Kyle Richards

Kyle Richards
Richards in 2014
Born	(1969-01-11) January 11, 1969 (age 52) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, television personality
Years active	1974–present
Known for	Halloween and Halloween Kills Little House on the Prairie The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Spouse(s)	Guraish Aldjufrie ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 1992)​ Mauricio Umansky ​ ​ (m. 1996)​
Children	4
Relatives	Kim Richards (sister) Kathy Hilton (half-sister) Paris Hilton (niece) Nicky Hilton Rothschild (niece)

Kyle Egan Richards (born January 11, 1969)^[1] is an American actress, socialite, television personality, and philanthropist. She began her career as a child actress, appearing in a recurring role on Little House on the Prairie, and in several adventure and horror films, including The Car (1977), Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive (1977), and Walt Disney’s The Watcher In The Woods (1980), as well as portraying Lindsey Wallace in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and later Halloween Kills (2021). Since 2010, she has appeared as a main cast member on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and as of 2021, is the last remaining original cast member on the show. In 2017, she was a contestant on The New Celebrity Apprentice (also known as The Celebrity Apprentice 8), playing for the charity Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

Early life[]

Richards was born on January 11, 1969, in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.^[1][2] She is the daughter of Kathleen Mary Richards (née Dugan; 1938–2002) and Kenneth Edwin Richards (1917–1998).^[3][4] She was named for Kyle Rote, a football player who played for the New York Giants.^[5] The couple separated in 1972 and Kathleen later remarried twice more. Richards' siblings are Kathy Hilton (born 1959), her older half-sister from her mother's first marriage to Lawrence Avanzino, and Kim Richards (born 1964),^[6] as well as three paternal half-siblings from her father's first marriage, all of whom were adults by the time Richards was born. Nicky and Paris Hilton are her nieces.

Career[]

Film and television[]

Richards began her acting career in 1974, portraying Julia in the television series Police Woman. She appeared in 18 episodes of NBC's Western historical drama television series Little House on the Prairie as Alicia Sanderson Edwards. Her sister, Kim, was also an actress, who appeared in one episode of Little House on the Prairie, the season before Kyle joined the cast. The two sisters played on-screen sisters in the 1977 the thriller film The Car. Through the 1970s, Richards appeared on several television series, such as Flying High, Vega$, Fantasy Island, Time Express and Carter Country. Richards portrayed Lindsey Wallace in the slasher film Halloween (1978) alongside Jamie Lee Curtis. Halloween became a widely influential film within the horror genre; it was largely responsible for the popularization of slasher films in the 1980s and helped develop the slasher genre.

In 1980, she appeared in the supernatural horror film The Watcher in the Woods. Subsequent roles included Nurse Dori Kerns in 21 episodes of NBC's medical drama series ER (1998–2006) and Lisa, a supporting character in the comedy film National Lampoon's Pledge This! (2006). She played Tricia in Lifetime's television film Deadly Sibling Rivalry (2011) and Housewife Heather in the comedy film The Hungover Games (2014). She had guest roles in several television shows, including C.S.I., 7th Heaven, City Guys, Beverly Hills, 90210, Love Boat: The Next Wave, and CHiPs.

Since 2010, she has appeared as a main cast member on Bravo's reality television show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. In 2012, she graced the magazine cover of The Hollywood Reporter along with other Real Housewives franchise's cast members Vicki Gunvalson, Ramona Singer, Caroline Manzo and NeNe Leakes.^[7] She was nominated for "Reality Star of 2019" award at the 2019 People's Choice Awards.^[8][9] In 2013, she portrayed modeling agent Casey McGraw in three episodes of NBC's soap opera Days of Our Lives.^[10][11] In 2017, Richards appeared as a contestant on The New Celebrity Apprentice and earned $25,000 for her charity of choice, Children's Hospital Los Angeles.^[12][13] She was the 5th contestant fired, finishing in 12th place.

Richards co-executive produced Paramount Network's comedy television series American Woman (2018), which was inspired by her childhood in the 1970s.^[14][15][16] On August 30, 2019, it was confirmed that Richards is reprising the role of Lindsey Wallace, the role she originated in the original 1978 film, in Halloween Kills, which is set for release in 2021.^[17][18] Halloween Kills is scheduled to have its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 8, 2021.^[19] The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 15, 2021, by Universal Pictures, after having been delayed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[20]

Richards will star in The Real Housewives All-Stars, a spin-off featuring various women from The Real Housewives franchise, that is set to premiere on streaming service Peacock.^[21][22] In August 2021, Richards started filming Christmas film The Real Housewives of the North Pole in Utah, set to air on Peacock.^[23] The film follows two "Christmas Queens" Trish (Richards) and Diana (Betsy Brandt),^[24] who take part in decorating contest every year, but the two get into an argument just days before Christmas.^[25][26]

Fashion and other ventures[]

On February 25, 2014, Richards launched a clothing line for shopping network HSN.^[27] The eight-piece collection was inspired by her personal style and was priced between $69.90 and $199.90.^[27] Richards and Shahida Clayton debuted their clothing collection titled Kyle x Shahida at New York Fashion Week on September 8, 2019.^[28][29] Richards is the owner of Kyle by Alene Too, a chain of boutiques in The Hamptons and New York City.^[30][31] Her boutique in Beverly Hills opened in 2012 and closed in 2018.^[32]

Her memoir titled Life Is Not a Reality Show: Keeping It Real with the Housewife Who Does It All was published by HarperOne on December 27, 2011.^[33] Richards shares tips on relationships, family and beauty in the book.^[34]

Philanthropy[]

Richards with husband Mauricio and daughters Farrah, Alexia, Sophia and Portia

With her husband, Richards is listed on the "First Families" of the Children's Hospital Los Angeles which means they have donated US$100,000 or more to the hospital.^[35] She also held fundraisers for the CHLA in 2013 and 2019, which were featured on the Real Housewives.^[36][37]

Personal life[]

In the 1980s she dated actor C. Thomas Howell.^[38] In 1988, at the age of 18, Richards married Guraish Aldjufrie from Indonesia while she was pregnant with their daughter Farrah Brittany (born October 31, 1988), but they separated in 1990 and divorced two years later.^[39][40][41]

Left to right: half-sister Kathy Hilton, Hilton's daughter Paris Hilton and Kyle Richards at NBC party, February 2011

Richards met her second husband, Mauricio Umansky, a Los Angeles real estate agent, in 1994. Umansky is of Russian and Greek Jewish descent. He is the son of Estella Sneider. He was born and raised in Mexico. The couple wed on January 20, 1996, when Kyle was 4 months pregnant. Their daughter Alexia Simone was born on June 18, 1996. The couple have two more daughters, Sophia Kylie (born on January 18, 2000) and Portia (born on March 1, 2008). Richards, who is of English, Irish and Welsh descent, converted to Modern Orthodox Judaism when she married Umansky.^[42][43][44] She attends events at the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles.^[42]

She resides in Encino, Los Angeles with her husband and children.^[45]

Filmography[]

Film and television[]

As herself[]

Music videos[]

As producer[]

Memoir[]

• Richards, Kyle (December 27, 2011). Life Is Not a Reality Show: Keeping It Real with the Housewife Who Does It All. New York, NY: HarperOne. ISBN 978-0062113481.

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kyle Richards.

• Kyle Richards at IMDb
• Kyle Richards Facebook page