Is Sofia Richie Black? Here's The Truth Behind Her Comments

With the complexity that comes with race politics, bi-racial stars often find themselves on one side of the Hollywood divide. For instance, acclaimed personalities like Sofia Richie garner public attention while doing the usual stuff. But is Sofia Richie black?

Sofia Richie wears the hats of a social media personality, model, TV star, and fashion designer. She is famous for working with high-end brands such as Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger, and Adidas. She hails from a family of celebrities; her father is acclaimed singer Lionel Richie, while her sister is a TV personality.

Sofia Richie’s profile summary

Who is Sofia Richie?

She is an American social media personality born on 14th August 1998 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Who is Sofia Richie's biological father? Her biological father is Lionel, while her mother is Lionel's second wife, Diane Alexander.

Her father is a legendary singer, songwriter, record producer, and TV personality. Does Sofia Richie have any siblings? Yes. She has one elder sister, whom her father adopted as a toddler with his first wife, Brenda Harvey, and a biological brother, Miles Lionel.

Sofia attended Oak Christian School, popularly known as Celebrity High. However, she left the school before graduation for homeschooling while her father was on musical tours. She was a soccer player until she was 16 when she broke her hip in a Segway accident.

Is Sofia Richie black?

The media personality identifies as black despite her mixed-race heritage. Her father, Lionel Ritchie, has a mixed ancestry of African Americans. On the other hand, her mother Diane Alexander's heritage is English, Scottish-Irish/Northern Irish and German.

Due to Sofia’s skin colour and physical appearance, she often passes as white. She has always revealed how people assume she is white while making racist comments around her, unaware of her background.

I'm very light, so some people don't know I'm black. I've been in situations where people will say something racist, and I'll step in, and they'll be like, 'Oh, well, you're light.'

While she might be claiming to be black, there is a belief that she is more white than black. Race is a social construct as opposed to a biological one. Therefore, Sofia’s claims to be black due to her black father is invalid because genetic factors do not define race.

Considering that one's genetic makeup doesn't decide one's race, here are some of the reasons Sofia Richie is white and not black:

• She has been socially accepted as white
• She has conferred all the privileges of a whiteness
• She has had an unquestioned participation in white spaces

What does Sofia Richie do for a living?

Sofia is a model, fashion designer, social media, and TV personality. She started modelling at 14 when she was featured in Teen Vogue. At 15, she had her first fashion contract with Mary Grace Swim. Later, she was signed with the London-based modelling agency Select Model Management.

Her modelling career took off in 2014 when featured in Who What Wear and NationAlist Magazines. Since then, she has worked with major fashion brands such as:

• Tommy Hilfiger
• Michael Kors
• Chanel

She has also graced covers of magazines like:

• Vanity Fair
• Elle
• Harper’s Bazaar
• InStyle
• Complex
• UK and US’ Cosmopolitan
• Sweets! Magazine
• Manifesto
• Galore
• Dujour
• Es Magazine
• Japan's Vogue

In fashion design, she has partnered with several high-end brands in launching some fashion pieces, including:

• 2019 - Frankie Bikinis x Sofia Richie with Frankie's Bikinis
• 2019 - Sofia Richie x Missguided with Missguided
• 2020 - Rolla's x Sofia Richie with Rolla Jeans
• 2021 - Sofia Richie x House of Harlow 1960 with House of Harlow 1960
• 2021 - 8 Other Reasons x Sofia Richie with 8 Other Reasons
• 2021 - Sofia Richie x bar III with Bar III

Sofia endorses products from various beauty and wellness brands on social media. Some of the brands she has partnered with are:

• Darya Hope
• Lulus
• Suspicious Antwerp
• Nip + Fab
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
• Cotton On
• Cheetos

She has appeared in the following films and TV shows:

• Candidly Nicole
• Red, White and Bootsy
• Flip It Like Disick
• Keeping Up with the Kardashians
• Ocean’s 8

Sofia Richie’s boyfriend and dating history

Who is Sofia Richie married to? The fashion designer is married to Elliot Grainge. He is an acclaimed British record executive and the founder and CEO of 10K projects. The duo engaged on 20th April 2022 and shared the news via Instagram.

A year after their engagement, they exchanged their wedding vows on 22nd April 2023 in South France. Sofia converted to Judaism before her wedding. Before marrying, here are some of the men she dated:

• Justin Beiber - August to December 2016
• Scott Disick - On and off relationship from 2017 to 2020

Body measurements

How tall is Sofia Richie? The American model is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs around 58 kg. Her other body stats are 33 inches for her bust, 26 inches for her waist, and 35 inches for her hips. She wears a dress size 8 (US) and a shoe size 7.5 (US).

Sofia has brown eyes and light brown hair. However, she dyes her hair blonde to achieve a more natural look. While people were used to her straight hair, she had an amazing curly transformation. Sofia Richie's curly hair transformation earned loads of compliments across social media.

How much is Sofia Richie’s net worth?

The acclaimed social media personality has an estimated net worth of $8 million. Her primary sources of income are modelling and fashion design. For instance, in the fall of 2019, she designed a clothing line, Sofia Richie x Misguided, with 60 pieces priced between $20 and $1000.

Sofia Richie’s fast facts

1. Who is Sofia Richie? Sofia Richie is an American social media personality, model, TV star, and fashion designer.
2. Are Sofia and Nicole adopted? Sofia was born to Lionel's second wife, Diane Alexander, while Nicole was unofficially adopted as a toddler by Lionel and his first wife, Brenda Harvey.
3. Who is Sofia Richie’s mother? Sofia Richie's mother is Diane Alexander. She is Lionel's second wife, who was married from 1995 to 2004.
4. Is Sofia Richie biologically related to Lionel Richie? Sofia is Lionel Richie’s biological daughter. She was born from his second marriage to Diane Alexander.
5. Is Sofia Richie mixed? Yes, Sofia is mixed-race. Her father is African-American, while her mother is of English, Scottish, and German descent.
6. What nationality is Sofia Richie? Sofia Richie holds an American nationality. She was born in Los Angeles, California.
7. Is Sofia Richie naturally blonde? Sofia Richie is not naturally blonde. She has brown hair and loves dying it blonde for a more natural appearance.

Wrapping up

Is Sofia Richie black? The model claims to be black, but some people believe otherwise. Unfortunately, it is hard for her to navigate as a white-passing daughter of a black father since the issue of race in America remains a complex topic. Regardless, she has always done amazing work dismantling racism.

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