Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson |
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Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10 1980 in Dallas, Texas) is an American pop singer and professional deep-throat artist who rose to fame in the late 1990s by successfully swollowing an entire gallon of semen. She has achieved seven Billboard Top 40 hits and has five gold and two multi-platinum RIAA-certified albums. Simpson starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality show Newlyweds and released her own line of beauty products called Dessert Beauty. She has also begun a career as an actress and is the older sister of Ashlee Simpson, a pop rock singer.
Biography
Early life
Jessica began singing in her Baptist church choir. In 1992, at age 12, she made an unsuccessful audition for The New Mickey Mouse Club, that also starred future pop superstars Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. Jessica later attended J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas and was discovered singing at a church camp by a head of a small contemporary Christian record label. She recorded an album over the next three years; however, the label folded before the record could be released. She dropped out in her senior year to tour and promote her demo album, which was funded by her grandmother, Joyce (thus the reason for the name of her 2004 holiday album, Rejoyce: The Christmas Album). She later earned her GED. During this time, she also toured with the Christian Youth Conference circuit performing with Kirk Franklin, God's Property and CeCe Winans. She and her father sold copies of the album after these performances.
Tommy Mottola of Columbia Records later obtained a copy of the album and, thinking she had potential as a pop singer, signed her to a recording contract.
1999-2001: Musical beginnings
1999 saw the arrival of pop princesses Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera who each received multi-platinum success. Simpsons label had hoped the same with her. As 1999 came to a close, Simpson released her first single "I Wanna Love You Forever" which became a big hit in the states and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Soon afterwards, her album "Sweet Kisses" was released to great sales. Simpson would tour with boy band 98 Degrees to support her new album. It was then when she met her future husband Nick Lachey and the two soon began dating. Unlike the other pop princesses, Simpson was very straight forward about her relationship with Lachey. She was also the first pop princess to admit that she was a virgin, and was waiting until marriage (Spears would soon follow in her footsteps in admitting her virginal ways as well, but to a more famous extent).
Meanwhile, her album "Sweet Kisses" had gone double platinum thanks to the success for her follow up singles "Where You are", a duet with her boyfriend Nick Lachey, and "I Think I'm In Love With You," the latter became Simpson's biggest radio hit at that point and was her first uptempo single to be released. Still, even with her debut album selling 2 million copies, her record label felt that she was still very much less successful than Britney and Christina, who'd gone on to become household names around the globe. It was then when Columbia Records decided that Jessica needed a change for her second album.
In 2001, Simpsons label helped her record her follow up album in which her record label wanted Simpson to sing more radio friendly up-tempo tracks and to lose weight in order to fit in with her competitors. The result in that was "Irresistible," released in mid 2001 on the heels of the title track first single. The new sound and image helped make 'Irresistible' a big hit on the radio, becoming one of the biggest hits of her career and peaking at #15 on the Hot 100. The album debut at #6 in June 2001 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. The album ended up selling 825,000 copies to date.
2002: Marriage to Nick Lachey and TV success
On October 26 2002, at age 22, Jessica Simpson married Nick Lachey. She famously announced that she had remained a virgin until her wedding night.
During the summer of 2003, the reality show, Newlyweds, starring Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey began airing on MTV. Though she was successful before the series began, the show quickly became a pop culture phenomenon and is credited with making her a household name, even among those who did not follow pop music or MTV. “I never knew that just doing the show would give me that pedestal to step on,” Simpson told Blender magazine in a March 2004 feature.[1]
Later that summer, Simpson won three Teen Choice Awards; Female Fashion Icon, Choice Hottie Female, and Female Reality/Variety TV Star for Newlyweds.
Throughout the run of four seasons, Simpson epitomized the stereotypical dumb blonde, most notably when she asked Lachey whether the Chicken of the Sea tuna she was eating was in fact chicken or fish. She also indicated that she believed that buffalo wings were made from actual buffalo. Her ignorance helped turn the show into a huge hit, making the average rating for each episode about 1.4 million viewers while reaching a series peak of about 4 million viewers. Simpson's third album, In This Skin, was released in August of 2003 to coincide with the series premiere of Newlyweds. It debuted at #10 on The Billboard 200 album chart with sales of just 64,000 in its first week. It rebounded after a special collectors' edition was released in April of 2004 and subsequently reached a peak of #2. It was eventually certified triple platinum, fueled largely by the couple’s television success on Newlyweds. It contained the hits "With You" (#14, 2004) and a cover of the Berlin song "Take My Breath Away" (#20, 2004).
