
Nicole Richie was born Nicole Camille Escovedo in Berkeley, California. Her biological mother was a backstage assistant for Lionel.
At age two, Nicole went to live with Lionel and his wife Brenda Harvey-Richie, who began to raise her as their daughter. When she was three years old, Nicole started attending weekly sessions with a psychotherapist and remained in therapy throughout her childhood. When she was nine, the Richies legally adopted Nicole. Shortly after the adoption was formalized, Lionel's affair with another woman became public knowledge. Nicole told Ryan Seacrest that she learned about Lionel's adultery when she read about it in a tabloid. The Richies went through a highly-publicized, bitterly acrimonious split, and, apparently feeling guilty about the end of their marriage, indulged Nicole's every whim. "Their way of making me happy was to say yes to everything I wanted, but I don't think a little girl should have that much freedom", said Richie in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine.
Richie's godfathers are Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. Quincy Jones said in a People magazine interview that he has "known her since she was a baby. She's a very smart girl. When she was younger she worked eight hours a day for eight years to become an Olympic figure skater. She's a very talented girl."
In addition to figure skating, Richie studied the guitar, cello, violin, and piano. She attended The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California and graduated from Montclair College Preparatory School. After high school, she studied Arts and Media for two years at the University of Arizona.
Richie still speaks with her biological mother but has no contact with her biological father. The identity of her biological father is the subject of much speculation. In a November 15, 2005 CNN interview with Seacrest, Richie stated that her birth father (whom she declined to identify) was not a member of Lionel's band. According to an April 2006 Tatler magazine interview with Richie, it is rumored that her biological father is musician Peter Michael Escovedo (brother of musician Sheila E.),
but Richie denied this in a November 2005 Jane magazine interview.
Richie says of her heritage that she is a "mix of everything", and self-identifies as African American.
(from Wikipedia)