Richard is born to Chennai settled Malayali parents Babu and Alice on 20 October 1977. he studied in Loyola Matriculation School till 12th std [2] His younger sisters Shamili andShalini are renowned actresses. His father is from Kollam and mother is from a Chennai settled Malayali family. His father migrated to Madras with an ambition of becoming actor and the family settled there later he fulfilled his ambition through his children.[3] Actor Ajith Kumar is his brother-in-law.