Lionel Richie's Daughter Has Grown Up To Be Gorgeous

Making oneself famous and then keeping the public's fascination for years to come is simply the family business for the Richies. Sofia Richie is the third person among her kin to become a public figure. Her father: Commodores singer, 1980s soft rock sensation, and American Idol judge Lionel Richie. Her older sister: 2000s reality TV pioneer, tabloid princess, and Paris Hilton sidekick Nicole Richie. 

But Sofia Richie isn't banking on her well-known last name to make something of herself in music or TV. She seems to be on her way to doing her own thing, carving out her own unpredictable path in a distinctly 21st century fashion. Only in her early twenties, Richie has already captured the attention of the fashion world, landing a modeling contract and telling people what to wear and how to look. Here's the story of how Sofia Richie quickly rose to fame, and why she'll probably stay famous for quite a while.

At one point in time, way back in the mid-2010s, a teenage Sofia Richie considered following her father into pop rock. "When I was 13, I was saying that I wanted to be signed to a label," Richie told Entertainment Tonight. "I was begging my dad to get me signed with somebody." But dad Lionel Richie, who has experienced the sometimes cruel and horrible machinations of the music industry up close, wouldn't play. "I'm glad he held me off," Sofia added, "because I really found myself and found what I truly wanted to do." 

Richie also admitted that had she grown up with an increased level of fame and attention befitting that of a second-generation singer, life would have been tougher. "I just feel like you have to go through this crazy transition if you're going to continue on with your career, from a child star to an adult star," she reflected. "Now I get it and I'm like, 'I would not have wanted to go through that.' I just want to come out and be the person that I am. I don't want to have to go through a transition in front of the whole world."

And yet, Richie did give the world a taste of what it could be missing. In 2012, she teamed up with YouTube musical sensation Pia Mia for a cover of Adele's "Turning Tables." Pia Mia sang while Richie accompanied on piano.

While things didn't work out with Justin Bieber, Sofia Richie found love again, with the much older Scott Disick. E! News reported in May 2017 that the pair were spotted together in Cannes, France, but Richie sought to quell any rumors she'd coupled up with Kourtney Kardashian's baby daddy, tweeting, "Just so everyone can get their panties out of their a**es, Scott and I are just homies. #Relax." Talk of a Richie-Disick romance ramped up a month later when the two were spotted having dinner together at Malibu sushi hotspot Nobu. Still, Richie maintained that the relationship was platonic. "The last time I'm gonna say it. Scott and I are just friends. I'm single and focused on friends, family and work. #againrelax," Richie tweeted (via E! News).

Prepare to be shocked — Richie and Disick really were dating all that time. According to E! News, the pair dated for just over three years, ultimately breaking off their romance in May 2020. "There wasn't a fight or anything bad that happened between them," an inside source claimed. "Sofia thinks Scott has a lot on his plate right now and thinks it's best for them to be apart so he can focus on himself. She is only looking out for him and his best interest and it was primarily her decision for them to split." Richie reportedly got her stuff out of Disick's place, and he sought treatment for mental health issues.

At just 16 years old, Sofia Richie landed a contract with Select Model Management, according to E! News. She steadily made a name for herself in the world of attractive people wearing clothes, making her New York Fashion Week runway debut (for Yeezy Season 4) in January 2017. "Runway is really fun," Richie told InStyle. "For Yeezy, I didn't expect to walk at all — I got a call and was on the plane the next day, and it was the most amazing experience."

Before long, she was walking the runway for Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana and appearing in a national campaign for DL1961. A lot of that came as a surprise for Richie, because at 5'6", she's not your typical beanpole model. "I got really good feedback from Chanel, which I didn't expect, because I'm shorter, and shorter models get a lot of hate," Richie explained. "So I was happy to see that I didn't."

The saying "birds of a feather flock together" is certainly true when it comes to Sofia Richie and her ever-growing friends circle. In 2016, when her profile was on the rise, she started sharing pictures with all sorts of gal pals, serving as an announcement that she'd been accepted into the A-list of social media stars. In February of that year, Richie posted a black-and-white snap with Kylie Jenner, Jordyn Woods, and others — as everyone knows, Jenner is the "it" girl of our time, and being seen next to her will only increase fame and attention. 

By the end of that year, Richie had shared an incredible selfie with actor Terrence Jenkins and model Rita Ora. And by early 2020, Richie's status as a generational and cultural influencer was fully established: she'd amassed more than six million Instagram followers on the strength of fewer than 1,000 posts.

When it comes to close friends, she's touted Paris Hilton, of all people, as a sisterly figure. "She gives the best advice and she wants the best for me and she sees how my path is going," Richie told Wonderland magazine. "She's really rooting for me and giving me the best tips, how to avoid certain things and how to be the best version of myself that I can be." (Being yourself? Now that's hot!)