Jessica Simpson..Sexy Lady!
Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American recording artist, actress, television personality and fashion designer who made her debut in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has made many recordings, starred in several television shows, movies and commercials, launched a line of hair and beauty products and designed fragrances, shoes and handbags for women. She has devoted time to philanthropic efforts including Operation Smile and a USO-hosted tour for troops stationed overseas. She started the Jessica Simpson Collection in 2009.Simpson rose to fame with the release of her debut single, “I Wanna Love You Forever”, which peaked inside the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequently, her debut album Sweet Kisses went on to be certified 2x Platinum in the United States, and sold over four million copies worldwide. Her 2001 single “Irresistible” became her second Top 20 hit, while the album of the same name became her first to enter the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, and went on to receive a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her third studio album, In This Skin, went on to become her best selling album worldwide, receiving a 3x Platinum certification from the RIAA and peaking at number 2 on the Billboard 200, her highest charting album to date. Following the release of a Christmas album, Simpson released A Public Affair in 2006, and the album became her third Top 10 hit on the Billboard 200. She ventured into the country music market in 2008 and released Do You Know. In October 2010, she released her first compilation album and last album under the label of Epic Records, with the name Playlist: The Very Best of Jessica Simpson. A month later she released her second Christmas album Happy Christmas under the label eleveneleven and Primary Wave Records (owned by EMI) . She has achieved seven Billboard Top 40 hits, three gold and two multi-platinum RIAA certified studio albums, four of which have reached the top 10 on the US Billboard 200. Simpson has sold 30 million albums worldwide.Starting in 2003, Simpson starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. The show aired from 2003 to 2005. After her divorce from Lachey, Simpson appeared in films including The Dukes of Hazzard (2005), Employee of the Month (2006), and Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous (2008). Simpson was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The View, The Price of Beauty, and The Early Show. Her appearances on The Price of Beauty gained generally positive reception, pulling in 1 million viewers on its premiere. The show was also nominated for a Teen Choice Award. She also recorded the show’s theme song, “Who We Are”. With her various business endeavors, as well as her entertainment career, Simpson’s net worth is estimated at around $100 million.
Jessica Simpson was born in Abilene, Texas. She is the daughter of Tina Ann , a homemaker, and Joseph Truett “Joe” Simpson, a minister and psychologist. She has a younger sister, Ashlee Simpson, who is also a singer. Simpson’s father gave her a purity ring at the age of 12, and Simpson has often stated she remained a virgin until marriage. Her parents were married in 1978 and filed for divorce in 2012. Simpson has stated that she grew up in Dallas, but her parents now live in McGregor, Texas. Simpson began singing at a local Baptist church, where her father also worked as the congregation’s youth minister. At age twelve, she unsuccessfully auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club. Simpson has stated that they were put in groups and had acting and vocal coaches to help them. According to Jessica, Justin Timberlake was in a group with her. She explained that she had frozen after getting on stage to sing, and later commented that she had felt “intimidated” by the other performers. The following year, Simpson attended a church camp, where she sang Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and an arrangement of “Amazing Grace”. At camp, she was introduced to the founder of Proclaim Records, a minor Gospel music record label. She recorded an album, Jessica, but she was dismissed from the label when it went bankrupt. Jessica was never officially released except for a small pressing funded by her grandmother. When Simpson was sixteen years old, Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola heard Jessica. Mottola was impressed with Simpson’s musical talent and skill. Simpson was immediately signed to the label. She dropped out of J. J. Pearce High School but later earned her GED. Simpson began working with producers such as Louis Biancaniello, Robbie Nevil, Evan Rogers, and Cory Rooney. Biancaniello worked with Simpson on three of the albums eleven tracks, including “I Wanna Love You Forever”, “Where You Are”, and “Heart of Innocence”. Rooney produced the track ‘I Think I’m in Love with You’, which was later released as the album’s third single. During this time, Simpson began dating Nick Lachey. Simpson and Lachey recorded a duet, “Where You Are”, which later became the album’s second single. She also worked with Destiny’s Child.Simpson also collaborated with Sam Watters for the album. Watters produced the singles ‘I Wanna Love You Forever’ and Where You Are’, as well as ‘Heart of Innocence’. Watters also co-wrote the track ‘I Wanna Love You Forever’, along with Louis Biancaniello. Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers also produced the tracks ‘I’ve Got My Eyes On You’ and ‘Betcha She Don’t Love You’ together, though neither tracks were released as singles. Simpson’s label wanted ‘Sweet Kisses’ to be different than that of Aguilera’s and Spears’ debut albums, in that they were sexually risque, especially the lead singles from both albums. For ‘Sweet Kisses’, the label decided they wanted Simpson to be the “anti-sex appeal”, to which Simpson would sing about love and romance rather than sexual themes. Simpson’s “virgin” image was thought as a great idea by the label, who felt that it would draw in listeners by making a girl whom they could relate to. Simpson also announced in an interview that she would be abstinent until marriage, which helped listeners give her the appearance the label was hoping for.
