Nicole Richie
Nicole Richie

See All Photos
Name
Nicole Richie
Date of Birth
September 21, 1981
Birth Place
Berkeley, Calif.

Celeb Hot List

Which Stars Have the Most Buzz?

People Hot List - Which Stars Have the Most Buzz?

  1. Kate Middleton Kate Middletonnochange
  2. Prince William Prince Williamnochange
  3. Kim Kardashian Kim Kardashiannochange
  4. Kanye West Kanye Westnochange
  5. Ben Affleck Ben Afflecknochange

The Hot List shows the most buzzed about celebs of the moment as measured by reader activity on People.com

See All 25 Hot Listers

Biography

Nicole Richie

circa 1984

Becoming a Richie

Lionel Richie is taken by 3-year-old Nicole, a fixture at his concerts, and gets the approval of her birth parents to let her move in with him and his wife, Brenda. She is officially adopted six years later. "My parents were friends with Lionel," Nicole tells PEOPLE in 2003. "They trusted that they would be better able to provide for me." In 1986, she attends kindergarten at the Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, Calif. with classmate Paris Hilton.

1995

Faking It

By 14, Richie uses fake IDs to sneak into clubs, honing her party-girl reputation. A few years later, she says to PEOPLE, "I experimented with drugs," and at 21, "I dabbled in heroin." After her graduation from Montclair, Richie decides to leave California behind to be a coed at the University of Arizona in Tucson. She studies arts and media, but eventually drops out, returning to L.A.

2003

Heroin Bust

Richie, 21, is busted on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance and driving with a revoked license. "They found one balloon of heroin. It wasn't on me; it was in the car," she tells PEOPLE. She soon enters the Sierra Tucson drug rehab center in Arizona.

See Full Bio