Nicole Richie almost set her father, Lionel Richie, on fire.

Nicole Richie

Nicole Richie

The 36-year-old fashion designer tried to carry out cupping treatment - when alcohol is poured into a cup and are heated before they are applied to the skin and create a vacuum to relieve any tension in the muscles in that area - on her famous dad but it could have gone horribly wrong as she got a "little too close" to burning his skin.

Speaking to You magazine about the near miss, she said: "I just got a little too close to his back for a hot second."

And the 'Great News' star admitted she often plays pranks on her 68-year-old dad.

She said: "I love to play pranks on him all the time."

Though the 'Hello' singer and his ex-wife Brenda Harvey - who took Nicole in when she was three and legally adopted her at nine - were not "strict" parents, her dad's few rules motivated the 'Candidly Nicole' star to work hard to earn her own money.

She explained: "[They] definitely weren't strict: I don't think I had a bedtime.

"I remember my father saying to me all the time, 'Do this or we are taking away your car'.

"So in my mind, I was like, 'I can't wait to not ask my dad for anything and earn my own money.'

"What drives me now is that I love getting up in the morning, I love to create, and that's what you should be doing, exercising your brain."

Lionel has not only encouraged Nicole - who has Harlow, nine, and eight-year-old Sparrow with her husband Joel Madden - to be self-sufficient, but also to be "kind".

She said: "My dad is extremely kind, that's who he is. He is so friendly and he leaves a lasting impression on people.

"Walking through the airport, I cannot tell you how many times [airport] staff have said to me, 'Your dad was here and he's so nice' and you can see by the look on their faces that he made them feel good.

"I've learnt from him to be kind, not just so that people can say you are kind - but really kind. If you can float around the world in life and make people feel good, that's really cool."