Nicole Richie (born Nicole Camille Escovedo on September 21, 1981 in Berkeley, California, USA) is a socialite, best known as the best friend of heiress Paris Hilton.

She is the daughter of Latin percussionist Peter Escovedo III, brother of Sheila E, and a woman identified only as an assistant on Lionel Richie's 1980 world tour; Escovedo was a member of Richie's band. Apparently, Nicole's mother was never a factor in her life, and Escovedo raised her alone.

Escovedo took Nicole to Richie's gigs and recording sessions, and she became something of a mascot for the band. Richie was so taken with then 3-year-old Nicole that Escovedo allowed her to live with the singer and his first wife. When Nicole was 9, Escovedo surrendered his paternal rights, and the Richies formally adopted her.

Nicole is trained in cello, violin, piano, and figure skating, and has plans to pursue a music career. She made her musical debut in February 2005 with a live appearance on ABC's The View playing the piano. Her godfather is Michael Jackson.

Richie and Hilton starred in the 2003 reality series The Simple Life, in which they lived for a month with a family in the rural community of Altus, Arkansas. Later seasons of the show had Richie and Hilton in a roadtrip across the United States, and an East Coast trek on a Greyhound bus while performing various internships. She has also made appearances in films and Fox's Mad TV.

She has offered no comment on a rumored videotape that surfaced in September 2004 in which her friend Hilton calls two African-American fashion industry professionals "dumb niggers".

Richie has two dogs, a shih tzu named Honey Child and a pomeranian named Foxxy Cleopatra, after Beyonce's character in Austin Powers: Goldmember.

In February of 2003, she was arrested in Malibu, California, and charged with possession of heroin. She has since been through rehab.

In December of 2003, she publicly spoke out in defense of Jackson following his accusations of child molestation.

At a Los Angeles Lakers game, Richie jokingly mentioned that her favorite player was Kobe Bryant and said "I want to have sex with him." Bryant is married and was about to be tried for rape in Colorado. The charges against Bryant were later dropped.

Following the 2003 Billboard Music Awards, the Federal Communications Commission received 80,000 complaints after Richie said the "F-word" and was not bleeped. This was the FCC complaint record, until it was broken following Janet Jackson's appearance at Super Bowl XXXVIII.

She has been dating club deejay Adam Goldstein for several months, and got engaged to him on her birthday in 2004, though the engagement was not made public until February 2005.

In April 2005, reports claim that Richie and Paris Hilton are feuding and are no longer friends. Kimberly Stewart is rumored to replace Richie in the Simple Life 4. There is no official announcement yet.