Denise Lee Richards was born in Downer's Grove, Illinois, on February 17, 1972. When she
was a freshman in high school, her parents moved to San Diego, California. While she was
still a student, Denise began working as a model also. After graduating from El Camino
High in Oceanside, California in 1989, she moved to Los Angeles to focus on her modeling
career. As a model, Denise Richards worked regularly in New York and Tokyo. She was also
frequently seen on the pages of teen and sports magazines. Acting was her real passion
though, and two years later she quit modeling so that she could get work as an actress.
Despite a small recurring role on television's Doogie Howser M.D., work was hard to come by.
She spent a lot of time taking acting classes, auditioning and being rejected. She did get
some roles though, including Loaded Weapon 1, the campy Tammy And The T-Rex and a
short-lived role on Melrose Place. Then in 1997, her big break came in the form of
an army of giant squirmy bugs. Paul Verhoven's Starship Troopers was not the blockbuster
that Sony would have hoped for (partially due to bad promotional strategy and a limiting
R-rating) but it was still successful in bringing in an audience. Denise Richards appeared
as Carmen Ibanez opposite Casper Van Dien and Dina Meyer, as the poster girl-ish starship
pilot of the future. Her role, one that could have been a flash in the pan for any other
actress, somehow caught the attention of the public and guaranteed that she would stick
around. To follow up the action/sci-fi movie, she chose to make the sexual thriller Wild
Things with such heavy-weights as Kevin Bacon, Neve Campbell and Matt Dillon. Where
Starship Troopers was physically demanding, Wild Things pushed back the limits of her
modesty. Having to appear scantily clad or naked at different parts of the movie was
hard enough, it was having a love scene with her co-star Neve Campbell that brought out
the Tequila bottle. Despite the difficulties, Wild Things was well received by both
audiences and critics. It's audacity and an old-fashioned "who's conspiring with who"
script made it successful. Having starred in an over-the-top action
movie and then a sexual pot-boiler, Denise has now decided to do something a bit more
relaxed. This time around, she's making a romantic comedy. One thing is certain: we
haven't heard the last of her.
(2004) Elvis Has Left the Building
(2003) Love Actually
Character played: Carla
(2003) Scary Movie 3
Character played: Annie
(2002) Undercover Brother
Character played: White She-Devil
(2002) The Third Wheel
Character played: Diana
(2002) Empire
(2002) You Stupid Man
Character played: Chloe
(2001) Valentine
Character played: Paige Prescott
(2001) Kill Shot
(2001) Good Advice
(1999) The World is Not Enough
Character played: Christmas Jones
(1999) Drop Dead Gorgeous
Character played: Becky Leeman
(1999) Tail Lights Fade
Character played: Wendy
(1998) Wild Things
Character played: Kelly Van Ryan
(1997) Starship Troopers
Character played: Carmen Ibanez
(1994) Tammy and the T-Rex
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Alyssa Milano
