Denise Lee Richards (born February 17, 1971) is an American actress and a former fashion model. She has appeared in numerous films, including Starship Troopers (1997), Wild Things (1998), Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), The World Is Not Enough (1999) as a Bond girl, and in Valentine (2001). She played Monica and Ross Geller's cousin on Friends (2001). From 2008 to 2009, she starred on the E! reality show Denise Richards: It's Complicated. Between 2010 and 2011, she was a series regular on the comedy Blue Mountain State.

Biography

Marriage to Charlie Sheen and children
Richards first met actor Charlie Sheen on the set of Loaded Weapon 1 in 1991. They became engaged on December 26, 2001, and married in a Roman Catholic ceremony on June 15, 2002, at the estate of Spin City creator Gary David Goldberg. They have two daughters together, Sam J. Sheen (born March 9, 2004) and Lola Rose Sheen (born June 1, 2005).

In March 2005, while pregnant with their second daughter, Richards filed for divorce from Sheen. The couple briefly reconciled and sought marriage counselling. However, on January 4, 2006, Richards' representative announced that she was continuing with the divorce. She later sought a restraining order against Sheen, alleging death threats against her. On April 19, 2006, Richards filed formal legal papers seeking a divorce from Sheen under the laws of the state of California.

In 2008, Richards decided to include her two daughters with Charlie Sheen in her confessional reality program on E!, Denise Richards: It's Complicated, which premiered on May 26, 2008. He deemed her plans "greedy, vain and exploitative". On January 25, 2008, Richards won a court case against Sheen so that she could include her daughters in the show. When a judge rejected Sheen's request to block it, Sheen urged fans to boycott it. An agreement was reached between Sheen and Richards in the custody of the children, with Sheen stating in April 2009 that “we had to do what’s best for the girls.”

In June 2011, Richards adopted a third daughter, Eloise Joni, as a single parent. Her middle name is that of Richards' mother, who died from cancer in December 2007. Richards adopted her at birth domestically within the United States, following a two-year adoption process.

By mid-2012, Richards and Sheen were on good terms, often spending time together with their children. In 2012, he made a cameo appearance in her movie Madea's Witness Protection and she appeared in Sheen's television series, Anger Management on the FX network. In a move supported by Sheen, in May 2013, Richards was awarded temporary custody of Bob and Max, the twin sons born in 2009 to Sheen and third wife Brooke Mueller, after the children were removed from Mueller's home by child protective services due to concerns over drug use. Richards had previously cared for the children on other occasions as well, including during Mueller's December 2012 stint in rehab for addiction to Adderall.


Image
In 1990, at age 19, Richards had a rushed breast implant procedure, which led to the doctor putting in larger ones than she asked for. As Richards was preparing to film 1998's Wild Things, she had a corrective breast implant procedure, with the surgeon again giving her larger implants than she expected. In 2004, Richards posed for Playboy, stating that she "wanted to encourage women that it's OK to embrace your sexuality even though you're a mom [...] At the same time, I was having some problems in my marriage [to Charlie Sheen] and I didn't feel sexy and felt I had to prove something."

Richards has appeared in the NOH8 Campaign. and has spoken in support of gay marriage, stating (during an interview with radio host Howard Stern) that, years before, she had had a lesbian affair. Richards added, "You would know who she is", but declined to name the woman.


Confrontation with paparazzi
On November 8, 2006, officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were called to the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C., where Richards was making a movie. After seeing two photographers taking her picture from a nearby balcony, she confronted them, and threw their two laptop computers over the balcony. No charges were filed against her.


Animal welfare work
Richards has worked with Best Friends Animal Society on several projects, including its Pup My Ride program, which transports small dogs from high-kill animal shelters to other parts of the US where there's a greater demand for small dogs. She has regularly appeared on Access Hollywood's monthly pet segment showcasing shelter dogs rescued by Best Friends and available for adoption. While assisting with relief efforts in New York following Hurricane Sandy, she adopted a puppy from a Long Island shelter.

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