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Biography
Green-eyed former model Denise Richards went in a
few short years from complete obscurity to one of the many "Next
Big Things" to entice filmgoers in the late 1990s. Born February
17, 1971 in a Chicago suburb, Richards moved with her family
to San Diego at the age of twelve. Following a modeling stint
in New York (which was of limited success due to Richards'
5' 6" height), Richards moved to Los Angeles to try her hand
at acting. She found work in shows such as Doogie Howser,
MD and Saved By the Bell before getting her first break in
1993 as Ben Affleck's girlfriend in the short-lived Against
the Grain.
1993 also marked Richards' film debut in National Lampoon's
Loaded Weapon 1. This led to her first starring role in
the bizarre 1994 "family film" Tammy and the T-Rex. Following
a small part in Gregg Araki's Nowhere (1997), Richards
acquired relative fame, not to mention a dedicated group
of male followers, for her role in Paul Verhoeven's $100
million sci-fi action film Starship Troopers. Featuring
an army of giant ants doing battle with an army of tawny-skinned,
white-toothed young men and women who appeared to have
wandered off a Nordic Track commercial, the movie met with
enough success to constitute Richards' "big break."
She
gained further exposure (literally) and fame with her
next venture, 1998's Wild Things. Cast as spoiled socialite
Kelly Van Ryan, Richards gave a delightfully trashy performance
in a film that called for her to lie, cheat, scheme,
seduce,
kill, and even perform a lesbian love scene with co-star
Neve Campbell. The film was successful in its ability
to satisfy its audience's desire for tacky and oversexed
fun,
and it provided Richards with further opportunities,
including 1999's Drop Dead Gorgeous. Co-starring with Kirsten
Dunst,
Richards played a small-town beauty pageant contestant
in a film that gleefully plays with America's beauty
ideals, something that was undoubtedly familiar territory
for the
actress. |
