Lionel Richie's 3 Kids: All About Nicole, Miles and Sofia

He is a father once, twice, three times! Music legend Lionel Richie is crazy about his three children – Nicole Richie, Miles Brockman Richie and Sofia Richie.

Lionel learned a lot about parenting from his own father, Lionel Richie Sr., and was going through a “great depression” when he died in 1990. “My dad was my hero,” he said. ITV in 2018. However, he credits his children for helping him get through the tough times. “Miles came and Nicole was already there, and I realized I had a group of people who looked at me as the head of the house.”

Although Lionel is known for being a free spirit, he admits he can be a “tough father”. However, he knows that it is important to maintain a balance. “You have to approach it with a little humor,” he told PEOPLE in 2019. “With my kids, I know it’s their job to absolutely scare me to death. And by the way, they’re doing a great job … my job is to embarrass them as much as I can , as long as I’m here.”

The “Hello” singer also has no interest in advising his kids about their private lives — “You can’t interfere in that. It just doesn’t work,” he says — but he’s happy to give them advice on their careers in the spotlight. “I said [Sofia]’I wish you a lot of failure, young lady,’ he told PEOPLE in 2020. “We’re in a business where it’s about how you recover, and ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ isn’t a terrible feeling, so you’ve got to get punched in the face.”

Here’s everything you need to know about Lionel Richie’s three children.

Nicole Richie, 42

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Lionel became a father for the first time when he and his ex-wife Brenda Harvey adopted daughter Nicole Richie (née Escovedo), born on September 21, 1981 as a toddler. Her parents were friends of Lionel who could not support Nicole financially, and Lionel and Harvey adopted her when she was 9 years old.

“Nicole was really a godsend,” he told PEOPLE in February 2022. “She was a little girl who needed an injection. She was used to people coming and going. She’d look at me and I’d say, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ ”

Lionel famously wrote his 1986 hit “Ballerina Girl” about his oldest child. “I’ll never break your heart/We’ll never be apart/Because all I want to do/Is share my whole life with you,” he sings lovingly.

In 2003, Nicole got the position A simple life along with Paris Hilton, thrusting her into the spotlight of pop culture. However, during the show’s five-season run, she was embroiled in a series of controversies, including arrests and car accidents, and also struggled with addiction.

I literally didn’t care about anything, Nicole said Vanity Fair 2006 “I thought I was going to get away with it, but the reality was I was arrested three times and had five car accidents. Two total.” She also told the newspaper that her parents’ split more than a decade ago contributed to her dysfunctional behavior in her teenage years and early adulthood, saying: “I liked the fact that my parents didn’t talk, because I could play them off against each other. I was I’m very free to come and go as I please. Everyone wanted to make me happy to say yes to everything I wanted, but I don’t think a little girl should have that much freedom.

In the end, Nicole turned to her parents for help in her fight against addiction. “I knew I couldn’t go on television as exhausted as I was. I went to my parents and said, ‘It’s time to get help,'” she told Vanity Fair. The reality star then enrolled in an addiction treatment program and told the paper at the time that she has been clean ever since.

Two years later, Lionel opened up about parenting Nicole during that period, saying, “Forget about surviving 40 years in the music business. Just surviving 27 years of Nicole Richie was a struggle and a half, I want to tell you … I stand here as a survivor, I want you to know, for all the parents out there.”

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Following her A simple life days, Nicole achieved a number of professional successes: She achieved The New York Times Bestseller list with her semi-autobiographical novel The truth about diamondsmodeled after some of the world’s top fashion magazines, she launched a successful clothing line called House of Harlow and founded a philanthropic organization called The Richie Madden Children’s Foundation to help disadvantaged young mothers and their children.

Nicole began dating Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden in 2006. They welcomed daughter Harlow Madden in January 2008 and son Sparrow Madden in September 2009 before tying the knot in 2010.

When Harlow was born, Lionel said he was “extremely proud” that his daughter had turned him into a grandfather – or G-Pa, as he prefers to be called. “I went to Nicole and said, ‘Grandpa,’ how does that sound? Does that sound good to me?” ” he said Extra 2008. “She said, ‘Dad, that sounds old’.” So I was kind of looking for… G-Well it sounds a lot better.”

In March 2023, Lionel appeared on The Drew Barrymore Showwhere he talked about raising Nicole.

“If I survived that. I can survive anything. You all almost killed me,” he said, referring to his daughter’s shenanigans that often involved Hilton and Barrymore. – I was somewhere between meditation and medication.

