All About Sofia Richie’s Relationship with Parents Lionel Richie and Diane Alexander

Sofia Richie Grainge puts family above all else.

The model and influencer is also very close to her father, singer Lionel Richie, and mother, actress Diane Alexander. He often sings their praises to the world, calling mom his “best friend” and dad his “role model.”

“I learned from my dad how to deal with people who know who you are. He handles it with such grace,” said Sofia City and country in September 2023. “He’s another level of megastar and I’ve been watching him all my life. I’ve never seen him say no to a picture. I never saw him being rude to anyone who came up to him on the street.”

Diane thinks Sofia has a similar personality and is proud of her daughter’s humility. In May 2017, she shared that Sofia “amazes” her with her empathy for others. “Taking care of everyone and making sure they feel good and included,” she wrote on Instagram. “She gives much more than she receives.”

From supporting each other’s career achievements to playing a special role on her wedding day, here’s everything you need to know about Sofia Richie’s relationship with her parents, Lionel Richie and Diana Alexander.

Sofia grew up living with Diane

Sofia Richie and her mother Diane Alexander.

Sofia Richie Instagram

Sofia was born on August 24, 1998 and was only 6 years old when her parents divorced. Although she is extremely close to both of them, she grew up mostly in her mother’s house and they have an extremely close relationship.

“She was a baby who never cried,” Diane wrote on Instagram in 2020, sharing a glimpse of Sofia’s early years for her 22nd birthday. “She would stay in her crib and wait for me to come to her room every morning. Although she could go out or call me to pick her up. I think she loved that special moment every day when I opened the door and she saw the joy on MY face when I saw her.”

Sofia and Diane still share a very special bond. “I’m the luckiest girl in the whole world to have you as my mom,” Sofia said of her “best friend in life” on May 9, 2021. She also described her as “the best mom in the world.”

Sofia followed in Lionel’s footsteps as a child

Diane Alexander, Lionel Richie, Miles Richie and Sofia Richie.

Sofia Richie Instagram

Although she did not follow in her father’s footsteps professionally, Sofia took an early interest in his career. In 2018, she said Sydney Morning Herald‘with Goss that she was “in singing lessons from a very young age”.

“I played piano with my dad growing up, so I have that part of me,” she said.[My dad] is a really respected soul singer and I feel like that’s a big responsibility.”

Sofia admitted that she wanted to “be like her parents”, so she tried her hand at the music industry. “I admired my dad so much and it drove me down the musical path for a while. But it didn’t seem right to me,” she said City and country in 2023

Instead, she built her own career in the modeling world. “I can never get away from the fact that my dad is Lionel Richie,” she added. “I think that’s really what drives me to work and do my own thing and I want to make my mark… Because I want to be seen as my own person – even though I have all these amazing people in my life that I love so much.”

Sofia made her red carpet debut alongside her father

Lionel Richie and daughters Nicole Richie and Sophia Richie during the 2008 ASCAP Pop Awards.

Alexandra Wyman/WireImage

Although much of Sofia’s childhood was quite private, she was no stranger to red carpets. She made her first appearance at the 25th ASCAP Pop Music Awards in 2008, alongside her father and older sister, Nicole Richie. She was 10 years old then.

Just one year later, Sofia was her dad’s companion at the official launch of the new Disney & Muppet Myzos at Fred Segal’s on August 22, 2009. In April 2012, she joined her mom, sister and brother in supporting her dad at his Lionel Richie and Friends in Concert event , presented by the ACM, in Las Vegas.

More than a decade later, the “Hello” singer likes to support his daughter’s projects and premieres. In February 2020, he and girlfriend Lisa Parigi appeared at Sofia’s Rolla’s x Sofia Richie Launch Event in Los Angeles.

