Denise Richards's Real Name: Denise Richards

Quick answer: Denise Richards's professional and public name is Denise Richards. Library of Congress records file her as "Richards, Denise, 1971-," with notes giving the birth date as February 17, 1971. A name-authority note associates that date with Mokena, Illinois. She is known for Starship Troopers, Wild Things, and the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough (1999) (People).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress heading uses Denise Richards and records the February 17, 1971, birth date. A CIP data view in that record gives Mokena, Illinois, as a place associated with the date. Longer forms of the name appear in some databases but are not independently confirmed in the sources used here, so the title uses the public name. People magazine, in a November 2024 article looking back at the Bond film 25 years after its release, identified her as Denise Richards and treated Starship Troopers and Wild Things as her most notable roles at the time she was cast.

Career highlights

People says those two films were her best-known credits when she was chosen to play Dr. Christmas Jones, a nuclear physicist, in The World Is Not Enough, which opened in theaters on November 19, 1999. The movie was Pierce Brosnan's third turn as James Bond, written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Bruce Feirstein and directed by Michael Apted. Richards was among the franchise newcomers; the film also starred Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane, Desmond Llewelyn, and Samantha Bond, with Sophie Marceau as Elektra King.

People, citing the book Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films, reported that the Christmas Jones part was rewritten during production, including a studio request that the character be made American after Marceau was cast. Other actresses were considered, but Richards landed the role. The magazine later described the character as one of the more polarizing Bond girls, a reception that is part of the film's public history rather than a judgment on her other work.

This page is a name biography and does not recap later tabloid coverage of her private life.

Name notes for searchers

Denise Richards is the name used in credits, news reports, and the Library of Congress heading. Searchers should not confuse her with other public figures named Richards. Catalog notes that expand the name are not treated here as a settled full legal form.