The couple appeared in the television special The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour that aired in 2004 and drew comparisons to Sonny and Cher. Simpson released ReJoyce: The Christmas Album in late 2004 which peaked at #14 on the album chart and was later certified gold.
In 2005, Newlyweds won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Reality Show before wrapping shortly after.
Film debut
In the summer of 2005, at age 25, Simpson made her first appearance in a motion picture as Daisy Duke in the movie-remake of The Dukes of Hazzard. The film debuted at #1 at the U.S. box-office[1] performing well.
Simpson also appeared on the film's soundtrack, releasing "These Boots Are Made for Walkin" (#14, 2005) a cover of the 1966 Nancy Sinatra hit. The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Song from a Movie in 2006. A video was created for the song featuring Jessica as Daisy Duke. It shows scenes of her flirting and singing in a bar and then later washing her car in a pink string bikini. In many countries the video was banned for its overly sexual content. Simpson's second film "Employee of the Month" was released October 6 2006. She is currently shooting her third film titled "Blonde Ambition" (2007) and promoting her album "A Public Affair" in the UK, which has a released date of February 5 2007.
Divorce from Nick Lachey
In November 2005, after months of tabloid speculation, Simpson and her husband Nick Lachey officially announced their separation. Simpson filed for divorce on December 16 2005, citing "irreconcilable differences". The couple's divorce was highly publicized worldwide and was reportedly finalized on June 30.
Jessica Simpson reportedly told Jane magazine in October 2006, that she knew her marriage to Nick Lachey was over when he refused to join her on a charity trip to Africa, even though it was on their third wedding anniversary. Questions remain over whether the trip was to celebrate the anniversary or just a PR junket guided by her father/manager who accompanied her on that day.
On February 6, 2007 NewsMax.com reported that Jessica Simpson says she was stung when ex-husband Nick Lachey jumped back into dating after their high-profile breakup. "Oh, it hurt me," the 26-year-old singer-actress says in an interview in the March issue of Elle magazine. "Two or three weeks later? Yeah, I'd say it kind of hurt me." [2]
The couple reportedly sold their Calabasas mansion in which Newlyweds was filmed to Malcolm in the Middle star Justin Berfield for about $3.75 million.
2006: Back to business
On June 30, 2006, Jessica and Nick's divorce was finalized. Simpson hosted the Teen Choice Awards in August of 2006 and appeared on The View in September of 2006 as the first choice of new co-host Rosie O'Donnell.
Jessica looked forward to going back in the studio to record her fourth album with her move to the Epic Records from her previous label Columbia. She decided to switch labels because she wanted a new fresh start in music after her divorce.
Her fourth album, A Public Affair, was released on August 29, 2006 via Epic Records. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 with 101,000 copies sold in its first week. The first single, "A Public Affair" (#14, 2006), reached the Top 20 of the Hot 100 but quickly fell off the charts. The music video for "A Public Affair" featured Eva Longoria, Christina Applegate, Christina Milian, Maria Menounos, Andy Dick and Ryan Seacrest. A second single, "I Belong To Me", was also released through her website and is now included on the CD itself.
In December of 2006, while performing a tribute to Dolly Parton at the Kennedy Center Awards, she botched the words to the song she was singing, saying "I'm sorry Dolly, that made me so nervous." She explained that she had been feeling flustered during the performance (most likely because it was in front of many famous people, including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and even President George W. Bush). Afterwards, during the final tribute to Parton, Parton's "biggest fan" Reese Witherspoon gave a tearful Simpson a hug to make her feel better. Though Simpson was given the opportunity to redo the song for cameras at the end of the show to include in the CBS telecast, she was not satisfied with her second performance either, and she and producers ultimately agreed to edit her portion out of the TV broadcast of the show.
Beauty products
Following in the footsteps of other female musicians, such as Cher and Patti LaBelle, Simpson launched a line of hair and beauty products on the Home Shopping Network. Teaming with celebrity stylist Ken Paves and trained by HSN's first ever home shopping host Bob Circosta, Simpson sells clip-in hair extensions over the air. Hairdo-brand Salon Clip-In Hair from Jessica Simpson and Ken Paves As for the beauty products, they have been discontinued.
