15 Things You Didn't Know About Sofia Richie
If you don't know who Sofia Richie is, seriously, where have you been?! This gorgeous 18-year-old has a famous family plus a famous ex-boyfriend. Just keep reading, you may have heard of him! It is definitely Sofia's time to shine as she dominates the world. With 1.6 million followers on Instagram alone, she is totally turning heads. If she wasn't totally and completely in the spotlight before, well, she sure is now. People can't seem to get enough of this dazzling model. There is definitely more to her than the fact that she is beautiful. She's also pretty talented at a whole bunch of different things and she's super grounded. You can honestly relate to her because of that. At the end of the day, this beauty has a ton in common with your average girl. Although, of course, when it comes to her overall life, she's definitely anything but average. Here are 15 things that you didn't know about Sofia Richie. You're about to become a total expert on this new It-Girl.
15 Her Dad Is Lionel Richie
You might have heard of the famous musician Lionel Richie. He's been around for a while. He started off in the musical group The Commodores before embarking on a successful solo career that made him a household name. He has released 11 albums and he's racked up numerous awards, too. To Sofia Richie, however, he's just dad. "Sofia is an old soul," Lionel told Billboard. "When she starts talking about her life, her music, her style, it's -definite she has been here before. She is very clear about who she is and what she wants." While her dad may be her biggest fan, Sofia still finds it weird that people are fans of her dad. “One night he intercoms me, like, 'Come have dinner in the studio," she told Billboard. “So I go down and it's my dad and Pharrell Williams. I'm like, 'I can't just sit here and casually have a dinner with you two! I'm so sorry, I've got to go back upstairs.'” Too funny!
14 Her Sis Is Nicole Richie
If you haven't heard of her famous dad, you have definitely heard of her famous sister. Nicole, big sis at age 34, got her big break on the reality TV show The Simple Life where her and BFF Paris Hilton went around learning new things and meeting new people, often with hilarious results. Nicole has calmed down since then and is super protective, just like any big sis! “I don't feel like we'll ever be equals,” Sofia told Elle. “Nicole will always give me guidance as a big sister. She tells me every day that she's mad that I'm growing up.” And while Nicole fills the older sister role, Sofia fits perfectly into the baby sister stereotype… and that's by copying her! “When I was 15, I would steal clothes out of my sister's closet, like, all day," she once told People. She has told Teen Vogue that Nicole is the best person to shop for clothes with. We can only imagine… and we're pretty jealous of all those fun sisterly shopping sprees.
13 Her BF Was The Biebs
Yup, this is the moment that you've all been waiting for. Drumroll, please… Sofia Richie dated Justin Bieber! The 22-year-old was first spotted holding hands with her in Laguna Beach, California, and then they were seen everywhere together. It became quickly apparent they were dating. Justin even was brave enough to show her off on Instagram! “We have a special relationship,” Sofia told Billboard. “Justin is very easy to talk to, and that's hard to find with people in Los Angeles.” Sounds like these two lovebirds were not denying anything to the public. They're on a break right now, but will this flame be reignited? Justin seemed serious about this girl, so maybe. We can't tell who's luckier, Justin or Sofia! They are both total catches, and they look great together in their paparazzi shots and on Instagram. They were total relationship goals when they were together. We will have to keep an eye on these two.
12 Justin Bieber Took Her All Over
Another way you can tell Justin Bieber was serious about Sofia is that he took her all over the world! He first took her along to Japan where he was touring, which is a big commitment for sure. Then, for her 18th birthday, he was sweet enough to take her on a romantic getaway to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. How cute is that? He must have been head-over-heels for her. We are sure Sofia was super flattered to have her boy take time out of his busy schedule to give her special attention. And especially a boy like the Biebs who is definitely busier than most. She shared some telling Snap that showed just how romantic the trip was: flowers, a sunset, and candles spelled out into the word “Love.” Aww! She also snapped some amazing views of the beach and her hotel room. Boys all over the world need to take a cue from Bieber on how to celebrate your girlfriend's birthday! We are totally jealous.
