Lionel Richie adopted his daughter Nicole when she was just nine years old. He and his then-wife Brenda had been trying to conceive for a while, but after several miscarriages, they decided to adopt. Nicole was living in an orphanage in Tuskegee, Alabama at the time, and Lionel and Brenda went through the process of adopting her from there. It took about six months for the adoption to be finalized. Lionel has said that he knew as soon as he saw Nicole that she was meant to be his daughter. She moved into their home in Los Angeles and became a part of their family immediately. Lionel and Nicole have always had a close relationship, and she even served as one of his backup singers during his tours in the 1980s. Today, Nicole is a successful fashion designer and has her own line of clothing called House of Harlow 1960. She is married to Joel Madden of the band Good Charlotte, with whom she has two children.