Denise Richards: a lifetime of testing boundaries - now, with 'Special Forces'

Denise Richards is back on our screens... and not in the way you would perhaps have thought. The actress always likes to try new things, but could Season 3 of Fox's 'Special Forces: World's Toughest Test' be one of her greatest challenges?

Richards will be seen in her tactical gear (along with stars such as Stephen Baldwin and Brody Jenner) as she travels to Wales for tests on both land and sea. According to Deadline, these tests include a hostage situation as well as terrifying climbs across an abyss and surfing immersion that will take the contestants 'to the brink of drowning'.

Image: Instagram / deniserichards

This may seem totally out of character for the glamorous 90s beauty we all remember, but you would be surprised how many 'out of the box' choices Denise Richards has made in her life, overcome them and moved to the next without a look over her shoulder. We are looking back, however, at all her bold life choices and why we still love Denise Richards.

She has been a Bond girl, a bad girl and a real life Hellraiser. Born on February 17, 1971, The 90's were owned by Denise Richards.

She played a Bond girl in 'The World is not Enough', an intergalactic pilot in 'Starship Troopers' and a wild and sassy bad girl in 'Wild Things'.

For those who grew up in the 90s, the mere mention of Denise Richards reminds us of the dream girl from turn-of-the-century cinema. I mean, who can forget her legendary pool scene with Neve Campbell in 'Wild Things' ('Wild Things', 1998).

At times, Denise Richards over-shadowed 90s icons such as Sharon Stone and Pamela Anderson. Of course, in the case of Denise Richards, she never hid the fact that a large part of her success was due to a mistake in her breast enlargement operation.

"When I was 19, a doctor gave me bigger implants than I asked for. I was in such a rush to get them that I didn't research my doctor," the actress confessed to US Weekly. "I just thought because they’re a plastic surgeon, they must be good."

Throughout the 1990s, Denise Richards underwent two more operations to correct the mistake, but she didn't expect that her second operation would see her put back to a larger size than she wanted.

"I felt very vulnerable," she confessed on the Howard Stern show. "I was getting ready to film [1998’s] Wild Things, and I didn’t want to get into a lawsuit with some plastic surgeon. It wasn’t right what the doctor did, but it is what it is." she added.

After her experience, Denise Richards was quick to warn those who might want to follow her example, in an interview with ABC News, asking them to research their plastic surgeons.

Despite her implant problems, Denise Richards had cemented her status as a celebrity, as FHM proved in 2001, placing her second on its annual list of America's most desirable women, behind Halle Berry.

Professionally, Denise Richards had a very up-and-down career as an actress. Despite more than 115 acting jobs, it is difficult to remember more than three of them in detail.

In television, Denise Richards had been present in relevant series such as 'Anger Management', 'Twisted' and 'Two and a Half Men', but never really stayed around for long.

In film, in addition to the aforementioned 'Wild Things', the actress starred in 'Starship Troopers' (1997), and, of course, became a Bond girl in 1999 in 'The World is Not Enough', with Pierce Brosnan (pictured).

This experience would eventually come back to haunt her, when in 2008 'Entertainment Weekly' ranked her as one of the worst Bond girls in history.

By then, Denise Richards was more a memory of the last century, and her name had long been and almost forever would be linked to that of Charlie Sheen.

The couple married in 2001, had two daughters, Sami (2004) and Lola Rose (2005), divorced in 2006 and began a tense post-marital relationship that ended in several lawsuits.

Denise Richards accused Charlie Sheen of threatening to kill her while they were separating, as reported by the 'Daily Mail'.

The actress was left with custody of her daughters and this would lead to another lawsuit ... for 1.2 million dollars.  The amount Denise Richards was asking her ex-husband for not paying her child support, according to TMZ. In the photo, with Sami Sheen, their eldest daughter, in 2007.

Interestingly, she almost lost custody in 2008, when Charlie Sheen sued her for exposing her daughters on 'Denise Richards: It's Complicated', a reality show that followed the actress's day-to-day life.

In the end, a judge ruled in favour of the actress and she was allowed to show her daughters on the reality show, so Charlie Sheen called on his fans to boycott the show, broadcast on 'E!'

After two seasons, low ratings and criticism led to its cancellation. Along the way, Denise Richards had exposed her mother's death from cancer, her problems with the paparazzi, her daughters, her problems with her employees.... Was it worth it?

Everything points to yes, because that same year she participated in 'Dancing With the Stars', a dance talent show which, although it offers some great TV, is usually associated with celebrities whose careers are over or about to end. Incidentally, she was the second person eliminated from the eighth season of the talent show.

The reality is that since this turbulent period, everything seems to have improved for Denise Richards. For starters, her relationship with Charlie Sheen has normalised over time.

In fact, Denise Richards even turned down an offer of $100,000 back in 2011 to take part in the episode of 'Two And A Half Men' celebrating Charlie Harper's funeral, the role played by Charlie Sheen before he was replaced by Ashton Kutcher.

In recent times, Denise Richards has been part of the cast of 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'. She has appeared in almost 200 episodes of 'The Bold and the Beautiful' and played a leading role in 'Paper Empire'.

Although her star no longer shines as brightly as it did in the 1990s, Denise Richards has never stopped working. Even in the pandemic, the actress had numerous projects.

What no one expected at this point - let alone after her daughter did the same - was that Denise Richards would open an account on a well-known webpage.

A week after Sami Sheen did it, Denise Richards followed suit and opened her account with a star price: $25 a month subscription.

Photo: Instagram - @deniserichards

In this way, not only has she shown support for her daughter in her project, but Denise Richards has also shone the light on the exclusive webpage, just like Bella Thorne and other celebrities.

Denise Richards was always a special celebrity who had the public's affection, in good times and bad and I'm sure she will continue to surprise and work. This year she has already starred in Lifetime's 'Hunting Housewives' and a reality TV show... What's next?

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