For millennials that grew up on The Simple Life, Nicole Richie is a sort of avatar of the early aughts. But for the actor, fashion designer, and reality TV star, a 90s child herself, the 1991 cult comedy Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead is her lodestar, a movie she’s been quoting enthusiastically her whole life the same way we’ve been quoting Paris and Nicole. It marks a full-circle moment, then, that Richie stars in as Rose Lindsey in Wade Allain-Marcus’s 2024 remake, which hit theaters this past weekend. To mark the occasion, we asked her to take the hot seat for this week’s Rorschach Test, in which she shares her unvarnished opinions on everything from raising twins and vaping indoors to Erewhon and Coachella.
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BLONDES
“They say blondes have more fun, but I’ve had plenty of fun as a brunette and even a redhead.”
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COACHELLA
“Fun when I was in my early twenties. There is zero footage of it anywhere, which was just part of the magic of it. I like it that way.”
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IT-GIRLS
“Go off, queens.”
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LYING ON YOUR RESUME
“You’ve gotta do what you got to do. A little lie is fine.”
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GOSSIP
“There is a difference between gossip and unpacking something with a safe person, which is healthy.”
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MOTHERHOOD
“Motherhood is the most wild ride and the absolute best.”
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KATHY HILTON
“Icon.’”
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CALLING THE PAPARAZZI ON YOURSELF
“Does that happen? It feels unnecessary.”
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NEPO BABIES
“They’re fab, and I am one.“
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RAISING TWINS
“Raising twins is nuts.”
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McBLING
“There are parts of me that just don’t feel that far enough away from the early 2000s to think of it in any sort of distinctive matter. I’ve been called to do photo shoots and they say, ‘Okay, and we want to do early 2000s,’ and then I see the clothes and I don’t remember that version of it at all.”
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YOUR FORTIES
“My forties are the absolute most fun decade, and I find myself name-dropping my age now more than ever, simply because I want people to understand the state of mind that I’m in. I am not some 20-year-old idiot. I am a 42-year-old woman.”
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BALENCIAGA CITY BAGS
“I have many.”
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COWBOY CARTER
“Such a good album. I love the song “Daughter.” What’s not to love?”
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COUNTING CALORIES
“I don’t know anyone who does that.“
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NOTES APP APOLOGIES
“Personally, I would do a handwritten one.”
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VAPING
“Vaping is a hard no, and people are too excited about the idea that you can vape inside. It’s going to go out of style and it’s just too intense.”
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EREWHON
“Erewhon is great to Postmate or Instacart, but being in there in person is very hard.”
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THE 101
“The 101 is my favorite freeway in LA. The 405 is my least favorite.”
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