» jessica simpson · biography
Jessica Simpson was born in Abilene, Texas, the daughter of Tina Ann (née Drew) and Joe Truett Simpson, who was a minister and psychologist. Her younger sister is singer Ashlee Simpson. As a child, she began singing at her local Baptist church. At age twelve, Simpson unsuccessfully auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club. While attending J.J. Pearce High School, she signed to Proclaim Records, a minor Gospel music record label. She recorded an album, self-titled, "Jessica", but Proclaim went bankrupt and the album was never officially released except for a small pressing funded by her grandmother. However, this small pressing gained her minor attention and she gave concerts with other acts such as Kirk Franklin, God's Property, and CeCe Winans. Simpson left high school at age sixteen (she later earned her GED), and after Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola heard "Jessica", she was signed to the label.
Jessica released her first single, "I Wanna Love You Forever", which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999 and reached the Top 10 in ten countries. Soon afterward, her major label debut album Sweet Kisses was released. To support the album, Jessica toured with Ricky Martin and with boy band 98 Degrees.
Meanwhile, Jessica's album Sweet Kisses had gone double platinum, helped by follow-up singles "Where You Are" and "I Think I'm In Love With You", which were both released in 2000. The latter became Jessica's biggest radio hit at that point, and was her first release of an uptempo single. Her debut album sold 2 million copies in US and 4 million worldwide. Columbia Records officials reportedly decided Jessica needed a change for her sophomore album. The following year, when Jessica came to record her second album, executives pressured her to have a much more sexy image.
In 2001, Jessica recorded a follow-up album with what Columbia considered more radio-friendly, up-tempo tracks. Irresistible was released in mid-2001 on the heels of the title-track first single. "Irresistible" became one of the biggest hits of her career; it peaked at #15 on the Hot 100 and stayed in the chart for 20 weeks. The single reached its peak at #2 in Belgium and the top-twenty on twelve countries.
Irresistible debuted at #6 in June 2001 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, with 127,000 copies sold in its first week and was certified Gold for selling 500,000 copies in its fifth week. Irresistible has sold 850,000 copies to date in US. "A Little Bit" was released as the second single from the album but did not enter the chart.
In support of the album, Jessica toured mid-August, theDreamChaser Tour, but due to the September 11 attacks could not complete the planned dates.
During the summer of 2003, the reality show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, starring Jessica and her then-new husband Nick Lachey began airing on MTV. Jessica third album, In This Skin, was released in August 2003 to coincide with the series premiere of Newlyweds.
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. "I never knew that just doing the show would give me that pedestal to step on," Jessica told Blender magazine in a March 2004 feature.
In This Skin, debuted at #10 on The Billboard 200 album chart, with sales of 64,000 in its first week. It rebounded after a special collectors' edition was released in April 2004 and subsequently reached a peak at #2 with 157,000 copies in that week. It contained the song "Sweetest Sin", which barely even made an impact on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. However, the album did contain the hit singles "With You" (#14, 2004) and a cover of the Berlin song "Take My Breath Away" (#20, 2004), and a lesser hit, a cover of the Robbie Williams song "Angels", which charted just outside the Billboard Hot 100. In December 2004, the album was certified 3x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. According to Jessica's biography, the album has sold 4 million copies in U.S. at the date.
The couple starred in the television special The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour, which aired in 2004 and was compared to The Sonny & Cher Show. In 2005, Newlyweds won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Reality Show before wrapping shortly after.
Jessica also released Rejoyce: The Christmas Album in late 2004, which peaked at #14 on the album chart and was later certified gold. Simpson appeared on The Dukes of Hazzard soundtrack, releasing "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", 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. The song's video featured Jessica as Daisy Duke. It contains scenes of her flirting and singing in a bar and then later washing the General Lee car, while wearing a skin-tight, revealing pink bikini. In some countries the video was banned for its overtly sexual content. Jessica received criticism from a Christian group calling itself "The Resistance", for the sexualized image she used in the music video for "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'". In response, Jessica stated, "It didn't really surprise me because I grew up with a lot of that backlash. That's why I didn't end up going into the Christian music industry. I think that if they're really good Christians the judgment wouldn't be there."
