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Richie's no simpleton By Donna Freydkin, USA TODAY The millions who have seen her Fox reality show The Simple Life might call Nicole Richie
spoiled. Raunchy. Lazy. Even, well, dumb.
But
to hear Richie, 22, tell it, it's all an act. Seriously. "I'm
very, very nice with really good manners. I'm not high-maintenance at all. I'm
not!" she says as she orders a sandwich at Ago in Los Angeles. On
the show, filmed in Altus, Ark., last spring, Richie gives a cow a pregnancy
test, frolics with locals and, along with pal and co-star Paris Hilton, shows
plenty of flesh and desperately hunts for something — anything —
fun to do. But
in the real world, Richie lives with her adoptive mother, Brenda Richie, in
L.A. She's busy writing songs for an album and trying to kick-start an acting
career. "My
life has changed so much since the show aired," says Richie. "I've
been in the public eye my whole life, but this is so different. I hear people
quoting me on the street! When I presented at the Billboard (Music) Awards, I couldn't even walk through the
lobby. It was crazy." In
fact, Richie caused a mini-sensation at the live awards show when she tweaked
her scripted lines by asking the audience whether anyone had "ever tried
to get cow (expletive) out of a Prada bag." Big deal, says an unperturbed
Richie. "Otherwise, we would have sounded so ditzy and stupid," she
says. Richie
also doesn't discuss the murky circumstances that led her from her biological
parents, who live in San Francisco, to her adoptive family, crooner Lionel
Richie and his ex-wife Brenda. "I
was adopted just because I'd have a better lifestyle out here, but I try not to
get into that. I'd like to keep that private," says Richie, who's still in
touch with her birth parents and says they approve of The Simple Life. While
she may not have starred in an amateur sex video like Hilton, Richie has had
her share of scuffles with the law. Most notably, she was arrested in February
for driving with a revoked license and possessing a controlled substance.
Although heroin was found in her car, she says the drugs did not belong to her.
"I
pleaded no contest, and it was a bump in the road in my life and something that
I've gotten through," says Richie, who spent time in rehab and was
sentenced to three years' probation. "I'm really lucky to have my parents'
support. I definitely have done a lot of things wrong in my life." But
no more, Richie says. Earlier this month, during a routine progress report,
Judge Lawrence Mira praised Richie for staying sober. With
her legal travails behind her, Richie, who is single, is focusing on her
career. She plays the cello, violin and piano and plans on recording a pop
album. On Friday, she'll fly to Manhattan to audition for the Broadway show Rent. She just landed a guest appearance
on the UPN sitcom Eve. And she's
in talks, along with Hilton, to star in a Simple
Life sequel. "I'm
sure it'll work out," she says. Charles
Mims | |||||||||
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