She's hit the L.A. club scene with fellow it-girls like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, who've both had recent run-ins with the law. She's even spent some (brief) time behind bars.

But Nicole Richie is not playing the blame game.

"People ask me, do I blame Hollywood or my parents?" she tells InStyle U.K. of her past troubles in its October issue. "No, I don't blame my parents. It had nothing to do with them. I created it and manifested it, and I got myself through it with the help of a lot of great people."

With this attitude, Richie, 28, is setting an example for her two little ones: Harlow, 2½, and Sparrow, who turns 1 next week.

"One thing about me is that I've always taken responsibility for my own actions, whether they're good or bad," she says. "Even when I was going through my tough time, that was a situation that I created."

As for regrets, Richie has one that springs to mind.

"I'm a Virgo and the sign is a virgin," she says. "So, when I was 16, I got the word 'virgin' tattooed on my wrist thinking I was so deep and cool. And now I just look really weird having 'virgin' written across my wrist – and I have to explain it."