Denise Richards

Denise Richards

Denise Lee Richards (born February 17, 1971) is known for being a big screen vixen. The object of desire for countless films and television roles from the 1990s to the 2000s, this formal fashion model gained the most notoriety after the string of sexy roles that highlighted her natural appeal. The most notable of these films being Wild Things, which included a threesome between her, and her co-stars Neve Campbell and Matt Dillon. Recently, Richards has been thrust in the media spotlight, not because of her movie roles, but because of her very public split from bad-boy actor Charlie Sheen and her ongoing romance with Heather Locklear's ex, Richie Sambora.

Early Life

Born on February 17, 1972, in Downers Grove, Illinois, Denise Lee Richards moved to Oceanside, California, with her younger sister, her father, Irv, and mother, Joni, when she was 15 years old. Her parents owned a string of coffee shops called Jitters in the San Diego area. Even though she was quiet and shy as a child, she became a high school cheerleader at El Camino High School in Oceanside, California. After graduating from highschool in 1989, she began modeling in Paris, Tokyo and New York, and became the makeup girl for Bonne Bell cosmetics. However, Richard's wanted more than just a modeling career and she began attempting her hand at acting and began to try out for various acting roles.

Career

Richards first appearances in the entertainment industry took place on weekly television shows such as "Life Goes On" (1990), "Saved by the Bell," "Married... with Children" (both in 1991), "Eerie, Indiana," "Beverly Hills: 90210," (both in 1992), and "Seinfeld" (1993). Her stint on "Seinfeld" catapulted her into the limelight. In the episode, Richards played the young daughter of the NBC executive who was about to cut a deal with George (Jason Alexander) and Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), but because they got caught looking down her blouse, the deal was lost.

After a recurring role on Aaron Spelling's prime-time soap, "Melrose Place," in 1992, Richards starred in a film entitled Tammy and the T-Rex and the made-for-TV movie 919 Fifth Avenue in 1994. In 1996, while Richards had another recurring role on television's "Spin City," starring Michael J. Fox, she starred in other forgettable made for television movies, including In The Blink of An Eye and Pier 66.

Then in 1997, after starring in the box office flop, Nowhere, Richards co-starred in the extremely campy, yet popular film, Starship Troopers.

Next Richards found her fame-niche, when she co-starred with Neve Campbell and Matt Dillon in Wild Things (1998). Her sexy role in the film, not to mention her threesome scene, transformed Richards into one of the most sought after sex-pots and celebrities in Hollywood.

In 1999, Richards starred in the appropriately titled film, Drop Dead Gorgeous, but the film didn't see the same critical success in theaters that her two previous films did. Richards then went onto star opposite Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Christmas Jones in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough (1999), which put her star up their with the likes of the other bond girls that came before her, including Famke Janssen, Kim Basinger, and Jane Seymour.

In 2001, Richards starred in more forgettable movies: Valentine and Good Advice (which is where she met her future husband Charlie Sheen, whom she married the following year in June). Then, in 2002, after the movie Empire, co-starring John Leguizamo, flopped at the box office, Richards went onto costar in the surprise hit, Undercover Brother (2002), with Eddie Griffin and appeared in Scary Movie 3 (2003) with her then husband, Charlie Sheen.

In December of 2004, she posed in a nude pictorial for Playboy magazine.

She is costarred along side Pamela Anderson in the film Blonde and Blonder, which wrapped shooting in early 2007.

Personal Life

Richards dated actor Patrick Muldoon.

In 2002, she married actor Charlie Sheen. The couple has two daughters: Sam J, born on March 9, 2004, and Lola Rose, born on June 1, 2005.

Richards was named the Sexiest Mom of 2005 by In Touch Weekly magazine.

In March of 2005, Richards filed for divorce from Sheen. The couple briefly reconciled and were seeking marriage counseling to mend their relationship. However, on January 4, 2006, Richards' representative announced that she was continuing with the divorce.

On April 19, 2006, Richards filed for divorce from Sheen under the laws of the state of California. In her 17-page court filing (not counting additional supporting evidentiary documents), Richards alleged that Sheen's behavior was increasingly erratic, making their marriage impossible, and that she feared for her safety and the safety of their two daughters: Sam J. and Lola Rose.

Richards claimed that Sheen was physically and verbally abusive and threatened to kill her or have her killed, and that despite having accidentally shot his previous fiancée, Kelly Preston, he wanted to place firearms under their coffee table to protect them. Richards claimed that Sheen had become paranoid and obsessive, citing his belief in 9/11 conspiracy theories, a belief that baby formula caused brain damage, a desire to purchase gas masks, and an "abnormal fascination" with Nicole Simpson's death.

Further, Richards alleged that Sheen visited prostitutes and was addicted to gambling, prescription drugs (which he bought over the Internet), and pornography. Richards also alleged that Sheen posted a picture of his erect penis on his online profile of a "sex-search type" website and that he frequently viewed pornography featuring "very young girls," and websites "involving gay pornography also involving very young men who also did not look like adults."

Based on these allegations, Richards sought and received a restraining order against Sheen.

Charlie Sheen denied the allegations. In an interview with “Entertainment Tonight,” he described Richards' actions as a "smear campaign" and insisted that he was a responsible father who would "give his life for his children." He added that Richards is "the only one entirely culpable for putting these radical allegations out for public consumption... my children included."

Since the split she has since been linked to actor John Stamos, whom she dated during her teenage years. And then on April 25, 2006, it was reported that Richards is romantically involved with Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora who had recently separated from Heather Locklear who was supposedly a good friend of Richards. Richards' and Sambora's relationship, subsequently put an end to her and Locklear's friendship.

On November 8, 2006, officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were called to a casino in Richmond, B.C., where Richards was filming the movie Blonde and Blonder. Apparently, after seeing some photographers taking her picture from a nearby balcony, Richards confronted them, grabbed one of their laptop computers and threw it over the balcony. The laptops landed near two elderly women, one 91 years old and one 89 years old and in a wheelchair. The 89 year old woman suffered minor injuries (mild bruising) and was treated by emergency personnel yet did not want to press charges against Ms. Richards.

Charity Work

Richards posed naked for the July issue of Jane magazine to raise money for the Clothes Off Our Back foundation. The Clothes Off Our Back foundation hosts numerous online auctions of celebrity clothing to raise money for various children's charities.