The mother-daughter duo of Nicole Richie and Kate Madden graced the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere of Richie's new film, "Stop! That! Train!" on May 18th, marking their first public appearance together in over two years. Both women were fashionably dressed, with Nicole, 44, opting for a navy and white polka dot dress, complete with a matching headscarf and a fur-trimmed white coat. Kate, 18, chose a short and strapless leather dress, finishing her look with sleek leather boots.
Nicole was clearly thrilled to have her daughter by her side for the premiere, as she shared several photos on Instagram the following day, captioning them, "STOP THAT TRAIN Premiere turned girls night out." This outing was also a special one for Kate, as it marked her first public appearance since her mother confirmed that she had chosen to go by her middle name instead of her first name, Harlow.
Fans were initially surprised to learn about the teen's preferred name, which Nicole had publicly announced on Instagram for Kate's 18th birthday on January 12th. However, as the former "Simple Life" star explained to People in January, "She has her whole life." And as her husband Joel later clarified, going by Kate was a decision that their daughter had made for herself at a young age. "She's been going by her middle name since she was in first grade," he explained on the Bunnie Xo's Dumb Blonde podcast in March. "She chose it."
Joel first learned about his daughter's decision during an open house at her school. "The teacher was like, 'Kate's doing great. She's so nice,'" he shared. "We're like, 'Who's Kate?' And they're like, 'Your daughter, Kate. That's what she said her name was.'" They went home and asked, "You go by Kate at school?" to which she replied, "Yeah, I like it." And they were like, "OK, great."
In fact, their daughter's name has even become a litmus test for how well someone knows her. "If you know her, you know she's Kate. People that don't know her would call her Harlow," the 47-year-old noted. "It's kind of smart, actually. She knows if someone called her Harlow, they don't really know her."
