Biography: Jessica Simpson

Dance-pop singer Jessica Simpson was born and raised in Dallas, TX, beginning her performing career as a member of her church choir; at 12, she also auditioned unsuccessfully for The Mickey Mouse Club. While attending church camp the following summer, Simpson was discovered by the head of a tiny CCM label and spent the next three years recording her debut album. The label, however, folded before the record could be released, although a small pressing was eventually funded by her grandmother. Nevertheless, the teen became a hit on the Christian Youth Conference circuit, also sharing bills with Kirk Franklin, God's Property, and CeCe Winans.

Seeking to expand her popularity in the secular market, Simpson later signed to Sony and toured in support of boy band sensations 98°. Her 1999 major-label debut, Sweet Kisses, launched the smash "I Wanna Love You Forever." A second studio effort, Irresistible, appeared in spring 2001. Despite the MTV coverage of the album's title track, Simpson's sophomore effort didn't fare as well as her first album. The following year, Simpson married her longtime boyfriend, 98° crooner Nick Lachey. She also went on to appear in several episodes of That '70s Show, but it took Simpson until summer 2003 to become a bona fide celebrity. She and Lachey's MTV-produced reality show, Newlyweds, captured countless moments of the couple's first year of marriage.

Simpson's third album, the much more mature In This Skin, appeared in July. First single "Sweetest Sin" was a moderate chart hit, but thanks to the success of Newlyweds, Simpson's teetering career got a second chance. A second single, "With You," was a favorite among the MTV crowd, and by spring 2004, In This Skin was re-released. It included reworked versions of Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" and Robbie Williams' "Angels" as well as additional footage from the first season of Newlyweds. Simpson spent the rest of 2004 and early 2005 working on the second season of Newlyweds, as well as on her role as Daisy Duke in the Dukes of Hazard movie. Late that year, she and Lachey separated. Soon after, Simpson got to work on her fourth album and also started shooting the movie Employee of the Month. A Public Affair arrived in summer 2006 and was influenced by everything from '80s new wave to contemporary country. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide