Profile of Nicole Richie on Famous Like Me

Nicole Richie (born Nicole Camilla Escovedo on September 21, 1981 in Berkeley, California, USA) is a socialite best known for her sometimes troubled friendship with heiress Paris Hilton.

She is the biological daughter of Peter Michael Escovedo III (brother of singer Sheila E), a Latin percussionist of Mexican and African descent, and Brenda Harvey, an African-American woman who was an assistant on Lionel Richie's 1980 world tour; Escovedo was a member of Richie's band. Apparently, Nicole's mother was never a factor in her life, and Escovedo raised her alone.

Escovedo took Nicole to Richie's gigs and recording sessions, and she became something of a mascot for the band. Richie was so taken with then 3-year-old Nicole that Escovedo allowed her to live with the singer and his first wife. When Nicole was 9, Escovedo surrendered his paternal rights, and the Richies formally adopted her.

Nicole is trained in cello, violin, piano, and figure skating, and has plans to pursue a music career. She also attended the University of Arizona for two years after graduating from high school. She made her musical debut in February 2005 with a live appearance on ABC's The View playing the piano. Her godfather is Michael Jackson.

Richie and 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. Later seasons of the show had Richie and Hilton in a roadtrip across the United States, and an East Coast trek on a Greyhound bus while performing various internships. She has also made appearances in films and Fox's Madtv.

Richie has two dogs, a shih tzu named Honey Child and a Pomeranian named Foxxy Cleopatra, after Beyonce Knowles's character in Austin Powers in Goldmember. She is set to inherit her father's $200 million fortune.

In the Media Spotlight

In February of 2003, she was arrested in Malibu, California, and charged with possession of heroin. She has since been through rehab.

In December of 2003, she publicly spoke out in defense of Jackson following his accusations of child molestation.

At a Los Angeles Lakers game, Richie jokingly mentioned that her favorite player was Kobe Bryant and said "I want to have sex with him." Bryant is married and was about to be tried for rape in Colorado. The charges against Bryant were later dropped.

Following the 2003 Billboard Music Awards, the Federal Communications Commission received 80,000 complaints after Richie said "fuck" and was not bleeped. This was the FCC complaint record, until it was broken following Janet Jackson's appearance at Super Bowl XXXVIII.

She has been dating club deejay Adam Goldstein for several months, and got engaged to him on her birthday in 2004, though the engagement was not made public until February 2005.

On 20 April 2005, amidst 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 involved a story that Nicole had shown Paris' sex tape at a party. There were also rumors of Hilton being jealous of Nicole's rising star. Richie is still friends with Paris' sister Nicky, who has announced that she will serve as a bridesmaid in Nicole's wedding.

In 2005 Richie appeared and co-hosted at the 19th Annual Soul Train Music Awards.

Initially, because of the end of her friendship with Paris Hilton, Kimberly Stewart was tapped to be Nicole's replacement in The Simple Life 4. Richie and fiance Goldstein were said to be considering a Jessica Simpson-type reality show of their own. Nicole has since said that she would never agree to doing a reality show about her personal life and relationships. Fox, the network behind The Simple Life, has announced that the next year, entitled The Simple Life 4, has been cancelled as the show's stars "no longer proved compatible."

In early 2005, Nicole was ridiculed by media members who claimed that she had an eating disorder. She has lost about 20 pounds, weighing a mere 97 lbs., since her rise to stardom in 2003 with The Simple Life 1. Nicole has been quoted as saying "I've always been really skinny. I just went through a heavier stage after rehab and during Simple Life 1. Now I have a trainer and the weight has gradually come off."

Nicole is recently working on an album with no date specified as of yet. The seven songs reported to be done so far are a mixture of rock, soul and dance.

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