Theodora Richards shares childhood photos with her rock ’n’ roll father

ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF THEODORA RICHARDS.

Theodora Richards celebrated her 10th birthday in Tokyo with The Rolling Stones. It comes with the territory, growing up as the daughter of model Patti Hansen and legendary Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Music fed into her upbringing in a way that few can fathom, so to call her taste diverse would be a gross understatement.

So the 32-year old decided to share it. As the host of a radio show on SiriusXM, “Off the Cuff,” she spins her favorite tracks in between candid chats with celebrities like Sean Lennon, Peter Wolf, Rolling Stone back up vocalist Lisa Fisher and Sheryl Crow. The idea was born years ago when Richards would craft eclectic mixtapes for her mom’s commute into the city for work. She would mash together Lauryn Hill bars and Etta James riffs, pairing them with ballads from her favorite film scores. These CDs, relics of Richards’s childhood, stand as proof of her music gene. Eventually, those mixes landed in the hands of SiriusXM President and CCO Scott Greenstein, who decidedly put her behind the mic.

The airwaves are an ideal home for Richards, who has a wealth of experience in the industry just by proxy. But what was it like growing up with a rock star dad? Diving deep into her family albums, here Richards shares a handful of intimate photographs from time spent in the arms of family and friends. Inevitably, there was glamour. But it seems she was lucky enough to also capture some of the simpler, warmer Kodak moments we all may take for granted.

 

THEODORA RICHARDS: With that picture (above), there’s just so much love there. Look at my mom’s smile. Isn’t she just so beautiful? I’m not entirely sure how old I am in this picture, but I’m definitely between five and seven. We were at Disney World, in one of their ice cream parlors. Obviously, I love my mom more than chocolate ice cream [laughs] but in that picture, it looks like I’m really diving in there.

THEODORA RICHARDS: That’s in Staten Island (below) and I think I’m like three, four years old. We just stayed in the house and had fun. My aunts did my makeup—Aunt Beverly and Aunt Barbara. I think that’s my grandmother Beatrice behind me, that’s her hand. I’m actually named after her because Theodora was her name. Beatrice Theodora. I think I’m also wearing—I wonder if it might have been my grandma’s wedding veil.

THEODORA RICHARDS: This is when I was a senior in high school. It’s the show Dead End [1935] and the guy I’m with is Kevin Anderson; he was the star. I basically played his girlfriend, whom he left, and I become a prostitute—so I was a hooker. [Kevin] kissed me on the cheek in the play, and I was dating a guy who screamed out on opening night, “Fuck you!” in the middle of the show.

THEODORA RICHARDS: We spent like three, four days in Joshua Tree with the guy who shot [this photo], Sasha Eisenman, who was a friend of ours. We had a little white chicken that we were posing for photographs with. And we had a silver Airstream from the ’50s. It was so fantastic. Lizzy Jagger is one of my best friends, we were constantly laughing. We have a sisterhood because there’s definitely some weirdness about being the daughter of someone. But we’re all daughters or sons of somebody else.

THEODORA RICHARDS: I really am super blessed. My parents, they stayed together and I love their love. And I can see my dad just, he’s smelling me, he’s taking me in, I love this photograph so much. I must be around two. We must be watching television or Dumbo [1999] because that’s what dad said he had to watch over and over and over again. That was my movie as a baby. I lived for that baby elephant.

THEODORA RICHARDS: This is pure puberty. Me and Alexandra are full-on finding our own style. I’m wearing my mom’s red turtleneck. I think it was Donna Karan. And the Kate Spade bag! That was the bag to have in high school, every girl had one. Mom and dad look so cool with their glasses and I think I have that scarf now. The white one. It was the Grinch premiere, which was such a good day. We actually went ice skating afterward. It was so much fun.

“OFF THE CUFF” AIRS THE LAST SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT 8:00PM EST AND REPLAYS THE FOLLOWING MONDAY AT 2:00PM EST AND WEDNESDAY AT 11:00PM EST ON SIRIUSXM’S THE SPECTRUM CHANNEL. IT HAS JUST BEEN RENEWED FOR A SECOND YEAR.