Lionel Richie

Bio:
Lionel Richie, born Lionel Brockman Richie Jr., is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and actor. Lionel was a member of the Commodores beginning in 1968, but his career really took off when he went solo in 1982; his debut album, Lionel Richie, featured the hit song “Truly” which topped the Billboard Hot 100. Lionel is one of the best-selling artists of all time — even the songs he has written for other artists have performed incredibly well. For example, he composed “Lady” for Kenny Rogers, which was a #1 hit in 1980. Lionel’s most successful hit is arguably “Hello,” released in 1984, which was a sentimental love song far removed from his R&B roots. Lionel’s albums released in the 1990s — Louder Than Words and Time — were not nearly as successful as his previous albums, but his 2000 album Renaissance managed to capture some of the magic of his earlier work. Lionel’s most recent album, Tuskegee, released in 2012, was a huge hit, and at the 2014 BET Awards on June 29, Lionel received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Clearly, Lionel’s career has no intention of slowing down any time soon.

Best Known For:
Lionel Richie is best known for chart-topping singles such as “Hello” and “Truly.”

Personal Life:
Lionel attended Tuskegee Institute on a tennis scholarship and graduated with a major in economics. On October 1978, he married college sweetheart Brenda Harvey, and in 1983 they informally adopted Nicole Camille Escovedo, the two-year-old daughter of one of the members of the Commodores. They raised her as their daughter, Nicole Richie, and formally adopted her when she was nine years old. In 1986, he began a relationship with Diane Alexander while still married to Brenda; they divorced in 1993. Lionel and Diane married in 1995; they have a son, Miles Brockman (born May 27, 1994), and a daughter, Sofia (born August 24, 1998). Diane and Lionel divorced in 2004.