Paul Verhoeven's decision to cast relative unknowns in the leading roles of "Starship Troopers" (1997) catapulted sexy Denise Richards from the obscurity of her TV guest spots to screen stardom. She began her career with a guest appearance in a 1990 episode of ABC's "Life Goes On" and went on to appear on shows like "Beverly Hills, 90210", "Married . . . With Children", "Seinfeld" and "Lois and Clark--The New Adventures of Superman" before landing the recurring role of beauty contestant Brandy Carson on Fox's "Melrose Place". Her feature debut came in "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon I" (1993) and Richards was also in the ensemble of Gregg Araki's "Nowhere" (1997). She followed "Starship Troopers" with John McNaughton's "Wild Things" (1998), co-starring Kevin Bacon, Neve Campbell and Matt Dillon.

Her rising star status was confirmed when on the heels of completing the beauty contest spoof "Drop Dead Gorgeous" (1999), Richards was tapped to be the next Bond girl, essaying munitions expert Dr. Christmas Jones in "The World Is Not Enough" (also 1999), but she proved one of the least convincing doctoral candidates imaginable, even opposite 007. She followed the film up with roles in lower profile films such as "Tail Lights Fade" (2000) and the lame horror thriller "Valentine" (2001), but stayed in the public eye when she began a romance (and subsequently married) with actor Charlie Sheen after the two co-starred in the straight-to-cable film "Good Advice" (2001). She subsequently guested on his sit-coms "Spin City" and "Two and a Half Men," and the couple appeared together in the horror spoof sequel "Scary Movie 3" (2003) before their highly publicized split in 2005 while Richards was several months pregnant with their second child.

As a solo act she returned to theaters as the White She Devil of the modest hit comedy "Undercover Brother" and in the crime thriller "Empire" (both 2002). The actress also appeared in a best-selling nude pictorial in the pages of Playboy magazine in 2004 and starred in the lightweight Lifetime telepic "I Do (But I Don't)" (2004) opposite Dean Cain. After making a brief cameo in the romantic comedy “Love Actually” (2003), Richards starred as an anthropology grad student in need of money and tempted into prostitution by a hooker (Daryl Hannah) who lives down the hall in the low-budget “Whore” (2004). She appeared in the straight-to-video romantic comedy “The Third Wheel” (2004), produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, before starring in the comedic road movie, “Elvis Has Left the Building” (2005). In the hour-long UPN soap drama, “Sex, Love and Secrets” (2005- ), Richards played an unabashedly bitchy Hollywood publicist who maneuvers her way into a group of wannabes grouped together in the Silver Lake neighborhood outside Hollywood.

• Also Credited As: Denise Lee Richards, Denise Louise Richards, Nao Ohmuri
• Born: on 02/17/71 in Downers Grove, Illinois
• Job Titles: Actor, Model, Grocery clerk

Family

• Father: Irv Richards. with wife owns Jitters, a coffee house in San Diego
• Mother: Joni Richards. with husband, owns Jitters, a coffee house in San Diego
• : has a younger sister

Significant Others

• Husband: Charlie Sheen. first met in when they appeared together in "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1" (1993); acted together in episodes of the ABC sitcom "Spin City" in 2001; announced engagement in January 2002; married June 15, 2002
• Companion: Patrick Muldoon. dated briefly c. 1998

Education

• El Camino High School, Oceanside, California, 1989

Milestones

• --- Set to play an unlucky-in-love wedding planner in the Lifetime original movie "I Do (But I Don't)" (lensed 2004)
• 1990 TV acting debut, guest appearance on "Life Goes On" (ABC)
• 1993 Film debut, "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon I", billed as Denise Lee Richards
• 1996 Had recurring role on Melrose Place (Fox)
• 1997 Breakthrough feature role as Carmen Ibenez in Paul Verhoeven's "Starship Troopers"
• 1998 Co-starred with Kevin Bacon, Neve Cambell and Matt Dillon in John McNaughton's "Wild Things"
• 1999 Appeared as a nuclear weapons expert opposite Pierce Brosnan in the 19th James Bond film "The World Is Not Enough"
• 1999 Played one of the pageant contestants in the satirical "Drop Dead Gorgeous"
• 2001 Co-starred in the horror thriller "Valentine"
• 2001 Had recurring role on the ABC sitcom "Spin City", featuring Charlie Sheen
• 2002 Acted in the Sundance-screened "Empire"
• 2002 Appeared in the crime drama "Empire"
• 2002 Co-starred with Eddie Griffin in "Undercover Brother"
• 2002 Had prominent role in "The Third Wheel" (filmed in 1999)
• At age 15, moved with family to San Diego, California
• Cast in the indie feature "Edmond," based on the dark-humored David Mamet stage play (lensed 2004)

Source: Yahoo! Movies