Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson |
|---|
Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10 1980 in Abilene, Texas) is an American pop singer and actress who rose to fame in the late 1990s. She has so far achieved 7 Billboard Top 40 hits and has five gold and two multi-platinum Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified albums. She also starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality show Newlyweds and released her own line of beauty products. She also began a career as an actress and is the older sister of Ashlee Simpson, a pop rock singer.
Biography
Early life
Jessica began singing in her Baptist church choir. In 1992, at age 12, she made an unsuccessful audition for The New Mickey Mouse Club, that also starred future pop superstars Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. Jessica later attended J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas and was discovered singing at a church camp by a head of a small contemporary Christian record label. She recorded an album over the next three years; however, the label folded before the record could be released. She dropped out in her senior year to tour and promote her demo album, which was funded by her grandmother, Joyce (thus the reason for the name of her 2004 holiday album, Rejoyce: The Christmas Album). She later earned her GED. During this time, she also toured with the Christian Youth Conference circuit performing with Kirk Franklin, God's Property and CeCe Winans. She and her father sold copies of the album after these performances.
Tommy Mottola of Columbia Records later obtained a copy of the album and, thinking she had potential as a pop singer, signed her to a recording contract.
1999-2001: Musical beginnings
1999 saw the arrival of pop princesses Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera who each recieved multi-platinum success. Simpsons label had hoped the same with her. As 1999 came to a close, Simpson released her first single "I Wanna Love You Forever" which became a big hit in the states and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Soon afterwards, her album "Sweet Kisses" was released to great sales. Simpson would tour with boy band 98 Degrees to support her new album. It was then when she met her future husband Nick Lachey and the two soon began dating. Unlike the other pop princesses, Simpson was very straight forward about her relationship with Lachey. She was also the first pop princess to admit that she was a virgin, and was waiting until marriage (Spears would soon follow in her footsteps in admitting her virginal ways as well, but to a more famous extent).
Meanwhile, her album "Sweet Kisses" had gone double platinum thanks to the success for her follow up singles "Where You are", a duet with her boyfriend Nick Lachey, and "I Think I'm In Love With You," the latter became Simpson's biggest radio hit at that point and was her first uptempo single to be released. Still, even with her debut album selling 2 million copies, her record label felt that she was still very much less successful than Britney and Christina, who'd gone on to become household names around the globe. It was then when Columbia Records decided that Jessica needed a change for her second album.
In 2001, Simpsons label helped her record her follow up album in which her record label wanted Simpson to sing more radio friendly up-tempo tracks and to lose weight in order to fit in with her competitors. The result in that was "Irresistible," released in mid 2001 on the heels of the title track first single. The new sound and image helped make 'Irresistible' a big hit on the radio, becoming one of the biggest hits of her career and peaking at #15 on the Hot 100. The album debut at #6 in June 2001 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. The album ended up selling 825,000 copies to date.
2002: Marriage to Nick Lachey and TV success
On October 26 2002, at age 22, Jessica Simpson married Nick Lachey. She famously announced that she had remained a virgin until her wedding night.
During the summer of 2003, the reality show, Newlyweds, starring Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey began airing on MTV. Though she was successful before the series began, the show quickly became a pop culture phenomenon and is credited with making her a household name, even among those who did not follow pop music or MTV. Later that summer, Simpson won three Teen Choice Awards; Female Fashion Icon, Choice Hottie Female, and Female Reality/Variety TV Star for Newlyweds.
Throughout the run of four seasons, Simpson epitomized the stereotypical dumb blonde, most notably when she asked Lachey whether the Chicken of the Sea tuna she was eating was in fact chicken or fish. She also indicated that she believed that buffalo wings were made from actual buffalo. Her ignorance helped turn the show into a huge hit, making the average rating for each episode about 1.4 million viewers while reaching a series peak of about 4 million viewers. Simpson's third album, In This Skin, was released in August of 2003 to coincide with the series premiere of Newlyweds. It debuted at #10 on The Billboard 200 album chart with sales of just 64,000 in its first week. It rebounded after a special collectors' edition was released in April of 2004 and subsequently reached a peak of #2. It was eventually certified triple platinum, fueled largely by the couple’s television success on Newlyweds. It contained the hits "With You" (#14, 2004) and a cover of the Berlin song "Take My Breath Away" (#20, 2004).
The couple appeared in the television special The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour that aired in 2004 and drew comparisons to Sonny and Cher. Simpson released ReJoyce: The Christmas Album in late 2004 which peaked at #14 on the album chart and was later certified gold.
In 2005, Newlyweds won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Reality Show before wrapping shortly after.
Film debut
In the summer of 2005, at age 25, Simpson made her first appearance in a motion picture as Daisy Duke in the movie-remake of The Dukes of Hazzard. The film debuted at #1 at the U.S. box-office[citation needed] performing well.
Simpson also appeared on the film's soundtrack, releasing "These Boots Are Made for Walkin" (#14, 2005) a cover of the 1966 Nancy Sinatra hit. The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Song from a Movie in 2006. Simpson's second film "Employee of the Month" was released October 6 2006. She is currently shooting her third film titled "Blonde Ambition" (2007) and promoting her album "A Public Affair" in the UK, which has a released date of February 5 2007.
