Kim Richards Net Worth

What Is Kim Richards' Net Worth and Salary?

Kim Richards is an American actress and television personality who has a net worth of $400,000.

Kim Richards first became famous as one of the most recognizable child stars of the 1970s. She built her early career through Disney films, family television, and guest roles on some of the era's most popular shows, becoming especially well known for playing Tia Malone in "Escape to Witch Mountain" and "Return from Witch Mountain." Richards later stepped away from acting to focus on family, but she returned to the public eye decades later as one of the original cast members of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Her time on the series introduced her to a new generation of viewers and also made her complicated relationship with her sister, Kyle Richards, a central part of the show's emotional drama. Unlike many reality television figures who became famous only after joining Bravo, Richards arrived with a long entertainment résumé already behind her. Her life has included childhood fame, family tragedy, addiction struggles, public scrutiny, and periodic returns to television, making her one of the more layered figures in the extended Richards-Hilton family story.

Early Life

Kim Erica Richards was born on September 19, 1964, in Mineola, New York. She is the daughter of Kathleen Mary Dugan and Kenneth Edwin Richards. Her younger sister is actress and reality television personality Kyle Richards, and her older half-sister is Kathy Hilton, the mother of Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton Rothschild.

Richards entered show business at a very young age. Like her sister Kyle, she grew up in a family where child acting became a major part of life. Kim began appearing in commercials before moving into television, where she quickly became a familiar face. Her early start gave her a level of professional experience that most actors do not have until adulthood, but it also placed her under the pressures of the entertainment industry while she was still a child.

(Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

Child Acting Career

Richards began her television career in the early 1970s and quickly became one of the busier child actors of her generation. One of her first major roles was Prudence Everett on the sitcom "Nanny and the Professor," which helped establish her as a young performer with charm, confidence, and natural screen presence.

Throughout the 1970s, Richards appeared on a long list of television shows, including "Little House on the Prairie," "The Streets of San Francisco," "Medical Center," "Emergency!," "Police Woman," "Alice," and "James at 15." She also appeared in "Diff'rent Strokes," "CHiPs," and "Magnum, P.I." during the later stages of her acting career. Her work reflected the classic path of a successful child actor of that era: guest roles, family programming, made-for-TV projects, and Disney films.

Her most famous role came in 1975 when she starred as Tia Malone in Disney's "Escape to Witch Mountain." The film followed two orphaned children with supernatural abilities and became one of Disney's best-known live-action fantasy movies of the decade. Richards reprised the role in the 1978 sequel "Return from Witch Mountain," further cementing her image as a Disney child star. She also appeared in Disney's "No Deposit, No Return," adding to her reputation as one of the studio's notable young performers of the period.

Later Acting Work

As Richards grew older, she continued acting but gradually moved away from the steady pace of her childhood career. She appeared in the 1984 television movie "The Return of the Salem's Lot" and co-starred in the 1985 film "Tuff Turf" with James Spader and Robert Downey Jr.

After that period, Richards largely stepped back from acting. Like many former child stars, her transition into adulthood came with both personal and professional challenges. Rather than pursuing a full-time adult acting career, she focused more heavily on marriage, motherhood, and private life. She would later make occasional screen appearances, but her years as a working child actress remained the foundation of her entertainment legacy.

(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Personal Life

Richards has four children. She married Monty Brinson in 1985, and the couple had a daughter, Brooke. Their marriage ended in divorce, but Brinson remained an important figure in Richards's life. She later married Gregg Davis, the son of oil billionaire Marvin Davis and philanthropist Barbara Davis. Kim and Gregg had two children together, Whitney and Chad, before divorcing.

Richards also has a daughter, Kimberly, from her relationship with John Jackson. Her personal life has often intersected with wealthy and high-profile Los Angeles circles, partly through her own acting career and partly through the extended Richards, Hilton, and Davis family connections.

One of the most traumatic episodes in Richards's life came in 1991, when her fiancé John Collett was murdered outside a deli in the San Fernando Valley. Richards has spoken over the years about the emotional impact of that loss, which became one of several deeply painful chapters in her adult life.

"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills"

In 2010, Richards returned to television as one of the original cast members of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." She joined the show alongside her sister Kyle Richards, as well as Lisa Vanderpump, Camille Grammer, Adrienne Maloof, and Taylor Armstrong. For viewers who remembered her as a Disney child star, the show offered a very different portrait of her life.

Kim's relationship with Kyle became one of the central emotional storylines of the early seasons. Their conflicts, loyalty, resentment, and shared family history gave the series some of its most intense moments. Kim's struggles with alcohol were also addressed on the show, at times in ways that were raw and uncomfortable. Her addiction issues, efforts at sobriety, and family tensions became a major part of her public identity during and after her Bravo run.

Richards was a full-time cast member for the show's first five seasons. After leaving the main cast, she returned occasionally as a guest, often in connection with Kyle or Kathy Hilton. Her appearances continued to draw interest because viewers remained invested in the complicated dynamics among the three Richards sisters.

Richards has battled alcoholism and has been vocal about her experiences as part of her role on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." She was arrested and charged with public intoxication, trespassing, resisting arrest, and battery of a police officer on April 15, 2015, at the Beverly Hills Hotel. She spent one night in jail and was released the next day on a $20,000 bail. Just four months later, she was arrested again for shoplifting at a Target department store and was booked. The next day she was released after posting bail of $5,000.

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