11 She's A Material Girl
Have you ever seen a super cool, 80s inspired punk outfit at Macy's? It could be from Madonna and her daughter Lourdes' clothing line, “Material Girl”! Sofia Richie became an official model for the line's fifth anniversary last year. “Being the face of Material Girl is just so cool,” Sofia told Us Weekly. “I've followed Madonna's style since I was a little girl, and I feel that she's so edgy and cool.” Madonna returned the love by stating “"Sofia Richie perfectly embodies the style and spirit of Material Girl and is the ideal new face for the line,” and Lourdes chimed in by saying “Coming from an artistic family, self-expression is in our blood. I love Sofia's style and energy.” Sofia is in good company as the Material Girls in the past have been super cool too: Kelly Osbourne, Zendaya, Rita Ora, and Taylor Momsen. Sofia must have felt so honored!
10 She Had A Curfew Growing Up
Aside from having a famous fam and being insanely beautiful, Sofia was raised just like any other kid. And yep, that means she had a curfew! She revealed to Nylon in 2014 when she was 16 that her days are filled with homeschooling, but her nights are spent with friends. For a little while, at least. Sofia's parents were adamant that she returned home by 11:00 PM. "It's a generous curfew," she said. "I have time to be a 16-year-old. And sometimes just being a kid is fun." Now that she is 18, things might be a little different. “Freedom!” Sofia was quoted as declaring about her birthday. Maybe now she gets to go out with her friends (and her boy!) for as long as she wants. Sofia was also told to hold off on her career until she was a little older, too. She has said that at thirteen, she really wanted to record an album, but her dad wanted her to just be a normal teen for a while. But now that she's 18, she might be able to start exploring her talents!
9 She's A Musician
One of Sofia's many talents? She sings, plays piano, and writes songs! She definitely must have gotten her musical chops from her father. According to Billboard, her dad began teaching her to sing at 5 and play piano at 7. Sofia and her dad can both play the piano so well that they can play by ear. Her dad even brought her up on stage sometimes for some super cool duets. And that's not all! At 14, she started taking daily lessons with Beyoncé's vocal coach Tim Carter. Talk about working with the best of the best! She also lucked out with her sister marrying into the music life as Nicole Richie's husband, Sofia's brother-in-law, is Good Charlotte's Joel Madden. She got to experiment in the studio with him! However, Sofia still needed to find her own personal sound. "It was the best I could have asked for, but there was too much pressure," she said. "Everyone had their own idea of what my music should sound like, and I just wanted to be an individual. I stepped back and said, 'I need to re-evaluate this.' "
8 She Has An Awesome Tumblr
Another relatable fact about Sofia Richie is that she has a Tumblr! “I never really thought I would make a blog myself,” she told People. “Then I got super interested in pictures and runways. I started following a bunch of model blogs and runway blogs and then I just started following designers. Sometimes I'll see something on Tumblr and think, 'Oh my God, how did I not think about this?'” Indeed, her tumblr, www.sofia-richie.tumblr.com, is filled with grungy fashion, runways snaps, and street clothes. With a background of two skeleton hands pulling apart a wishbone, Sofia is able to reblog inspirations for her own fashion and copy aesthetics that she likes. She also posts inspiring or melancholy quotes to depict her mood at any certain time. Her latest quote she reblogged is “Whatever you are looking for in life is looking for you too. - Saul Williams.” Perhaps that one's about Justin Bieber? We will never know! But we can totally hope.
7 Justin Defended Her
When Justin Bieber first shared a cute snap of the two on Instagram, the response was… not so great. A lot of fans got jealous and began to spew hatred at poor Sofia. Justin retaliated by posting a picture of the couple with the caption “I'm gonna make my Instagram private if you guys don't stop the hate this is getting out of hand, if you guys are real fans you wouldn't be so mean to people that I like.” This didn't work and in fact, brought his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez into the fray! She commented on the photo saying ““If you can't handle the hate then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol. it should be special between you two only. Don't be mad at your fans. They love you.” Woah! Does she have a point, or is she just bitter? Justin responded in two ways. First, he commented “It's funny to see people that used me for attention and still try to point the finger this way. Sad. All love… I'm not one for anyone receiving hate. Hope u all can be kind to my friends and each other. And yes I love my beliebers.” When that didn't work, he deleted his account entirely!
