Biography and Career : Denise Richards was born in Downers Grove, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, to Irving Richards, who used to work for a phone company, and Joni, who owns a chain of coffeehouses named "Jitters". She is of Welsh descent on her father's side and of Croatian descent on her mother's, and was raised a Catholic.
Denise Richards moved to California with her family when she was 14 and graduated from El Camino High School in Oceanside, California, where she practiced cheerleading as a sport.
Denise Richards became a famous actress in the late 1990s, after a string of films that highlighted
her sex appeal, including Wild Things and The World Is Not Enough. Richards is also known for her marriage to (and divorce from) actor Charlie Sheen.
Denise Richards spent the majority of the 1990s appearing in lower-budget films, television movies, and guest starring in episodes of several television shows. Her first starring role in a wide theatrical release was Starship Troopers in 1997, which was followed by her role in the moderately successful cult film Wild Things in 1998.
