Simpson, Jessica

UXL Newsmakers, (2006)

Simpson, Jessica

July 10, 1980 • Richardson, Texas

Singer

Simpson, Jessica. © Nancy Kaszerman/Zuma/Corbis.

Pop star Jessica Simpson's career has been something of a roller coaster ride, rife with stomach-lurching highs and lows and unexpected turns. She began singing Christian music professionally as a preteen and earned a record deal in her early teens. After several disappointments, she made the transition to pop music. Her star never quite reached the heights that Britney Spears achieved—not until she and husband Nick Lachey appeared in their own reality television series, Newlyweds. Then Simpson's career took off with the release of her most successful album to date, In This Skin, the launch of her own line of beauty products, and a sitcom in the works.

Sang in church

Jessica Simpson was born on July 10, 1980, in Richardson Texas, north of Dallas. Her father, Joe, was a psychologist and a youth minister. Simpson's first singing experiences were in the church choir. Her talent was evident at an early age and she had begun performing publicly on the gospel circuit by age eleven. When the budding performer found out in 1992 that the Disney Channel was holding auditions for the New Mickey Mouse Club, she jumped at the opportunity. Simpson tried out at a regional audition in Dallas and was selected out of more than thirty thousand other contestants as a finalist for a cast position. She lost out to Britney Spears (1981–) and Christina Aguilera (1980–). Although she was disappointed, Simpson's close-knit family encouraged her not to give up on her dream of becoming a singer.

Simpson persisted and a year later, at age thirteen, she was discovered while singing at church camp. The camp's guest speaker, who was in the process of launching a record label, saw her belting out an a cappella version of "Amazing Grace." He quickly signed her to the fledgling gospel label, Proclaim Records, and Simpson began working on her first album, Jessica . But once the album was completed, Proclaim Records folded, leaving Simpson with a record but no one to sell it. Once again her family urged her to keep fighting for her dream, and Simpson's grandmother put up the money she needed to release Jessica herself. To promote the album, Simpson and her father hit the Christian music circuit. Joe Simpson would preach to young adults and Jessica would be the featured musical performer. Afterward, Jessica would sell her CD to moved listeners. Simpson became popular on the circuit and proceeded to open for such well-known spiritual performers as CeCe Winans and Kirk Franklin.

Released debut pop album

Sweet Kisses was released in 1999. The album contained catchy ballads and pop tunes, all emphasized by the singer's expressive vocal ability. Jessica Simpson performs at VH1 Divas concert, April 18, 2004. Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com. The album climbed the charts and eventually reached platinum status. The same year Simpson also recorded "Did You Ever Love Somebody" for the soundtrack to the popular television show Dawson's Creek. Simpson, well on her way to becoming a major star, toured to promote her album, opening for well-known artists such as Latin pop star Ricky Martin and boy band 98 Degrees. "It was an amazing time for me," Simpson commented on her Web Site. "I was 17 and seeing the world, doing what I loved and doing it in a way that felt right." Simpson also began dating Nick Lachey (1973–), a member of 98 Degrees.

Simpson shortly found herself a major player in the teen pop arena, sharing chart space and magazine covers with other female hit makers including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Mandy Moore (1984–). The Texas-born vocalist was able to distinguish herself by both exercising her talent and presenting a sexy, though wholesome image. "My whole thing is that I think innocence is sexy. That's my image—that you can be sexy and innocent," Simpson told Ray Rogers in Interview. Simpson was an advocate for premarital abstinence and worked hard to be a positive role model for teen girls. In 2000 she turned down the lead in the film Coyote Ugly because a particular sex-inclusive scene conflicted with her values.

In 2001, Simpson released her sophomore effort, Irresistible, which was a more sophisticated record that reflected the singer's maturity. "This record is about who I am now," she told Cosmopolitan. "The music is edgier, and I'm all gown up." Now twenty-one years old, Simpson had learned who she was as a person and an artist. This album, however, did not fare as well commercially as Sweet Kisses.

Branching out into acting, Simpson made a guest appearance on That '70s Show in 2002, reprising this role twice more in 2003. She also appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone. She then took on a role that would bring her both personal happiness and professional success: the role of wife. Although she and Lachey had broken up for a period of six months in 2001, in part because Simpson, who was eighteen when she began dating Lachey, needed some time on her own to learn who she was independent of a relationship. But the pair soon realized that they belonged together. On October 26, 2002, the two were married. MTV chronicled their lives as a newly married couple with Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, which debuted in August of 2003. The reality show became a huge hit, with 2.7 million viewers tuning in each week. "Going into the show, we both were very clear to each other that we wanted it to be raw and natural and we weren't going to be afraid to fight," Lachey told Entertainment Weekly. And so, in addition to the adjustments that came with married life, the couple also had to adjust to the presence of cameras. But they soon got used to the cameras. "We don't have anything to hide.... We wanted people to know how normal we are—that we get frustrated dealing with newlywed things," Simpson told Redbook.