Divorce from Nick Lachey
In November 2005, after months of tabloid speculation, Simpson and her husband Nick Lachey officially announced their separation. Simpson filed for divorce on December 16 2005, citing "irreconcilable differences". The couple's divorce was highly publicized worldwide and was reportedly finalized on June 30.
Jessica Simpson reportedly told Jane magazine in October 2006, that she knew her marriage to Nick Lachey was over when he refused to join her on a charity trip to Africa, even though it was on their third wedding anniversary.
The couple reportedly sold their Calabasas mansion in which Newlyweds was filmed to Malcolm in the Middle star Justin Berfield for about $3.75 million.
2006: Back to business
On June 30, 2006, Jessica and Nick's divorce was finalized. Simpson hosted the Teen Choice Awards in August of 2006 and appeared on The View in September of 2006 as the first choice of new co-host Rosie O'Donnell.
Jessica looked forward to going back in the studio to record her fourth album with her move to the Epic Records from her previous label Columbia. She decided to switch labels because she wanted a new fresh start in music after her divorce.
Her fourth album, A Public Affair, was released on August 29, 2006 via Epic Records. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 with 101,000 copies sold in its first week. The first single, "A Public Affair" (#14, 2006), reached the Top 20 of the Hot 100 but quickly fell off the charts. The music video for "A Public Affair" featured Eva Longoria, Christina Applegate, Christina Milian, Maria Menounos, Andy Dick and Ryan Seacrest. A second single, "I Belong To Me", was also released through her website and is now included on the CD itself.
In December of 2006, while performing a tribute to Dolly Parton at the Kennedy Center Awards, she botched the words to the song she was singing, saying "I'm sorry Dolly, that made me so nervous." She explained that she had been feeling flustered during the performance (most likely because it was in front of many famous people, including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and even President George W. Bush). Afterwards, during the final tribute to Parton, Parton's "biggest fan" Reese Witherspoon gave a tearful Simpson a hug to make her feel better.
Beauty products
Following in the footsteps of other female musicians, such as Cher and Patti LaBelle, Jessica launched a line of hair and beauty products on the Home Shopping Network. Teaming with celebrity stylist Ken Paves and trained by HSN's first ever home shopping host Bob Circosta, Jessica sells clip-in hair extensions over the air. Hairdo-brand Salon Clip-In Hair from Jessica Simpson and Ken Paves
Next project
Simpson will co-star in Blonde Ambition with Luke Wilson. The movie, due out in mid-2007, starts shooting November 27 in Shreveport, Louisiana. As her "A Public Affair" is certified Gold she will take the record to the UK and promote it there before returning to america to release her next single, she will start filming "Major Movie Star" which will start filming December 2006 to be released fall/winter 2007.
Personal life
Jessica has received a good deal of publicity in the aftermath of her marriage to Nick Lachey. Following their break-up and pending divorce, She was reportedly linked to her Employee of the Month co-star Dane Cook, singer John Mayer, and, from "The Dukes of Hazzard", actor/comedian Johnny Knoxville. During the marriage several reports of a one night stand with Bam Margera surfaced which both denied at the time. Recently Bam Margera went on Howard Stern's radio show to "admit the truth" of those rumors. She has also been rumored to have slept radio host out of Kansas City, Mo. Johnny Dare.
Nick has never stood up against reports that Jessica cheated, saying that he didn't know whether the rumors were true, and he chose not to ask her about them. This indirectly reinforced the truth behind the rumors, and has tarnished Jessica's once innocent image.
Jessica's rep has repeatedly denied that she has dated anyone since her break-up with Nick. Magazines have also speculated that she was jealous of her ex-husband's growing stardom and relationship with television personality Vanessa Minnillo, though she has publicly denied this.
It has been reported that Simpson had recently gone on a date with Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Tony Romo, although it has been confirmed via TMZ that it was leaked by Jessica's father and that the two had never met. Roma is currently linked to American Idol winner Carrie Underwood.
Discography
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|---|
|
Sweet Kisses
|
| File:Jessica Simpson - Irresistible.jpg | Irresistible
|
|
This Is the Remix
|
| File:Jessica Simpson - In This Skin.jpg | In This Skin
|
| File:Jessica Simpson - Rejoyce.jpg | Rejoyce: The Christmas Album
|
| File:Apa 600.jpg | A Public Affair
|
Tours
- Dream Chaser Tour (2001)
- Reality Tour Live (2004)
- Tour of Duty (2005)
- A Public Affair With Jessica Simpson (2007)
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Dukes of Hazzard | Daisy Duke | Major Supporting Role |
| 2006 | Employee of The Month | Amy Renfro | Major Supporting Role |
| 2007 | Blonde Ambition | Katie | Leading Role |
External links
- American dance musicians
- American pop singers
- American female singers
- American child singers
- Rhythmic Top 40 acts
- American film actors
- American television actors
- That '70s Show actors
- American actor-singers
- American reality television participants
- People from Abilene, Texas
- Baptists from the United States
- American conservatives
- 1980 births
- Living people