Denise Lee Richards (born February 17, 1971) is an American actress and former fashion model. She became famous in the late 1990s, after a string of films that highlighted her sex appeal, including Starship Troopers, Wild Things, and The World Is Not Enough. She also has her own reality TV show, Denise Richards: It's Complicated which is broadcast on American channel E!.

Richards was born in Downers Grove, Illinois, the daughter of Joni, a coffee shop owner, and Irv Richards, a telephone engineer. She has one sister, Michelle, and grew up in both Mokena, Illinois and Downers Grove. She graduated in 1989 from El Camino High School in Oceanside, California. As a child, she was a "tomboy", the "only girl on the baseball team".

Before she was an actress, Richards was a fashion model. Richards spent the majority of the 1990s appearing in lower-budget films and TV shows like Saved by the Bell, television movies, and guest starring in episodes of several television shows such as Married with Children (1991), a 5 second walk through. Her first starring role in a wide theatrical release was Starship Troopers in 1997, which was followed by her role in the moderately successful cult film Wild Things in 1998.