Kim Erika Richards was born on September 19, 1964, in Mineola, Long Island, New York, to Kathleen Mary Dugan and Kenneth Edwin Richards, a business executive, making her of Irish, English, and Welsh descent.
From a tender age, Kim made her television commercial debut at four months, appearing in a diaper ad, and by the time she was four and a half, she had already appeared in 20 TV commercials.
Her television series debut came in 1970 on the show "Nanny and the Professor" (1970),followed by substantial recurring roles on the TV programs "James at 16" (1977) and "Hello, Larry" (1979).
Kim achieved fame as psychic alien girl Tia in the Disney family feature "Escape to Witch Mountain" (1975) and its sequel "Return from Witch Mountain" (1978).
She also played an obnoxious little brat who gets brutally killed in John Carpenter's urban action cult gem "Assault on Precinct 13" (1976).
Among the numerous TV shows Richards has done guest spots on are "The Magical World of Disney" (1954),"The Rockford Files" (1974),"Police Woman" (1974),"Little House on the Prairie" (1974),"Family" (1976),"Alice" (1976),"CHiPs" (1977),"The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979),"The Love Boat" (1977),"Diff'rent Strokes" (1978),"Project U.F.O." (1978),"Magnum, P.I." (1980),and "Medical Center" (1969).
Kim was reunited with her "Witch Mountain" co-star Ike Eisenmann for the made-for-TV horror howler "Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell" (1978),and she did a career interview for the recent DVD of this film.
In the mid-80s, Kim played more mature adult roles in the movies "Meatballs Part II" (1984) and "Tuff Turf" (1985),in which she gives a performance as a teenage gang leader's brash girlfriend.
Kim took a hiatus from acting to raise her four children, Brook, Whitney, Chad, and Kimberly.
After a lengthy absence from the big screen, Kim Richards made a welcome comeback with a fine portrayal of Christina Ricci's bitter estranged mother in the excellent "Black Snake Moan" (2006).
Kim is the sister of fellow actress Kyle Richards, with whom she appeared together in "The Car" (1977),and Kathy Hilton, the mother of Paris Hilton.