He then noted that Nicole, who is now a wife and mother, “turned out perfectly.”

In May 2024, news broke that Nicole was reuniting with Hilton for a reboot A simple lifewhich will stream on Peacock.

Miles Brockman Richie, 30

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Lionel had a son, Miles Brockman Richie, with his second wife Diane Alexander on May 27, 1994. The couple divorced in 2003 when Miles was 9 years old and spent most of his time at Alexander’s house. “I’m a mama’s boy, I grew up with my mama,” he said Entertainment Tonight Canada in 2018

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Because of this, his upbringing was somewhat more private than that of his older sister. “I’ve always been so shy,” he revealed Essence 2020. However, he began to come more into the limelight when he started modeling after dropping out of UCLA, where he studied accounting.

The Wilhelmina model made her catwalk debut at the Philipp Plein show during New York Fashion Week 2018. “You have to push yourself. My dad and my mom push me every day and every day I’m determined to be better … I want people to love me for me, and not for being my family,” he said.

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In 2019, Miles allegedly made a bomb threat at an airport. “On Saturday, January 19, a 24-year-old man accepted a citation for passing false information leading to a bomb hoax and explosion following an incident at Heathrow Terminal 5 earlier that morning,” the Metropolitan Police told PEOPLE in a statement, although they did not identified Miles as the person involved.

According to TMZ, eyewitnesses claimed he was frustrated when he couldn’t get on the flight and claimed he had a bomb with him. He later allegedly punched a security guard before police took him into custody. Miles received a warning and was reportedly released after accepting it. Under UK law, a caution is a caution given for minor crimes, not a criminal conviction.

Sofia Richie, 25

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Sofia Richie, Lionel’s youngest child, was born on August 24, 1998 in Los Angeles.

She made her first red carpet appearance with her dad and sister at the 25th ASCAP Pop Music Awards in 2008, when she was just 10 years old. Since then, she has been a regular at many of her family’s high-profile events, such as one of Nicole’s editions of House of Harlow. She also attended Justin Bieber’s premiere Never say never documentary at the Nokia Theatre.

Sofia told an Australian newspaper in 2018 Sydney Morning Herald‘with Goss that she played music as a child. “My dad took me to singing lessons from a young age, and I played piano with my dad growing up, so I have that part of me,” she told the outlet. “[My dad] is a really respected soul singer and I feel like that’s a big responsibility.”

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Therefore, she wanted to make a name for herself in modeling. “I can never get away from the fact that my dad is Lionel Richie,” she said. “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.”

At the age of 15, Sofia signed a contract with a modeling agency and was present in it Elle, the Italian Marie Claireand as the face of Madonna Material girl fashion line. She has also dabbled in designing her own clothing, teaming up with Frankies Bikinis, Miss-Guided and House of Harlow for guest lines.

And even though she didn’t follow her father into the music industry, she’s always happy to get advice from her dad. “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.”

As for her romantic life, the 24-year-old briefly dated Justin Bieber for a few months in 2016, and was in a relationship with Scott Disick from May 2017 to August 2020.

While she was with Disick, her father was vocal about his lukewarm feelings toward the relationship — which touted a 15-year age gap. “She is 19 years old,” he said 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.”

In April 2022, Sofia announced her engagement to music director Elliot Grainge, son of Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge. “Forever isn’t long enough @elliot,” Sofia captioned the photo of the romantic moment on Instagram.

Shortly after the announcement, Lionel said Access to Hollywood that he supports the relationship. “I love Elliot,” he said. “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.”

On April 22, 2023, Sofia and Grainge were married in a lavish ceremony in Antibes, France; and Lionel had the privilege of escorting his daughter to the altar.

– That’s my child – the singer could be heard as he escorted Sofia to the altar. The father-daughter duo later danced to the song “My Girl” at the reception.

The following month, Sofia posted photos of herself on Instagram before attending King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation concert, where she watched her father perform. In the videos, the fashionista showed her chic outfit: a pink suit with black heels.

“Going to see @lionelrichie 🤴🏽,” she wrote in the caption.

On May 20, 2024, Sofia and Grainge welcomed their first child, a daughter they named Eloise Samantha Grainge.

In an interview with August 2024 WSJ. Magazine, Sofia said her dad, whose name is Pop Pop, was able to come home and meet Eloise when she was born.

“He’s in love and it’s so crazy. It’s so surreal being the youngest child and then having a child and seeing your parents acting with your kids. I don’t know how to explain it,” she said.

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Source: HIS Education