Despite the pair splitting up when Jessica began recording Irresistible, she later began dating Nick Lachey once again. Simpson married Nick Lachey on October 26, 2002. She famously announced she had remained a virgin until her marriage. Following the announcement of their wedding, it was confirmed Simpson and Lachey would star in the reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, which began airing on MTV. The show was originally intended for Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, but the couple decided not to continue with the project after the start of pre-production. It was shelved until 2002, when Jessica’s father and manager, Joe Simpson, contacted MTV about producing a show starring his daughter and her new husband. Newlyweds quickly became a pop culture phenomenon and is credited with making her a household name. “I never knew that just doing the show would give me that pedestal to step on,” Simpson told Blender magazine.Simpson’s third studio album, In This Skin, was released on August 19, 2003 to coincide with the series premiere of Newlyweds. In This Skin, debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200, with sales of 64,000 in its first week.
The album quickly declined down the charts, failing to match the success of Simpson’s previous efforts. By January 2004, the album had sold just 565,000 copies. “With You” was released as the album’s second single, largely in hopes that the song would revive In This Skin on the charts. In the United States, the song debuted at number sixty-five on the Billboard Hot 100, on the issue dated December 27, 2003. In March 20, 2004, the single reached its peak position of number fourteen and stayed on the chart for twenty-three weeks. “With You” became Simpson’s fourth top-forty single in the US and her second highest peak on the chart since “I Wanna Love You Forever” (1999). The song also peaked at number one on Billboard Pop Songs chart and was her first number one on the chart. Due the strong sales, the single was certified Gold by RIAA for selling 500,000 copies. In 2004, Columbia Records decided to re-release In This Skin with several new tracks in order to utilize the success of the singer. With “With You” on the top of the radio charts in February 2004, Simpson released her third single, “Take My Breath Away”, as the first single from the new re-release. The re-release worked as In This Skin jumped to number two on the Billboard charts, selling over 157,000 copies that week. The album stayed in the top ten for eight non-consecutive weeks and stayed in the Top 100 for sixty-one weeks. The album spent a total of 75 weeks on the Billboard 200. In December 2004, In This Skin was certified 3x Multi Platinum by the RIAA for sales more than 3 million copies only in U.S. The album ranked the No. 14 in Billboard Year End Charts Albums 2004. According to Simpson’s biography, the album has sold 4 million copies in US, to date. Simpson and Lachey starred in the television special The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour which aired in 2004 and was compared to The Sonny & Cher Show. In late 2004, Simpson released her first Christmas album, Rejoyce: The Christmas Album. It includes a duet with her sister, Ashlee Simpson, on the song “Little Drummer Boy”. Additionally, it also includes a duet with Nick Lachey, Simpson’s husband at the time, on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”. The cover of Amy Grant’s “Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song)” is notable, as Simpson has said that Grant is one of her favorite recording artists and her role model. Rejoyce was certified gold by the RIAA in January 2005. Its singles are “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” and “What Christmas Means To Me” (although no accompanying video was produced); the song “O Holy Night has a video. In 2005, Newlyweds won a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Reality Show before wrapping shortly after.
Simpson’s VH1 documentary series, The Price of Beauty, began airing in March 2010. The series followed Simpson around the world, introducing viewers to the different perceptions of beauty in different cultures. The premiere episode attracted one million viewers, but Simpson revealed that the series would return in 2011 with a format change. Initially, Simpson planned to release a new studio album that would end her contract with her label, Epic Records. However, a greatest hits compilation, Playlist: The Very Best of Jessica Simpson, was released in late October instead. Simpson’s second holiday album, Happy Christmas, released under eleveneleven and Primary Wave in November 2011. In June 2011, it was announced that Simpson participated as a mentor in NBC’s new reality show Fashion Star with Elle Macpherson. In July 2011, she appeared on Fashion Star alongside Nicole Richie. In May 2010, Simpson began dating Eric Johnson, a retired NFL tight end. They announced their engagement in November 2010. On May 1, 2012, Simpson gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Maxwell Drew Johnson. During the pregnancy, Simpson signed a multimillion dollar endorsement deal with Weight Watchers, in which she agreed to use the Weight Watchers diet plan after birth to lose the approximately 70 pounds she gained during her pregnancy. Her first TV commercial for the company began airing in September 2012.On December 25, 2012, Simpson confirmed her second pregnancy. Simpson also announced she would discontinue following the Weight Watchers diet during her pregnancy.
