Richie and her longtime friend Paris Hilton starred in the Fox TV reality show The Simple Life, which first aired in December 2003. The show, inspired in part by the 1960s sitcom Green Acres, featured wealthy society girls Richie and Hilton milking cows and adjusting to rural life while living in tiny Altus, Arkansas. The show was a hit, and the sequels The Simple Life 2 and The Simple Life 3: Interns soon followed. The co-stars had a falling-out in 2005, with Hilton announcing that she would replace Richie with Kimberly Stewart (daughter of rock star Rod Stewart) for future shows. Richie is the daughter of 1980s pop music star Lionel Richie, whose hits included ""All Night Long"" and ""Dancing on the Ceiling.""

Nicole Richie was arrested in Malibu in February 2003 and charged with possession of heroin and driving with a suspended license; she later pleaded guilty to both charges and was given probation and ordered to attend drug rehab... Richie was adopted as an infant by Lionel Richie and his first wife Brenda; her biological father is musician Pete Escovedo, brother of 1980s pop percussionist Sheila E. and son of famed Latin

st Pete Escovedo. The younger Pete Escovedo later became the musical director on The Wayne Brady Show... Nicole Richie's god-father is the singer Michael