Denise Lee Richards was born in Downer's Grove,
Illinois, on February 17, 1972. When she was a freshman in high school, her
parents moved to San Diego, California. While she was still a student, Denise
began working as a model also. After graduating from El Camino High in Oceanside,
California in 1989, she moved to Los Angeles to focus on her modeling career.
As a model, Denise Richards worked regularly
in New York and Tokyo. She was also frequently seen on the pages of teen and
sports magazines. Acting was her real passion though, and two years later she
quit modeling so that she could get work as an actress.
Despite a small recurring role on television's
Doogie Howser M.D., work was hard to come by. She spent a lot of time taking
acting classes, auditioning and being rejected. She did get some roles though,
including Loaded Weapon 1, the campy Tammy And The T-Rex and a
short-lived role on Melrose Place.
Then in 1997, her big break came in the form
of an army of giant squirmy bugs. Paul Verhoven's Starship Troopers was
not the blockbuster that Sony would have hoped for (partially due to bad promotional
strategy and a limiting R-rating) but it was still successful in bringing in
an audience. Denise Richards appeared as Carmen Ibanez opposite Casper Van Dien and Dina Meyer, as the poster girl-ish starship
pilot of the future. Her role, one that could have been a flash in the pan for
any other actress, somehow caught the attention of the public and guaranteed
that she would stick around.
To follow up the action/sci-fi movie, she chose
to make the sexual thriller Wild Things with such heavy-weights as Kevin
Bacon, Neve Campbell and Matt Dillon.
Where Starship Troopers was physically demanding, Wild Things pushed
back the limits of her modesty. Having to appear scantily clad or naked at different
parts of the movie was hard enough, it was having a love scene with her co-star
Neve Campbell
that brought out the Tequila bottle. Despite the difficulties, Wild Things
was well received by both audiences and critics. It's audacity and an old-fashioned
"who's conspiring with who" script made it successful.
Facts about Denise Richards:
Married actor Charlie Sheen, 15th of June, 2002,
at the home of producer Gary David Goldberg in Los Angeles.
Her favorite actresses are Susan Sarandon, Jessica
Lange, Kim Basinger, Michelle Pffeifer.
In an interview, she said touching her hair too
much. She says the Fuck a lot too.
Refused to move into Charlie Sheen's home when
they haven't got married because he'd entertained too many call-girls there.
Denise Richards was an ugly child - and all her
classmates called her fish lips.
Hollywood hottie Denise Richards is terrified
by germs - and packs a sick bag every time she leaves her home.
BOND babe DENISE RICHARDS is furious with perverts
who keep posting fake nude pictures of the film star on the Internet.
Denise Richards was topless during the ménage-à
trois sequence in THE WILD THINGS (1998).
Denise Richards says she is a clean freak. When
going anywhere she carries everything from Band-Aids to Lysole.
Was nominated Blockbuster Entertainment Award
for Favorite Actress - Action in 2000 for THE WORLD ID NOT ENOUGH and MTV Movie
Award for Best Kiss in 1999 for WILD THINGS.
Personal quotes:
"Fashion has become such a huge part of
Hollywood. Actors have taken the place of models on the front covers of the
majority of fashion magazines - so you have to really put a lot of thought into
what you wear to big events. I was on one magazine's fashion 'Don't' list for
my hair the other week. Because it's a fun, funky event, I had it styled all
big and frizzy. I thought it looked great. It was obviously not to everyone's
taste."
"Doing love scenes is always awkward. I
mean, it's just not a normal thing to go to work and lay in bed with your co-worker."
- Controversy. April/May 2000.
"What is it about two women kissing that
gets people so revved up?"
- Denise Richards on her sapphic encounter with Wild Things co-star Neve Campbell
