Nicole Richie gave fans a rare glimpse of her eldest daughter, Harlow Winter Kate Madden, on Sunday, sharing a photo to mark her 18th birthday.
In the image, Harlow — who goes by Kate on Instagram — sported a dramatic transformation, swapping her familiar blonde hair for long, dark locks. Dressed casually in a white long-sleeve T-shirt, she stared directly into the camera, a quiet confidence in her gaze. Richie captioned the post simply: “My favorite person in the world is now 18. Happy birthday. I love you.”
Harlow is the eldest child of Richie and Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden. The couple, married since December 2010, also share a 16-year-old son, Sparrow. Richie and Madden’s relationship, often described as a partnership with mutual respect, has been characterized by openness — something Richie extends to her children.
In interviews, Joel Madden has acknowledged Richie’s influence on their household. “We all respect our wives,” he said in March 2025 during a Sirius XM appearance. “They are absolutely our counterparts… I met Nicole and she absolutely runs the show. But we are partners, so there’s aspects that I run. But there’s a whole part of my life that would not work if she wasn’t there running it.”
Richie has also been candid about her past. In December 2024, she told Glamour magazine that she always planned to be fully transparent with her children about her “wild child” days — including paparazzi-fueled parties and a couple of DUI incidents. “I’ve actually found freedom in that,” she said. “I’ve always been very open and honest with my kids and hope that they are open and honest with me.”
With her new look and milestone birthday, Harlow seems poised to step confidently into adulthood — carrying a touch of her mother’s fearless streak along the way.
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Last modified: January 13, 2026
