Why Nicole Richie’s Daughter Does not Go By Her Delivery Title
Nicole Richie is clearing up confusion after fans noticed her daughter, Harlow Winter Kate, appears to be going by a different name.
The TV personality, 44, addressed the chatter while speaking People at an event on Wednesday, January 14. The conversation came just days after Richie shared a heartfelt Instagram carousel honoring Harlow’s 18th birthday.
“18 years of you ♥️🎂 @katemaddennn,” Richie wrote in the caption — and it didn’t take long for followers to notice that the account she tagged used the name Kate, rather than Harlow.
Naturally, speculation followed, with fans wondering whether the teenager had changed her name.
“Yeah, she goes by her middle name,” Richie explained at the event. “She has her whole life.”
As for the buzz in the comments section, Richie admitted she didn’t pay much attention — but she understands why people were surprised. “I didn’t look, but it makes sense … she goes by her middle name,” she added.
Richie shares daughter Harlow Kate, 18, and son Sparrow, 16, with husband Joel Madden. Over the years, the Simple Life alum has been refreshingly open about what it’s like raising teenagers — especially now that her kids are reaching ages that feel all too familiar.
“I just so clearly remember what it’s like to be a teenager. It feels like it happened yesterday for me,” Richie said in a December 2024 interview with Glamour. “And they know everything I did.”
That awareness has shaped how she approaches parenting. “I knew before I had them that I was going to have to be transparent with them about who I was,” she explained. “And I’ve actually found freedom in that. I didn’t want my kids having some big discovery about me. And I’ve always been very open and honest with my kids and hope that they are open and honest with me.”
“I very much remember — I think now that I’m seeing my kids at an age where I remember everything from that age,” she further told People in October 2025. “So they’ll be telling me stories of whatever the comings and goings of them and their friends, and it sounds exactly like what I was going through senior year. It’s fun. It’s like a TV show.”
Richie has also been candid about navigating parenting challenges, particularly when it comes to social media. During a December 2024 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show alongside longtime friend and former costar Paris Hilton, Richie shared her philosophy on raising kids in a digital-first world.
“Well, the platforms are there and they exist, and that is how people that age communicate with each other,” she said. “And, you know, I think I have been more inclined to, instead of make it this forbidden thing, to really, first of all, understand it on my own so that I know the world that they know.”
She added, “The digital world and the real world are very different things, but it’s very real.”
For Richie, staying informed is essential. “One of the most important things for me to do as a parent is to not, not know anything about the digital world because then that just separates me even more from this generation that grew up in that world,” she explained.