Nicole Richie's Hair Caught on Fire While Blowing Out Her Birthday Candles
Sophia Sparks
Updated on February 23, 2026
Nicole Richie will definitely never forget her 40th birthday. On Sept. 21, Richie shared a video on Instagram of herself blowing out the candles on her birthday cake, surrounded by friends and family. And while the ceremonial moment starts out well and good, things take a very swift turn: Richie's hair catches on fire as she blows out her candles, and the fire quickly spreads up her curls. Clearly, Richie is okay and she joked about the situation in the caption of her post, but the video still looks terrifying and got a lot of celebrities and fans commenting on the unbelievable post. Read on to see the moment that's everyone's worst nightmare.
Read the original article on Best Life.
Nicole Richie celebrated her 40th birthday on Tuesday, and it all started out just fine.
On Sept. 21, Richie turned 40 years old. Throughout the day, she shared posts from her friends and family about her birthday on her Instagram Stories, including a photo of her birthday cake. It featured a photo of her when she was little, wearing a tutu and holding a rose.
Little did she know that that cake—or specifically, the 10 candles—would cause her a serious problem!
Things changed once the candles were lit on Richie's birthday cake.
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It appears that Richie had a small outdoor birthday celebration, based on the video she posted on Instagram. It shows her leaning over a table to blow out the candles, and things take a turn when her hair brushes into the candles near both of her shoulders.
She lets out a scream, and while it looks like the flames go out as she starts moving back, on one side of her head, the flame grows bigger. At the end of the short video, the fire is finally out on the left side, but on the right, it's moving pretty far up her hair.
Seemingly though, she wasn't seriously hurt since she captioned the video jokingly, "Well… so far 40 is [fire emoji]."
RELATED: Nicole Richie's Teen Daughter Looks Just Like Her Now.
A lot of friends and celebs commented.
As of Monday morning, Richie's video had nearly 2 million views, and it's no surprise considering how shocking it is. The former Simple Life star and designer's post also received a number of comments from other celebrities with some joking about the situation and others wondering how she is doing.
Katy Perry wrote, "WAIT NO WAY WAIT OMG." Kelly Rowland commented, "My heart just dropped!!!!" Ellen Pompeo wrote, "HBD!!! I hope you're okay!" Richie's old friend and Simple Life co-star Paris Hilton posted, "Happy Birthday Bill! Hope your ok! love youuuuu."
Several commenters also couldn't resist quoting Hilton's old catchphrase "That's hot," including Richie's sister, Sofia Richie, and Richie's husband, Joel Madden.
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A comment from Richie's hairstylist seems to hint this has happened before.
One comment on Richie's post that stands out is from hairstylist Gregory Russell, who posted, "STOP!!! AGAIN?!?!" In response, fans questioned whether he meant that Richie's hair had caught on fire in the past. Though she didn't address that directly, she did respond to Russell, writing, "I'll start a Pinterest board for new haircuts. Start thinking of cute curly bobs."
RELATED: This Is the Biggest Star Who Shares Your Birthday.
Lia Beck Lia Beck is a writer living in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to Best Life, she has written for Refinery29, Bustle, Hello Giggles, InStyle, and more.Read moreFiled UnderCelebrities • Entertainment • NewsRead This NextSee Nicole and Sofia Richie Modeling Together
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