Is Nicole Richie related to Lionel Richie? Inside her surprising adoption story

dailystar.co.uk:

Nicole Richie first shot to fame in reality TV series The Simple Life, alongside famous hotel-heiress best friend Paris Hilton.On the first series of the reality show, the two wealthy socialites lived with a family in the rural community of Altus, Arkansas for a month as they learnt how to work in low-paying jobs and adapt to their new environment.However, life hasn't always been plain sailing for the now-fashion designer as the former party girl battled with family issues and drug use over the years.Here's everything you need to know about Nicole Richie's upbringing, from her early adoption to her stints in rehab.Nicole was born on September 21, 1981 in Berkeley, California.Her biological parents are Karen Moss, who was then a backstage assistant for Lionel Richie, and her musician partner Peter Escovedo, a member of Lionel’s band.Nicole's biological parents were having difficulties in their relationship, so Lionel and his wife Brenda offered to look after Nicole on a temporary basis.Recalling the moment he first met a young Nicole – who was playing tambourine on stage at a Prince concert in 1983 - Lionel said: “I thought, ‘Oh my God, what a cute little button.’”Six years later, the Richies' officially adopted Nicole and she took their name.However, Nicole was crushed at the age of 10 when dad Lionel left Brenda for another woman and went on to have two more kids – Sofia Richie and Miles Brockman, who are both models.Due to her world-famous dad, Nicole grew up in the spotlight and was a regular on the showbiz circuit.In her teenage years, Nicole admitted to falling in with the wrong crowd, who introduced her to hard drugs.At just 14 years old, she was doing cocaine and by 19, she had moved on to heroin.According to the.