Denise Richards | Maintaining Mental Health Through Divorce, Success and the Pandemic, While Bringing Her Family Closer Together in the Process

<p>Denise Richards was born in Downers Grove, Illinois, to Joni & Irv Richards.  She had a typical middle-class upbringing, as a child, she was the "only girl on the baseball team".  When Richards was 15 years old, her family moved to Oceanside, California. After her high school graduation, she began working as a female model and traveled to cities such as Paris, New York, and Tokyo to do photoshoots and commercials</p> <p>Denise got her first job in the acting world on ‘Doogie Howser MD’ & ‘Saved by The Bell’.  It was a struggle for her to get traction on the movies she was auditioning for, but her big break came in 1996 with ‘Starship Troopers’.  The budget was so large for the special effects that it opened the door for smaller actors like her to get starring roles.</p> <p>After this, it was the big break in her career she needed to get bigger roles.  Next was ‘Wild Things’ with Neve Campbell, and then as the nuclear physicist Christmas Jones in the James Bond film ‘The World Is Not Enough.’  Around this time, she got huge guest appearances on major TV shows like Friends, Spin City, and Two and A Half Men.  This is where she met Charlie Sheen.</p> <p>Denise married Charlie Sheen in 2002.  She had 2 children with him, Sam & Lola Rose.  Their marriage was short-lived, and full of problems, as she filed for divorce in 2006.  She also had a restraining order against Charlie at the time.  One of Denise’s many claims that Charlie was abusive, mentally and physically, including direct threats to her life.  With her kids, Denise made sure that they were not privy to any of the fighting and discord during their divorce. </p> <p>In May of 2010, Sheen surrendered legal custody of Sam and Lola to Richards. They previously had joint legal custody of their daughters. Richards got sole legal custody, given Sheen's "marital turmoil, sobriety issues, and criminal problems" and he did not put up a fight about it.  This was the beginning of the healing part of Charlie & Denise’s relationship.</p> <p>Hear her story about how