Jessica Simpson

Birth name Jessica Ann Simpson

Born July 10, 1980 (1980-07-10) (age 30)

Abilene, Texas, United States

Genres Pop, dance-pop, R&B, country pop, adult contemporary

Occupations Singer-songwriter, actress, fashion designer

Years active 1993–present

Labels Columbia (1998–2005)

Epic (2005–2009)

Columbia Nashville (2008–2009)

Eleveneleven (2010–present)

Primary Wave (2010–present)

Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, television personality and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, 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 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 starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. She ventured into the country music market in 2008 and released Do You Know.

She has sold 20 million records worldwide. Simpson has a total of records sales in Australia of more than 426,000 copies and was ranked in the # 113 on the 1000 artists chart of ARIA Music Decade Charts (1980–2010). In 2009, Billboard named Simpson as the 95th overall best Artists of the Decade. Simpson also was ranked at number 86 on Billboard 200 Artists, solely based on album sales.

Early lifeSimpson 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.[8] 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.