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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tina Campbell

Sofia Richie on ‘role model’ dad Lionel and not wanting to be defined by ‘nepo baby’ label

Sofia Richie has opened up about the pressure of growing up with a famous parent and how her desire to not be defined by the nepo baby label saw her try different paths.

The 24-year-old model and fashion designer is the youngest daughter of singing superstar Lionel Richie, 74, and if that wasn’t a big enough name to live up to, late music icon Michael Jackson was her godfather.

“I spent a lot of time just trying to find my place in the world,” Richie – who married British music executive, Elliot Graingw, 29, in a lavish wedding ceremony in April – told the September issue of Town & Country.

“I think everyone wants to be like their parents when they’re growing up, and I admired my dad so much, and that drove me down a music path for a moment. But it didn’t feel right for me.

“And then everyone told me, ‘You should be an actor!’ I tried that for a period, but that wasn’t me either.

Sofia Richie hailed dad Lionel as her ‘role model’ (Getty Images)

“I didn’t have the experience, and I didn’t want to be one of those kid celebrities that got the role because my dad is who he is.”

Richie continued: “So I was like, ‘You know what? I know I’m not cut out for this. Let me just be myself’”

She concluded that having the Hello hit-maker as a father did help her navigate being in the spotlight however, and hailed him her “role model”.

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