Kyle Richards
Kyle Egan Richards Umansky is an American actress, socialite, and television personality. Since 2010, she has appeared as a main cast member on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and since 2020, she has been the last remaining original full time cast member on the show. She is also the longest-running consecutive housewife in franchise history.
She began her career as a child actress, appearing in a recurring role on Little House on the Prairie, and in several adventure and horror films, including Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive, The Car, and Walt Disney’s The Watcher in the Woods, as well as portraying Lindsey Wallace in John Carpenter's Halloween and later Halloween Kills and its sequel, Halloween Ends. In 2017, she was a contestant on The New Celebrity Apprentice, playing for the charity Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
Early life
Richards was born on January 11, 1969, in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of Kathleen Mary Richards and retired lieutenant colonel Kenneth Edwin Richards. She was named after Kyle Rote, a football player who played for the New York Giants.Richards is the youngest of three sisters, including Kathy Hilton, her older half-sister from her mother's first marriage to Lawrence Avanzino, and Kim Richards. Richards also has three paternal half-siblings from her father's first marriage, all of whom were adults by the time Richards was born. Through Kathy, Richards is the aunt of socialites Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton Rothschild.
Richards's parents divorced in 1972 after Kathleen discovered that Kenneth had been having an affair. Kathleen became the primary guardian of Richards and her sisters and kept the family estate in Bel Air. Despite not living with him, Richards maintained a close relationship with her father. Her mother remarried twice: to Jack Catain in 1980 and to Richard Fenton in 1999.
Richards described her childhood as "unconventional" due to her status as a child actor. Kathleen worked as her daughters' acting agent and was described as very strict. When Richards was born, her sister Kim was already working on Nanny and the Professor, and her sister Kathy was modeling and acting in commercials. Although Richards was shy as a child, Kathleen pushed her to become an actress like her sisters so that she could get over her shy nature and in the hopes that she wouldn't feel excluded. Even though she had positive relationships with both of her parents, Richards described feeling jealous while going to friends' houses as a child because they had "normal" families where the dad comes home from work and the mom cooks dinner.
Richards's upbringing was shaped by growing up in a household largely consisting of women. Richards described her childhood home as resembling a "big sorority house," stating that it was "filled with women." She was strongly influenced by her mother's assertive outlook, noting that her mother was "opinionated" and "strong" during a period when those traits were often viewed negatively in women.
Richards's mother emphasized the importance of financial independence early in Richards's life. Following her divorce from Kenneth, Kathleen did not have a checkbook and did not know how to manage her finances. To save her children from experiencing the same hardship, Kathleen opened a checking account for Richards at age 10 and allowed her to have her checks from television shows to teach her financial responsibility. Richards also prohibited her children from spending money on certain luxuries like nail appointments, insisting on keeping her daughters "down to earth."
In 1987, Richards graduated from Central Union High School in El Centro, California. She did not go to college.
Career
1974–2009: Career beginnings and success with horror films
Richards began her acting career at age five in 1974, portraying Julia Faulker in a single-episode appearance in the television series Police Woman. She later appeared in 18 episodes of NBC's Western historical drama television series Little House on the Prairie as Alicia Sanderson Edwards. Her sister Kim Richards, also an actress, appeared in one episode of Little House on the Prairie the season before Kyle joined the cast. The sisters later played on-screen sisters in the 1977 thriller film The Car. Throughout the 1970s, Richards continued to appear on several television series, such as Flying High, Vega$, Fantasy Island, Time Express and Carter Country.Richards portrayed Lindsey Wallace in the slasher film Halloween alongside Jamie Lee Curtis. Halloween became a widely influential film within the horror genre; it was largely responsible for the popularization of slasher films in the 1980s and helped develop the slasher genre. The film grossed $70 million at the worldwide box office and subsequently expanded into a Halloween franchise with thirteen sequel films. Following the success of Halloween, Richards portrayed Ellie Curtis in the Disney supernatural horror film The Watcher in the Woods alongside Bette Davis. She also had a main role as teenager Lissy Preston in the fantasy sitcom Down to Earth, which ran for seven seasons.
