The 29-year-old posted a message on her Twitter page to explain that although she left for the airport in LA at 5am, she had been delayed because her plane had engine trouble.
She then got on another plane, but it was grounded in Chicago due to bad weather conditions.
Richie eventually managed to board a third plane to New York City and finally arrived at her book signing – two hours late.
She tweeted: 'I'm here NYC! 12-hour flight. No hair. No make-up. But NOTHING is stopping me from [getting to] Borders! Here I come!'