Nicole Richie

Nicole Richie:Nicole Richie has two children, two-year-old Harlow and 14-month-old Sparrow, with Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden, and she recently banned photographer Fabricio Luis Mariotto from going near her family for five years.

She told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in an episode due to air on Monday: "I don't want to prevent anyone from making a living, but at the end of the day, we all have to follow certain guidelines and we all have to answer to somebody.

"At the end of the day, as a mother, I have to protect my children. It's instinctual, right or wrong, you have to protect your children.

"Like I said, there are certain guidelines for everyone. For you, for me, for everyone. And it has to be the same for everyone. We all have to be safe."

Nicole took action against the photographer after accusing him of acting in a "predatory" manner and waiting outside Harlow's school, though Mariotto denied knowing what the Los Angeles building was.

He said: "When I realized it was a school, I left."

Under the terms of the settlement, it is believed Mariotto agreed to sign a document drawn up by lawyers to guarantee he will stay away from Nicole and her family for a five-year period.

In return, the 29-year-old star is to drop her prior court request for a permanent restraining order against the paparazzo.