The outspoken, wise-cracking comedic socialite and star of The Simple Life (2003), Nicole Camille Escovedo was born in Berkeley, California on September 21, 1981. She is the adopted daughter of singer Lionel Richie and his then-wife, Brenda Harvey, and socialite Paris Hilton 's former best friend.

Nicole Richie, daughter of musician Lionel Richie, first gained fame when she starred with childhood friend Paris Hilton on the reality show The Simple Life. She is the designer of the lifestyle brand House of Harlow 1960, clothing line Winter Kate and a reality TV show judge. She is married to Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden.

Nicole Richie, 41, was born September 21, 1981, and is Lionel’s adopted daughter. Her birth parents, Karen Moss and Peter Escovedo, were friends with Lionel and granted him and his then-wife Brenda Harvey Richie guardianship of Nicole as a young child due to financial hardship and their strained romantic relationship.

Lionel became a father for the first time when he and his ex-wife Brenda Harvey took in daughter Nicole Richie (née Escovedo), who was born on Sep. 21, 1981, as a toddler. Her parents were friends of Lionel's who could not support Nicole financially, and Lionel and Harvey adopted her when she was 9 years old.

Born Nicole Camille Escovedo, Nicole was the biological daughter of musician Peter Escovedo and assistant Karen Moss — friends of Richie's. The "All Night Long" singer later learned that Nicole's biological parents were experiencing financial hardship and that their “family situation was falling apart."