Jessica Simpson

Jessica Ann Johnson (née Simpson; born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She began performing in church choirs as a child before signing with Columbia Records in 1997 at age seventeen. Over the course of her career, Simpson has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and built a lucrative business presence with The Jessica Simpson Collection.

Simpson was born in Abilene, Texas, to Tina Ann Simpson and Joseph Simpson, a minister. She was raised in an evangelical Christian family alongside her younger sister, Ashlee. While attending J. J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas, she dropped out in 1997 as her career began, later earning her GED through distance learning. She auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club at age twelve, reaching the semi-finals. She was subsequently signed by a Christian music label, Proclaim Records, though her planned debut album went unreleased when the label went bankrupt.

After catching the attention of Columbia Records head Tommy Mottola, Simpson released her debut single, "I Wanna Love You Forever," in 1999, which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Her debut studio album, Sweet Kisses (1999), sold over two million copies in the United States and earned a double platinum certification. Adopting a more mature public image, she released her second album, Irresistible, in 2001. The record debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, earned a gold certification, and spawned a title track that reached the top twenty.

Simpson gained heightened public attention through her relationship with and 2002 marriage to singer Nick Lachey. From 2003 to 2005, the couple starred in the hit MTV reality television series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. In 2003, she released her third studio album, In This Skin, which eventually sold three million copies in the United States and featured the top-twenty single "With You." During this period, she also starred in the ABC special The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour and released her gold-certified fourth album, ReJoyce: The Christmas Album (2004).

Simpson made her feature film debut as Daisy Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) and recorded a cover of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" for its soundtrack, which entered the top twenty of the Billboard Hot 100. Following her 2006 divorce from Lachey, she signed with Epic Records, released her fifth album A Public Affair (2006), and appeared in the romantic comedy Employee of the Month (2006). She later transitioned into country music with her sixth studio album, Do You Know (2008), followed by a second holiday album, Happy Christmas (2010).

In addition to her entertainment career, Simpson launched The Jessica Simpson Collection in 2005, a fashion-focused line with 34 product categories that grew to generate over $1 billion in revenue. Her later television projects included starring in the reality series The Price of Beauty in 2010 and judging clothing designs on two seasons of Fashion Star from 2012 to 2013.