Who is Diane Alexander?
A former dancer and actress, Diane Alexander was born under the zodiac sign of Gemini on 16 June 1967, in Los Angeles, California USA; she holds American nationality, and her ethnicity is Caucasian. Diane rose to prominence after her marriage with at that time one of the most famous singers, Lionel Richie, to a younger audience perhaps known best as one of the judges in the reality music show “American Idol”.
Early life and education
Diane was raised in Los Angeles by her parents, although since she wasn’t a celebrity before her marriage with Lionel Richie, nothing is known about her childhood and her family. She hasn’t spoken about any siblings, so it’s assumed that she was raised an only child.
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She attended a local high school, and upon matriculating in 1985, she didn’t enroll at college but pursued her dancing career.
Career
In 1986, Diane was seen dancing in Lionel Richie’s music video for the song “Dancing on the Ceiling”, followed by her role as Dancer in the 1995 movie “Forget Paris” starring Billy Crystal, Joe Mantegna, and Debra Winger.
In the following years, Diane paused from her dancing and acting career, then after two decades, in 2018 she portrayed Maddy in “Dead of Winter” starring alongside Chris Bollman and Katherine Beck in this crime thriller, written and directed by Marcello Montesanti – this was Diane’s last appearance on the big screen.
Love life and marriage with Lionel Richie
Diane and Lionel met back in 1984, at the Los Angeles’ Olympics ceremony in which Lionel was performing, and she went backstage to meet him. At that time, Lionel was in a marriage with his then-wife Brenda Harvey, however, according to him, they were already separated.
Lionel and Diane started dating after her appearance in his music video, although their relationship wasn’t official; Brenda caught the two of them in a hotel room, attacked her then-husband, and was arrested and prosecuted for vandalism, resisting arrest, and injury to a spouse – however, the charges were dropped. Their divorce was finalized in 1993, and two years later, Lionel proposed to Diane.
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The two became parents for the first time on 27 May 1994, when Diane gave birth to their son Miles Brockman Richie, and they married in the following year on 21 December. Their daughter, Sofia Richie was born on 24 August 1998; Miles and Sofia are today both fashion models and social media influencers.
Speaking about Diane’s and Lionel’s relationship, they divorced in 2003 after seven years of marriage,; Diane filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences, demanding $300,000 per month in spousal and child support – in the end, she got their $5 million valued mansion, and alimony payment of a $55,000 per month. However, she wasn’t satisfied with this amount, and presented her expenses to the court, asking again $300,000, and another $125,000 for their son’s tuition fee and $15,000 tuition for their daughter.
On the list of her expenses for one month, there was $1,000 for laser hair removal, $3,000 for the dermatologist, $15,000 for shoes, clothing, and accessories, and $20,000 for plastic surgery, among other items. The eventual divorce settlement wasn’t disclosed at the end, but it’s known that she kept Lionel’s surname, Richie, which she still uses online.
She’s established an Instagram account under the name ‘Diane Richie’, which has been followed by nearly 40,000 people, on which she mostly posts photos of her children and her everyday life. There isn’t any photo of a man with whom she might be in a relationship, so it’s assumed that, as of February 2022, Diane is single, and hasn’t remarried.
Age, height, and net worth
Diane is 54 years old, she has long, dark brown hair and brown eyes; she weighs around 132lbs (60kgs) and is 5ft 9ins (1.77m) tall, with vital statistics of 34-26-36.
As of early 2022, her net worth has been estimated at over $1 million.
Who is Lionel Richie?
Lionel Brockman Richie Junior was born under the zodiac sign of Gemini on 20 June 1949, in Tuskegee, Alabama USA; he holds American nationality and his ethnicity is African-American. He’s a singer-songwriter, record producer, and musician who rose to prominence back in the 1970s, as the co-lead singer of the band The Commodores.
Lionel was raised in Tuskegee by his mother, Alberta R. Foster, who was a teacher, and father Lionel Brockman Richie Senior, who was a US Army System Analyst; he has a sister, Debora. Speaking about his educational background, Lionel attended Joliet Township High School, and upon matriculating in 1967, enrolled at Tuskegee Institute, from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree of Science in Economics in 1971.
Lionel launched his music career with his band while he was at college, but in 1980, his duet with Diana Ross, “Endless Love”, which he wrote and produced, until today stays among the top 20 bestselling singles of all time, thus he launched his solo career in 1982.
His debut self-titled album sold over four million copies, while his second album “Can’t Slow Down” become one of the bestselling albums of all time. During his career he’s released ten studio albums, and his songs such as “You Are”, “Truly”, “Hello” and “All Night Long” among others, have brought him four Grammy Awards, and his song “Say You, Say Me” featured in the movie “White Nights”, brought him the 1986 Oscar for Best Original Song.
As mentioned, he was in a marriage with Brenda Harvey from 1975 until 1993; they didn’t have biological children, but adopted a two-year-old daughter of Lionel’s band member, named Nicole Camille Escovedo, known to the public as Nicole Richie – Lionel and Brenda legally adopted her when she was nine.
Lionel dedicated his song “Ballerina Girl” to Nicole, although when Lionel and Brenda divorced, Nicole remained close to Brenda.
After Lionel divorced his second wife, Diane Alexander, he kept his private life away from the media, however, it’s widely known that since 2014, he’s been in a relationship with Lisa Parigi, a 30-year-old former model, and the founder of the lifestyle brand, The Estate Collection.
Lionel is 72-years-old, has black hair and dark brown eyes with a trademark mustache; he weighs around 170lbs (77kgs) and is 5ft 10ins (1.8m) tall.
As of February 2022, his net worth has been estimated at over $200 million.
