Television:In 2003, Richie and best friend Paris Hilton starred in Season 1 of the reality series The Simple Life, in which they lived for a month with a family in the rural community of Altus, Arkansas. The series debuted on Fox on December 2, 2003, to high ratings. The premiere episode drew 13 million viewers, increasing Fox's Adults 18-49 rating to 79%.
In Season 2, The Simple Life 2: Road Trip, the girls traveled the South driving a pink pick-up and living in a trailer. They had no money, credit cards or cell phones and were required to work various jobs during their trip to earn money. Their jobs included farm workers, mermaids in an underwater show, hotel maids, sausage makers, crawfishers, working for a baseball team, working in a beauty salon, Deputy Sheriffs, and working on a cattle ranch. They stayed with different families or in trailer parks and on one occasion, in a nudist resort.
In Season 3, The Simple Life 3: Interns, the girls traveled the East Coast, staying in the homes of 15 different families. Unlike Season 2 during which the two lived in a mobile trailer, travel was supposedly restricted to a regularly scheduled Greyhound bus.
In late 2005, Fox chose not to renew The Simple Life, explaining that they didn't see a place for it in their schedule. A month later, cable network E! picked up the series for its fourth season. The Simple Life 4: 'Til Death Do Us Part, followed the girls as they traveled around California, acting as wife and mother to various families, though both would do tasks separately and not be seen together on screen.
The Simple Life 5: The Simple Life Goes To Camp, debuted on E! on May 28, 2007, with Hilton and Richie reconciling on Richie's birthday in the season opener. For Season 5, Hilton and Richie worked as counselors at Camp Shawnee. The camp was host to five different specialty groups: Wellness Camp, Pageant Camp, Couples Camp, Survival Camp and Drama Camp, with two episodes focused on each specialty group.Although Season 4 was a hit for E!, drawing nearly one million viewers per episode, Season 5 saw a sharp decline in ratings. While the premiere episode and ones that followed during this season drew about the same viewership, by the 7th episode the ratings had declined to around 700,000 viewers. It was announced on July 30, 2007 that the show would not be renewed for a sixth season.
In 2005, Richie made her acting debut in the comedic drama Kids in America. Richie has guest starred in television series including Eve, Six Feet Under and American Dreams, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, and Chuck.
In July 2008, plans were announced to turn Richie's 2005 novel, The Truth About Diamonds, into a television series.
On January 1, 2010, it was announced that Richie would guest judge on Project Runway.
Other workWriting:
In 2005, Richie wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Truth About Diamonds, which was released by Bharell Jackson Publishing. The novel is loosely based on her life, but is mostly fictional. It chronicles the life of Chloe Parker, the adopted daughter of a singer who makes her way through all of the hottest nightclubs and parties in Hollywood and battles a drug addiction. In early January 2006, The Truth About Diamonds peaked at number #32 in Hardcover Fiction on The New York Times Best-Seller List.
Designer:
In April 2007, Richie announced plans to start a jewelry, accessories, and sunglasses line along with a perfume and style book. In October 2008, she debuted a jewelry line, House of Harlow 1960. The line became available at Kitson's online boutique. In Spring 2010, the line was extended to include apparel and shoes.
In 2009, Richie joined maternity store A Pea in the Pod to create the new collection maternity clothes.
Music:Richie was a member of the rock band "Darling" in 2009 along with Josie Maran and Soleil and Sofia Alberti. A year later, she made her musical debut on The View playing the piano. Although widely speculated that Richie is working on an album, she told People that it's not true; however, she said "I do eventually [want to record an album], but right now I have a lot on my plate". A demo of the LFO song "Dandelion" leaked onto the internet and radio in 2004.
In 2004, she auditioned for the part of Maureen in the popular Broadway hit, Rent, but did not get the part. In 2008, she was offered the lead role in the hit musical Chicago as Roxie Hart.