Sofia’s parents pushed her to graduate

Lionel Richie and Sofia Richie arrive at the 2017 SAG-AFTRA Foundation Patron of the Artists Awards.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Although part of a famous family since birth, and signed to a modeling agency at just 15 years old, Sofia’s parents still encouraged her to graduate – a goal she achieved on May 22, 2017, according to her mother.

“I am so proud of my little nugget. Today she graduated after a long year of balancing work (travel) and school,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “We put her under incredible stress and she did it more for us than for herself. Thank you baby for making me proud to be your mom!”

Lionel always has wise words for Sofia

Lionel Richie and Sofia Richie in 2021.

Sofia Richie Instagram

Even working in different industries, Sofia respects her famous father and looks to him for guidance. “My father’s advice is to always have fun with everything I do,” she told PEOPLE in 2016. “And when I do, give it 1,000 percent and let the moment go.”

But on the other hand, Lionel also told Sofia, “I wish you a lot of failure, young one,” he shared with PEOPLE 2020. “We’re in a business where it’s about how you recover, and ‘yes, yes, yes’ doesn’t feel like terrible,” he explained. “So you have to get punched in the face.”

Lionel stays out of Sofia’s personal affairs

Lionel Richie and Sofia Richie attend the 26th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Lionel had no problem sharing his thoughts on Sofia’s love life, especially when it came to her romance with Scott Disick from 2017 to 2020 — a relationship with a 15-year age gap.

“She is 19 years old,” said Lionel in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2018. “When you’re 19 you know everything. Will it be for life? I don’t know. But for now it’s just a phase and I’m really going to stand still in the corner, grab a good drink and not make too much noise.”

However, his personal philosophy is that he does not try to influence the personal lives of his children. “You can’t go inside. It just doesn’t work,” he told PEOPLE.

Lionel and Diane were a regular at Sofia’s wedding

Sofia Richie and her mother Diane Alexander in Paris in 2022.

Sofia Richie Instagram

Sofia and Elliot Grainge got engaged in 2022, and Lionel wished his future son-in-law Access to Hollywood. “I love Elliot,” he said of the son of Universal Music Group CEO Lucien Grainge. “I’ve known him since he was 12. … It was one of those things where I don’t have to go back and check on the kid. I know who he is.”

Both parents were there to support their daughter on her wedding day on April 22, 2023. Lionel looked sharp in a classic tuxedo, while Diane was regal in a gilded gown.

Lionel walked his daughter down the aisle, saying, “That’s my child,” in that special moment. At the reception, they danced together to “My Girl” and he even sang his hit “Stuck On You (Guess I’m On My Way)” as the couple enjoyed their first dance.

Lionel shared a touching message to his daughter after the big day. “My little girl is all grown up and embarking on her journey with the love of her life,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “You will always be my little bird, but I am so proud of the woman you have become. Endless love to you and Elliot.”

Sofia is daddy’s biggest fan

Lionel Richie, Sofia Richie, Nicole Richie, Joel Madden and Miles Richie.

Sofia Richie Instagram

Sofia is always there to support her father and all of his accomplishments, like when she walked the red carpet with him at the SAG-AFTRA Patron of the Artists Awards in November 2017, where Lionel received the inaugural Recording Artists Inspiration Award.

After the event, she posted a goofy pic on Instagram, with the caption “Congratulations on tonight’s honor, Dad. You deserve everything.”

Sofia also stood by Lionel in 2018 when he received his hand and foot prints at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Sofia says Lionel and Diane reacted “sweetly” to her pregnancy news

Sofia and her husband Elliot Grainge shared the news of their pregnancy with their parents after eight weeks.

“I had a box – I want to say it was an Hermès box or some kind of box – and I told everyone that I bought them a gift from Milan Fashion Week,” Sofia said during an interview with Vogue. “Everyone was like ‘Ooooh Hermes!’ But then they opened it and in it were all three pregnancy tests [in it]. Watching their reaction go from like, ‘I’m about to get an expensive gift’ to like, ‘I’m about to have a grandchild,’ was really sweet.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education