Nicole Richie's daughter, Harlow Madden, has officially stepped into adulthood with a striking new personal style. The teenager celebrated her 18th birthday by revealing she now prefers to go by her middle name, Kate, and has swapped her natural brunette locks for a bold shade of jet black.
A Birthday Reveal on Social Media
The star's new identity and look were put firmly in the spotlight when her mother, Nicole Richie, posted a birthday tribute on Instagram. The former reality star shared a photo of her daughter, now known as Kate Madden, showcasing her long, dark tresses. Richie captioned the image, "My favorite person in the world is now 18. Happy birthday @katemaddennn. I ❤️ you."
Kate, whose full name is Harlow Winter Kate Madden, has been seen with the dramatic hair colour for at least a few months. This marks a significant change from her last red carpet appearance, where she sported honey-hued hair at the premiere of her mother's film, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, in 2024.
Family Celebrations and Parenting Philosophy
Both Nicole and her husband, rocker Joel Madden, jointly celebrated their daughter's milestone with a sweet carousel of photos charting her growth over the years. The post was simply captioned, "18 years of you." The couple, who married on December 11, 2010, are also parents to 16-year-old son Sparrow, born on September 9, 2009. Kate was born on January 11, 2008.
In a 2024 interview, Nicole Richie expressed that raising teenagers is her "favorite stage" of parenting. She told the Today Show that she finds it easy to relate to her children's experiences, recalling her own teenage years with clarity. "When my daughter's telling me drama with her friends, I go, 'I remember. Laila Heckmath did that to me,'" she shared.
Transparency About the Past
Richie, known for her party-girl image in the early 2000s, has also been open about her approach to discussing her past with her children. She told Glamour magazine that she chose to be "transparent" with Kate and Sparrow from the beginning. "They know everything I did," she stated. "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."
As Kate Madden embraces her adulthood with a new name and bold aesthetic, the family's close-knit and candid dynamic continues to be a defining feature of their life in the public eye.
