Lionel Richie Glad to Hand Over Superstar Status to Nicole  11/1/06

Lionel Richie is delighted with his daughter Nicole's success as a reality TV star and fashion icon, even though interviewers are more interested in asking questions about his offspring than about his relaunched music career.

The Hello hit maker is happy to hand over the reigns of media pressure to his 25-year-old daughter, and is happy she has finally beaten her drug demons and started to pay her own way after success on The Simple Life opposite Paris Hilton.

He says, "Nicole is the new superstar of the family, which I'm loving. She's Miss Fashion Icon. She has such a sense of style, such a sense of grace.

"I'm all puffed up with pride and the buttons are popping on my shirt as I speak. And I'm just happy she's buying her own clothes now, thank you. I was just about to go broke."