Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson (born 10.7.1980)

Jessica Simpson is an American singer who became famous in the 1990s. She starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in a reality show titled Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica.

Jessica Simpson: Childhood

Jessica Simpson was born and raised in Texas. As a child she sang for her Baptist church and at the age of 12, she made it to the final auditions of the Mickey Mouse Club.

Jessica Simpson's younger sister is Ashlee Simpson, the well-known pop singer.

Simpson dropped out of J.J. Pearce High School, aged 16. At 18, she was signed to Columbia Records.

Jessica Simpson: Early Musical Career

The debut single from Jessica Simpson was released in 2000. 'I Wanna Love You Forever' reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. She toured with the boy band 98 Degrees to promote the subsequent album, Sweet Kisses. Her future husband, Nick Lachey was a member of the band.

Helped by follow-up singles 'Where You Are' and 'I Think I'm In Love With You', the album went double platinum. Columbia's executives decided that, in order to reach the success of the likes of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, Simpson would have to make changes to her sound.

The follow-up album, Irresistible was a collection of more radio-friendly, up-tempo numbers and the lead single, also entitled 'Irresistible' became a hit for Simpson. The song reached number 15 on the Hot 100 and the album debuted at number six in the album chart in the US.

Jessica Simpson: Career development

Jessica's debut movie appearance was in the role of Daisy Duke, for the remake of Dukes Of Hazzard. The film went to the top of the box office rankings in the US on the week of the release and eventually collected $110.5 million. It was less successful outside of the United States.

Simpson recorded a cover of Nancy Sinatra's 'These Boots Are Made For Walkin'' for the soundtrack and won a People's Choice Award for 'Favourite Song From A Movie' in 2006.

Jessica's second film was far less successful. Employee of the Month took $11.8 million on its first weekend. Her third film, Blonde Ambition was released in December 2007. It had a limited theatre release and went straight to DVD the next month.

In a return to her musical endeavours, Simpson left Columbia and signed to Epic Records. Her next album A Public Affair was released in 2006 and went in to the Billboard 200 chart at number five. The video for the single of the same name featured appearances from Eva Longoria, Christina Applegate, Christina Milian and Ryan Seacrest.

In 2006, she performed a tribute to Dolly Parton at the Kennedy Centre Awards. However, she made mistakes in the song and became flustered and tearful. Her performance was cut out of the subsequent CBS broadcast.

Jessica Simpson: Private Life

Jessica Simpson was heavily criticized by 'The Resistance,' a Christian group that objected to her sexualised image of the video for 'These Boots Are Made For Walking.'

Aged 22, Simpson married Nick Lachey in October 2002 and the media made much of the fact that she was a virgin until her wedding night. Whilst married, the pair participated in MTV-screened reality TV show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. The couple announced that they were separating in November 2005 and Jessica filed for divorce the next month.

The couple sold their mansion to Malcom In the Middle star, Justin Berfield. The home was the one in which they filmed the Newlyweds. series.

Since divorcing Lachey, Simpson began dating John Mayer and attended Christina Aguilera's New Year's Eve party in 2006 but split in May 2007.