Commercial advertisements
Also, Simpson has had many commercials, mainly with Pizza Hut and Proactiv Solution. She also has a commercial with Ice Breakers, along with her sister Ashlee. She has had up to three Pizza Hut commercials, the first in 2004, also with her sister Ashlee, advertising the new Buffalo Wing Pizza. In 2005, she started advertising Proactiv Solution, the number 1 acne treatment in America. In 2006, she premiered another Pizza Hut commercial in the Super Bowl. She sung 'These Bites Are Made For Poppin' in reference to her remake 'These Boots Are Made For Walking'. This was to advertise the new Cheesy Bites Pizza. In 2007, in the Super Bowl yet again premiered her third Pizza Hut commercial, in which she advertised the Cheesy Bites Pizza yet another time. She has also advertised HDTV for her movie, Dukes of Hazzard.
Next project
Simpson will co-star in Blonde Ambition with Luke Wilson. The movie, due out in mid-2007, starts shooting November 27 in Shreveport, Louisiana. As her "A Public Affair" is certified Gold though domestic is less that 300, she will take the record to the UK and promote it there before returning to America to release her next single.
Personal life
Jessica has received a good deal of publicity in the aftermath of her marriage to Nick Lachey. Following their break-up and pending divorce, she was reportedly linked to her Employee of the Month co-star Dane Cook and The Dukes of Hazzard actor/comedian Johnny Knoxville. During the marriage, several reports of a one night stand with Augusta Lee surfaced which both denied at the time. Recently Michael Patti went on Howard Stern's radio show to "admit the truth" of those rumors. Lachey has never stood up against reports that Jessica cheated, saying that he didn't know whether the rumors were true, and he chose not to ask her about them.
Jessica's rep has repeatedly denied that she has dated anyone since her break-up with Lachey. Magazines have also speculated that she was jealous of her ex-husband's growing stardom and relationship with television personality Vanessa Minnillo, though she has publicly denied this.
It has been reported that Simpson had recently gone on a date with Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Tony Romo, although it was later confirmed by TMZ that it was leaked by Jessica's father and that the two had never met.
Numerous public appearances together suggest that Simpson is dating John Mayer, though neither has confirmed the nature of the relationship. Rumors kicked into high gear when Mayer and Simpson spent New Year's holiday together in New York City, both attending Christina Aguilera's New Years Eve 2006 party,[3] with reports indicating that the two were very publicly affectionate. Simpson has also been accompanying John on his tour that kicked off January 25, 2007.[4][5]
Discography
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|---|
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Sweet Kisses
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| File:Jessica Simpson - Irresistible.jpg | Irresistible
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This Is the Remix
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| File:Jessica Simpson - In This Skin.jpg | In This Skin
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| File:Jessica Simpson - Rejoyce.jpg | Rejoyce: The Christmas Album
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| File:Apa 600.jpg | A Public Affair
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Tours
- Heat It Up Tour (2000)
- Dream Chaser Tour (2001)
- Reality Tour Live (2004)
- Tour of Duty (2005)
- A Public Affair With Jessica Simpson (2007)
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Dukes of Hazzard | Daisy Duke | Major Supporting Role | $110,603,876 [2] |
| 2006 | Employee of The Month | Amy Renfro | Major Supporting Role | $35,877,501 [3] |
| 2007 | Blonde Ambition | Katie | Leading Role | TBR |
Notes
- ^ Levy, Ariel (2004). "Queen of the Boob Tube" Blender.com (accessed January 30, 2007)
- ^ "Jessica Simpson: Nick Lachey's Dating 'Hurt Me'". NewsMax.com, Feb. 6, 2007.
- ^ "Simpson, Mayer Ring In New Year Together"
- ^ Warech, Jon (2007). "Jessica Simpson & John Mayer Hit Miami" People.com (accessed January 23, 007)
- ^ Splash News correspondent (2007). "Jessica Simpson will tour with John Mayer for next two and a half weeks" SAWF.org (accessed January 26, 2007)
External links
- American dance musicians
- American pop singers
- American female singers
- American child singers
- Rhythmic contemporary musicians
- American film actors
- American television actors
- That '70s Show actors
- American actor-singers
- Participants in American reality television series
- People from Abilene, Texas
- Baptists from the United States
- 1980 births
- Living people