In the summer of 2005, Jessica made her first appearance in a motion picture as Daisy Duke in the movie version of the television series The Dukes of Hazzard. The film was #1 at the box office its opening weekend, and grossed $30.7 million on 3,785 screens. It also had an adjusted-dollar rank of #14 all-time for August releases. The film eventually collected $110.5 million worldwide, although it was much less financially successful outside the U.S.
In 2006, Jessica then returned to the recording studio, switching labels from Columbia to Epic Records. On 29 August 2006, she released her fourth album A Public Affair, the album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, with 101,000 copies sold in its first week, and spent 10 weeks on the Billboard. The album sold 300,000 copies in the U.S. and 800,000 worldwide, a low figure compared with her previous albums.
The first single from the album, bearing the same name "A Public Affair", debuted at 39, her highest debut after "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", coming after the # 14 on the Hot 100, the single also hit number 1 on the Hot Dance Club Play. Internationally, it reached the Top 10 in Canada and Ireland. The video features appearances by Eva Longoria, Christina Applegate, Christina Milian, Maria Menounos, Andy Dick, and Ryan Seacrest. The second and final single from the album, was "I Belong To Me", which won by a poll on its website. It was released on September 26 and peaked at #110 in U.S. The single's video appeared on TRL countdowns, but quickly fell off.
Jessica's second film, Employee of the Month, was released October 6, 2006. With poor reviews, the film took in $11.8 million in its opening weekend, debuting at #4 just behind Open Season.
In December 2006, while performing a tribute to Dolly Parton at the Kennedy Center Awards, she botched the lyrics, getting flustered in front of a crowd that included prominent persons such as Steven Spielberg, Shania Twain, and President George W. Bush. Though Jessica was given the chance to redo the song for cameras, her portion was edited out of the CBS broadcast.
In December 2007, Jessica co-starred with Luke Wilson in her third film, Blonde Ambition. The film opened in eight theaters in Texas (the home state of both Simpson and Wilson), and earned US$6,422. It was released on DVD in January 2008. Blonde Ambition fared better overseas, where it grossed $253,008 in the Ukraine its opening weekend.
In September 2007, Jessica's father Joe Simpson stated to People magazine that Jessica was considering doing a country album. Joe Simpson told People that she is "talking about doing a country record and going back to her roots, being from Texas."
"Come On Over", first leaked onto the internet on May 27, 2008. Shortly after country radio stations around the country began giving the single radio play. In the United States, "Come on Over" became the most-added song to country radio for the week of June 6, 2008, debuting at number 41 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It broke a record held by Miranda Lambert ("Me and Charlie Talking") and Brad Cotter ("I Meant To") for highest-debuting first chart entry by a solo artist; both artists debuted at number 42 on that same chart. The video for the first single, "Come On Over", premiered on Jessica's official website in July 2008. The single peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. Prior to the albums release, Simpson performed at select state fairs and visited various country music radio stations in order to promote the album. The country album, entitled Do You Know, was released on September 9, 2008. The album fully leaked onto the internet on August 28, 2008. The album debuted #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart in both the US and Canada, giving Jessica her first #1 album of her career. She opened for Rascal Flatts on their "Bob That Head Tour" from January 17 through March 14, 2009. The album's second single "Remember That" was released to country radio on September 29, 2008. The single peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and dropped off the chart by the end of December 2008. The album's third single was "Pray Out Loud", which failed to chart.
Jessica's next movie, Major Movie Star (later renamed Private Valentine: Blonde and Dangerous) was released straight to DVD on February 3, 2009.
On April 7, 2009 Simpson's rep confirmed with Us Weekly that she and label Sony Nashville were parting ways.
In an interview for the March 2010 issue of Allure Magazine, Jessica stated that she is working on a new album. The album will end her contract with her label. She also stated that she will be producing some of the songs on the album.
Jessica hosts a VH1 series, The Price of Beauty, which began airing March 15, 2010 on. Jessica and her father Joe Simpson are the executive producers.
In an interview for the March 2010 issue of Allure Magazine, Jessica said that she is looking for edgier, more intellectual roles. She guest starred on the hit show Entourage on August 1, 2010.
Her first greatest hits compilation, titled Playlist: The Very Best of Jessica Simpson, was released on October 12, 2010. Jessica later revealed that she was working on a second holiday album titled Happy Christmas. It was released on November 22, 2010. On November 25th, 2010, Jessica appeared on NBC's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. On November 30th, 2010, she appeared on NBC's Christmas in Rockefellar Center.