6 She's Friends With Paris Jackson
After Sofia started receiving internet hate, Justin Bieber was not the only one to come to her defense. So did Paris Jackson, the daughter of the late Michael Jackson! “… Justin Bieber went on a downward spiral because everybody that he dates gets so much hate,” she ranted on Instagram. “I have known his girlfriend Sofia since I was 12 or 13. She's one of the sweetest girls in the world and people are telling her to kill herself.” Yikes! Poor Sofia! And poor Paris, too: “I don't understand how there can be so much hatred in the world right now,” Paris explained in the same video. “I have tried sticking up for myself. I've tried the whole blocking the haters thing, not reading the comments. I've tried a lot of things.” Maybe Paris and Sofia can bond and be there for each other over the difficult things they read online!
5 She's A Serious Model
It makes sense that Sofia got into the modeling world. After all, she is not only ridiculously gorgeous but loves fashion and design, too! She started back in 2014, signing with Select Model Management. And so far, she has done editorials for Elle, Vanity Fair Italia, Vogue China, Nylon, Lady Gunn, Unleash'd, ES and Who What Wear, just to name a few! “I love modeling because I get to see everything that inspires me,” she told Billboard. She must be good at it because the modeling scene is certainly taking notice of this star on the rise! She does not want people to credit her family for her success in the modeling world. Sounds like a girl dedicated to her craft! We love that she doesn't want anyone to think that anything other than her pure and raw talent is the cause of anything that she does and any success that she has.
4 She Wants To Be A Designer
Sofia ultimately wants to start her own clothing line and even sketches ideas at home sometimes. Her dream is for it to be similar to “my personal style: trenches, high-waisted pants, -pantsuits, silks,” she has said. She takes this aspiration super seriously: “I just want to be taken seriously with my fashion and not thought of as a 'little girl' who has a stylist or something," she was quoted as saying. Seems like Sofia is passionate about this subject! Aside from runways, her tumblr, and big sis Nicole, who inspires her? Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen! She is super inspired by their line The Row and wants to do something like that someday. We think that sounds like an absolutely amazing plan and we can't wait to see what she does. We are definitely thinking that she is going to be super successful in anything that she does. And we can't wait for it!
3 She Has Famous Friends
Of course, Sofia runs in prominent social circles, so she's bound to hang out in famous circles. She's close with Bella Hadid and uploads pics of her famous friends to her Instagram. She even once referred to Kylie as “my girl.” They must be really close! This squad is totally envy-worthy. Who would not want to be surrounded by models and socialites? Of course, Kylie and Bella are lucky too as Sofia has become a star herself. Since she rose to fame, people must be dying to be her friend and only a fortunate few make the cut! Probably any friend of Sofia's has to be into fashion and music, her two main passions. Kylie and Bella certainly fit the fashion bill, at least! And of course, Sofia will always be BFF's with big sis Nicole, who she hung out with a lot on Nicole's newest reality show Candidly Nicole.
2 She Loves Her Bro
Nicole is not the only sibling that has Sofia's heart. She's got a brother who is four years older. His name is Miles and they seem super close. While he's not into the industry like the rest of the family, Sofia still manages to bond the most with her big brother. She's always sharing photos of the two of them together from when they were kids. For his birthday, she uploaded a throwback photo and captioned it “Expect a lot of Instagrams about this kid today. I love you so much bob you are my life… Happy Birthday… This week is bout youuuuuu” What a sweet sister! She calls him “Bob” in other photos too so it must be an inside joke of theirs and a nickname or something. She ends up posting a lot of throwback photos of her entire family pretty often, so we are sure family is a priority to her.
1 She Loves Her Dog
There is one other family member that Sofia holds dear, the only difference being that this guy is a little furry! Cairo Richie is Sofia's “little nugget” that she loves so much, he has his own Instagram. His profile simply says “The Boy.” Cairo seems to be living the life being Sofia's puppy. From what we can tell from his Instagram, he is spoiled rotten! One photo is captioned “Prince.” He is still really little, so who knows if he is done growing? Sofia refers to herself as his “mama.” Does that make Lionel Richie grandpa to little Cairo? He also has a “big brother” named Jake, who is furry like him. It is not all fun and games for mama Sofia though. As adorable as he is, there is pictures of him having done some business all over her car, and of eating paint! Still, we bet Sofia is a great doggy mama and takes good care of little Cairo!