, they quite literally never said no to anything she asked for.
In 2006, Nicole Richie went on file saying that, “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.” However, growing up around such influences as Paris Hilton likely didn’t deter Richie from getting her way.
Grown Up
As Nicole Richie grew up, she transitioned more into acting and modelling. She made her acting debut in a comedy movie, Kids in America, in 2005. Following that, she also took a series of smaller roles in television shows and movies.
In addition to the acting roles, she also took on a posting as a judge on Project Runway. This is a position she was well suited to, owing to her experience as a model. She also took time out to write a novel, and attempt a side venture as a rapper.
Although she’s shown signs of success throughout her life, Nicole Richie hasn’t been without her difficulties. Her breakout reality show The Simple Life was canned after a dispute between her and long-time friend Paris Hilton, for starters.
She’s also had brushes with the law, such as during a brawl in New York in 2002. Following that, she was arrested in California in 2003 for driving on a banned license and being in possession of heroin. Richie reportedly had to check into rehab after the latter event.
Shortly after, in 2006, Richie was arrested again for a DUI, admitting to further drug use. Bizarrely, Richie spent just eighty two minutes in jail as a result.
As of 2007, Richie tried to turn her life around, particularly with her husband. She began experimenting with philanthropy, creating an organization. This organization was called, “The Richie Madden Children’s Foundation”, and helped disadvantaged children and their young mothers.
While she may have had a rocky road in between her somewhat spoilt upbringing and later philanthropy, Nicole Richie straightened out for the good. In fact, in 2020, people began widely discussing Richie’s ‘transformation’, and the better person she’d become. You can see a video discussing this on YouTube.