Nicole Richie

Known as the daughter of renowned pop singer Lionel Richie and a lively socialite, Nicole Richie is undeniably rich also popular. To most people, her life seems to be a perfect one for she has got everything they have dreamt of. Nevertheless, behind all of these actually lies some bitterness that she had to endure before she could rise from her downfall and overcame all the trouble in her life. A unique mix of Caucasian, Black, and Mexican ethnicity, Nicole was born on September 21, 1981 in Berkeley, California. Given the name Nicole Camilla Escovedo, she is the biological daughter of a Latin musician named Peter Michael Escovedo III and an anonymous backstage female assistant of Lionel Richie during his world tour in 1980. Raised alone by Escovedo who was also a member of Richie's band, little Nicole spent most of her time on the backstage and studio since her father often took her along by his side.

As Richie gradually grew a deep affection toward Nicole, the three-years-old girl was taken to live with this famous musician and his first wife, Brenda Harvey, under Escovedo's approval. She was legally adopted at the age of nine by the couple for her father finally decided to give up his parental rights. Living in a wealthy family, she was trained in cello, violin, piano, and figure skating while also entered Los Angeles' prestigious The Buckley School where she later met her best friend, Paris Hilton. Although she was provided with as well as received all the best things, Nicole genuinely had a lack of attention, especially from Lionel Richie since he had hardly been around. Things got worse when Richie and his wife broke up their marriage. "When my dad divorced my mom it was kind of like him leaving me also," she recalled. "I just really didn't understand why he wasn't returning my phone calls, or why I couldn't see him whenever I wanted to. That was the most hurtful thing to me."