Lionel Richie Jokes That His "Job Is to Embarrass" His 3 Kids as Much as He Can

Lionel and ex-wife Harvey took in Nicole (born on 21 Sept., 1981) when she was a toddler. According to People, the former TV personality's parents were friends of Lionel's who couldn't afford to take care of her financially, so the musician and his then-wife officially adopted her when she was 9 years old.

"Nicole was actually a godsend," Lionel previously told People of adopting his oldest daughter. "She was a little girl who needed a shot. She was used to people coming and going. She looked at me and I'd say, 'I'm not going anywhere.'" The singer added that he and Harvey "didn't agree on a lot of things, but we did agree on [Nicole]."

Nicole, who famously appeared in reality TV series "The Simple Life" with Paris Hilton from 2005 to 2007, has been candid about the controversies she's found herself in previously — including arrests, car accidents, and a struggle with substance abuse. In 2006, she told Vanity Fair that she "liked the fact that my parents weren't speaking" at that time "because I could play them against each other." "Their way of making me happy was to say yes to everything I wanted," she added, "but I don't think a little girl should have that much freedom."

She later turned to her parents for help with her drug addiction, a time Lionel later recalled having to "survive." "Forget about surviving 40 years in the music business. Just surviving 27 years of Nicole Richie has been a struggle-and-a-half," he said during the 2008 TV Land Awards (via CBS News). "I stand here as a survivor, I want you to know, for all the parents out there."

However, today, Lionel and Nicole are in a much better place. While on "The Drew Barrymore Show" in March 2023, Lionel said of raising Nicole, "If I lived through that. I can live through anything." He also added that his oldest, now a wife and mother of two, has since "turned out perfectly."

Miles, born on 27 May, 1994, is Lionel's one and only son with ex-wife Alexander. According to People, the fashion model's parents divorced in 2003 when he was just 9 years old. In 2018, Miles told ET Canada that he's "a mama's boy," as he mainly grew up living with his mum.

Miles is both a musician and a model. In 2018, he made his runway debut during New York Fashion Week. In 2020, he told Essence that he grew up being shy so pursuing modelling was a challenge for him. However, at the time, he said his mom and dad "keep pushing me forward every single day, and every day I'm determined to be better." Miles also admitted to the publication that, initially, he didn't want to "follow the trend" of his famous family. "I want people to like me for me, rather than like me for who my family is."

Sofia, who was born on 24 Aug., 1998, in Los Angeles, is Lionel's youngest child with ex Alexander. Like her adopted sister, Sofia has accompanied her dad to several Hollywood events over the years, making her first red carpet appearance at the 2008 ASCAP Pop Music Awards when she 10. She also followed in her famous father's footsteps and pursued singing at one point, though these days she appears to be focussed on the beauty space as the beauty director of Nudestix.

Back in 2018, Sofia opened up to the Sydney Morning Herald about getting music lessons as a kid and the pressures that came with being an iconic singer's daughter. "My dad had me in singing lessons from a really young age and I've played piano with my dad growing up, so I have that part of me," she said, adding that her father "is a really respected soul singer and I feel like that is a lot of responsibility to take it on. I'd have to do it 100 percent and I'm not ready to do that."

She continued, "I don't want people to think I am trying to burn down my dad's hard work . . . I have to try and find my own way . . . I can also never get away from the fact that my dad is Lionel Richie."

It doesn't seem as though Lionel is anything less than proud of his youngest. He couldn't help but brag about her during her wedding with music executive Elliot Grainge on 22 April, 2023. In a TikTok posted on Sofia's page, Lionel can be heard excitedly saying, "That's my kid," as he walked her down the aisle. Afterward, during an interview with Extra on April 25, Lionel said of escorting Sofia on her big day, "It was a moment where, yes, I was letting her go, but I was also gaining a family. The family is getting huge right about now, but we are happy."