Share and Follow
Bravo’s hit reality TV franchise Real Housewives is certainly the place to be for those hankering for reality TV fame. Some of the franchise’s biggest stars led relatively obscure lives before joining the show, but have since gained almost cult-like devotion from viewers. That said, some Real Housewives were already bona fide stars before joining the franchise.
One of these is 51-year-old Denise Richards, who’d already built illustrious modeling and acting careers prior to joining the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast in 2018. While Richards’ popularity certainly skyrocketed following her time on the show, her two-year stint as a housewife is certainly not her only claim to fame. Here’s what the ageless beauty was doing before becoming Bravo’s highest paid stars.
8 Denise Richards Started Out As A Model
Denise Richards began her career in the early 1990s as a teenage model, appearing in several print and television ads, and gracing the covers of popular magazines like Teen.
Over her three-decade long career, Richards has graced the covers of several prolific magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Details, Esquire, Shape, and GQ, with the greatest testament to her modeling talent being her 2006 nude pictorial in Playboy magazine, for which she posed five months after giving birth.
7 When Did Denise Richards Land Her First Credited Acting Role?
After appearing in multiple advertising campaigns, Denise Richards ultimately transitioned in to acting, with her first credited acting role being Camille in the 1990s western drama, Life Goes On.
Richards went on to land guest starring roles in multiple popular television shows, including Married… with Children, Doogie Howser, M.D., Beverly Hills, 90210, Seinfeld, Burke’s Law, and Melrose Place.
6 Denise Richards Landed Her First Starring Role In 1997
Despite her numerous television appearances, Denise Richards’ film career remained relatively dormant until 1997, when she landed a role in the science fiction film Starship Troopers, where she portrayed Carmen Ibanez, a strong and confident military pilot.
Richards’ film career got yet another major boost in 1998, when she clinched a role in John McNaughton’s crime thriller, Wild Things, where she portrayed Kelly Van Ryan, a wealthy, promiscuous high school student.
5 Denise Richards Went On To Appear In Multiple High Performing Films
Denise Richards’ breakout performances in Starship Troopers and Wild Things solidified her status as sex symbol, earning her coveted spots in several 2000s box office sensations. Just two years after Wild Things’ big screen debut, the stunning blonde landed a role in the James Bond film, The World is Not Enough, for which she earned a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress.
Read Related Also: David Cross Walked Out Of His Interview With Stephen Colbert After The Host Forgot About His Writing Work
The years that followed saw Richards land some of her most notable big screen roles, including Rebecca Ann Leeman in the cult classic film, Drop Dead Gorgeous, and Carla in the phenomenally successful Christmas film, Love Actually.
4 Denise Richards Landed Guest Star Spots In Popular TV Shows
Denise Richards’ television career also gained some major traction following her break-out performances in Wild Things and Starship Troopers.
The 51-year-old went on to land guest starring roles in mega-hit 2000s shows like Friends, Spin City, Two and a Half Men, and Blue Lagoon: The Awakening. Richards also clinched some rather impressive recurring roles during this time, including Karen Desai in the teen drama mystery, Twisted.
In 2011, Denise Richards published her memoir, The Girl Next Door, which offered an “up-close and personal look at her most intimate battle scars and the lessons she’s learned as she’s healed and grown.”
The 288-page memoir went on to become a New York Times Best Seller and was even being considered for a big screen adaptation by multiple Hollywood producers at one point.
2 When Did Denise Richards Transition To Reality Television?
Denise Richards transitioned into reality TV in 2008, when she landed her own eponymous reality TV show, Denise Richards: It’s Complicated, whose debut nine episode season aired in 2008 on E!.
The series, which chronicled Denise Richards’ life as she tried to “juggle her acting career and her mothering duties to kids Lola and Sam in the wake of her stormy divorce from actor Charlie Sheen,” ran for two seasons before concluding on July 26, 2009.
1 Denise Richards Joined The Cast Of Bravo’s RHOBH In 2018
A decade after her debut reality TV appearance, Denise Richards joined the main cast of Bravo’s hit reality TV show, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
The 51-year-old’s addition to the show was well received by fans and critics alike. “[Denise Richards] might be one of the most famous people to join the Housewives franchise,” a reviewer from Vanity Fair wrote at the time, “someone who was a legitimate household name before becoming a reality star.”
