Jessica Simpson Gallery

Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980 in Abilene, Texas) is an American pop singer and actress who rose to fame in the late 1990s. She has achieved seven Billboard Top 40 hits, and has two gold and three multi-platinum RIAA-certified albums. Simpson starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. She has also begun working as an actress, and is the older sister of Ashlee Simpson, an internationally successful Pop Rock singer and actress.

Simpson released her first single, "I Wanna Love You Forever," which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000. Soon afterward her major label debut album Sweet Kisses was released. Simpson toured with boy band 98 Degrees to promote her new album. She was given a role in the music video for 98 Degrees' hit song "My Everything," playing Nick Lachey's love interest. At that time she and Lachey began dating. After dating for two years the couple cooled their relationship, stating that the "break" allowed them to concentrate on their music careers. Then on September 11, 2001, Lachey was supposed to be flying out of New York City with his group 98 Degrees. When Simpson heard of the attacks on the nation coming from the airport she immediately phoned Lachey to learn his whereabouts. After this scare the couple rekindled the relationship.

During the summer of 2003, the reality show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, starring Simpson and her then-new husband Nick Lachey began airing on MTV. Simpson's third album, In This Skin, was released in August of 2003 to coincide with the series premiere of Newlyweds.

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.[6]

On May 30, 2004, Simpson was chosen to sing the National Anthem at the Indianapolis 500. Later that summer, Simpson won three Teen Choice Awards: Female Fashion Icon, Choice Hottie Female, and Female Reality/Variety TV Star for Newlyweds.

The associated album, In This Skin, debuted at #10 on The Billboard 200 album chart, with sales of 64,000 in its first week. It rebounded after a special collectors' edition was released in April 2004 and subsequently reached a peak of #2. It was eventually certified quadruple platinum. It contained the song "Sweetest Sin", which barely even made an impact on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. However the album did contain the hit singles "With You" (#14, 2004) and a cover of the Berlin song "Take My Breath Away" (#20, 2004), and a lesser hit, a cover of the Robbie Williams song "Angels", which charted just outside the Billboard Hot 100.

November 2005 brought confirmation of rumors that Simpson and Lachey were breaking up. On June 30, 2006, their divorce was finalized. Simpson hosted the Teen Choice Awards in August 2006, and appeared on The View in September 2006 as the first choice of new co-host Rosie O'Donnell.

Simpson then returned to the recording studio, switching labels from Columbia to Epic Records. 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. The single's video appeared on TRL countdowns, but quickly fell off.