Subsequent roles included nurse Dori Kerns in 21 episodes of NBC's medical drama series ER and Lisa, a supporting character in the comedy film National Lampoon's Pledge This! starring her niece Paris Hilton. She also had guest roles in several television shows, including C.S.I., 7th Heaven, City Guys, Beverly Hills, 90210, Love Boat: The Next Wave, and CHiPs.
2010–2021: ''Real Housewives'' and ''Halloween'' films
Since 2010, she has appeared as a main cast member on Bravo's reality television show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, making her the longest-serving cast member in franchise history. Richards joined the series with her sister, Kim Richards. Richards's other sister, Kathy Hilton, made recurring cameo appearances before joining in an official capacity as a friend of Richards in season 11. Richards's personal life and relationships with her sisters are a focal point for the series. In 2012, she was featured on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter along with other cast members from The Real Housewives franchise, including Vicki Gunvalson, Ramona Singer, Caroline Manzo and NeNe Leakes. Richards was nominated for "Reality Star of 2019" award at the 2019 People's Choice Awards.While starring on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Richards continued acting. She played Tricia in Lifetime's television film Deadly Sibling Rivalry and Housewife Heather in the comedy film The Hungover Games. In 2013, she portrayed modeling agent Casey McGraw in three episodes of NBC's soap opera Days of Our Lives. In 2017, Richards appeared as a contestant on The New Celebrity Apprentice and earned $25,000 for her charity of choice, Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She was the 5th contestant fired, finishing in 12th place.
Richards co-executive produced Paramount Network's comedy television series American Woman, which was inspired by her childhood in the 1970s. The series was cancelled after one season due to declining ratings.
On August 30, 2019, it was confirmed that Richards would reprise the role of Lindsey Wallace, the role she originated in the original 1978 film, in Halloween Kills. Following a year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Halloween Kills had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 8, 2021 and was theatrically released in the United States on October 15, 2021 by Universal Pictures. The film made $4.85 million from Thursday night previews, the highest for both an R-rated title and a horror film amid the pandemic. The film has grossed a total of $131 million at the worldwide box office and stands as one of the year's highest grossing horror movies behind A Quiet Place Part II. Richards was confirmed to return for the 2021 sequel, Halloween Ends, after her performance in Halloween Kills attracted positive reactions from fans.
In August 2021, Richards started filming the Christmas movie The Real Housewives of the North Pole alongside actress Betsy Brandt. The film, which aired on Peacock on December 9, 2021 features a variety of cameos from fellow cast members of The Real Housewives franchise, including Sonja Morgan, Karen Huger, Cynthia Bailey, and Lisa Barlow. Richards, a Christmas enthusiast, called filming for the movie a "dream come true."
Richards starred in The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, a spin-off featuring various women from The Real Housewives franchise, that premiered on November 16, 2021, on Peacock. Richards was the only representative from the Beverly Hills series, joining Bailey and Kenya Moore from the Atlanta series, Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga from the New Jersey series, and Luann de Lesseps and Ramona Singer from the New York series.
2022–present: Continued acting roles
In 2022, Richards was nominated for the second time in the category "The Reality TV Star of 2022" at the People's Choice Awards, alongside The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills costar Garcelle Beauvais. Richards was one of the women included on VarietyOn April 3, 2023, Richards was announced as part of the cast of the Christmas romance film The Holiday Exchange alongside Rick Cosnett and Taylor Frey. The film, which was an LGBTQ reimaginging of the 2006 movie The Holiday, features Richards in the role of overly involved mother Lola. The film premiered on October 1, 2024 on streaming services Amazon Prime Video and Peacock.
In May 2023, Richards had a guest role as socialite Missy Moritz in the Hulu sitcom How I Met Your Father. She played also Vivian Hayes in the romantic comedy film Beautiful Wedding, released in limited theaters on January 24, 2024.
At 2024 Emmy Awards red carpet, actress Reese Witherspoon teased an upcoming project with an unnamed Real Housewife who she had recently sat beside on a plane. Richards identified herself as the mystery housewife and revealed that she was working with Witherspoon's company Hello Sunshine.