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Debuting as an adorable,
all-American-looking pop singer with
a powerful vocal range and squeaky
clean image, Jessica Simpson
initially stood in the shadows of
her equally young, equally blonde
pop predecessors Britney Spears and
Christina Aguilera in her early
career. Routinely compared to the
two divas—sometimes unfairly—Simpson
has struggled to be nothing more
than herself. Yearning to make her
mark, Simpson found her true voice
not in music, but on television. As
the star of “Newlyweds: Nick &
Jessica” (MTV 2003- ), a reality
show co-starring husband Nick Lachey,
formerly of the deflated pop band 98
Degrees, Simpson has become a
household name. But because of her
frequently naive, sometimes needy
and often spoiled demeanor and near
constant goof-ups on the show
(a.k.a. “pulling a Jessica”),
Simpson has propelled beyond mere
celebrity into the realm of cultural
zeitgeist.
Born on July 10, 1980 in Dallas,
Texas, Simpson was raised in a
strict Christian home. Her father,
Joe Simpson, was a minister at her
local parish, as well as being a
professional psychologist (and later
Simpson’s manager). When she turned
12, Simpson received a purity ring
as a gift from her dad--a silver
band with a cross to be worn until
her wedding day. According to
Simpson, she indeed retained her
virtue until she married Lachey.
Simpson’s talents as a singer were
apparent at an early age when
singing gospel at her dad’s church.
At 12, Simpson attempted to break
into show business by auditioning
for “The Mickey Mouse Club” (Disney
Channel, 1988-1995), but lost the
part to the likes of Spears and
Aguilera--already, the two future
stars were dogging Simpson’s career.
The following summer, after her
failure with “The Mickey Mouse
Club”, Simpson was discovered by the
head of a small label, CCM, while
singing at a church camp. Simpson
spent the next three years recording
her debut album, but the label
folded before it could be released.
Her grandmother funded a small
pressing of the album, but it failed
to make any impact in the
mainstream. However, Simpson was a
hit on the Christian Youth
Conference circuit, where she sang
with such gospel biggies as Kirk
Franklin and Ce Ce Winans. In 1997,
she made another push into the
mainstream and was signed by Sony
after singing an a cappella version
of “Amazing Grace” in then-CEO Tommy
Mottola’s office. Columbia Records
later released her first official
album, Sweet Kisses, in 1999. The
album would go on to sell close to 2
million copies, and the single, I
Wanna Love You Forever, almost went
platinum as well. However, her
follow-up albums, Irresistible and
In This Skin, didn’t fair nearly as
well.
Despite slumping record sales,
Simpson kept her career alive in
other mediums: the singer cameoed as
herself in the Dana Carvey comedy
"Master of Disguise" (2002) and in
2003, she landed a recurring role as
Annette, a girlfriend of Kelso
(Ashton Kutcher) on “That 70’s Show”
(Fox, 1998- ) and also starred in an
episode of “The Twilight Zone” (UPN,
2002-2003) called “The Collection”.
As Miranda Evans, Simpson played a
babysitter who looks after a young
girl and her dolls, only to discover
that she is slated to be next in the
collection.
But Simpson’s greatest claim to fame
emerged with her MTV reality show
with hubby Lachey. Though the cable
channel didn’t have high hopes at
first, the show proved to be an
instant hit, thanks in large part to
Simpson’s routine gaffes. In one
infamous episode, Simpson confused
Chicken of the Sea with actual
chicken; in another, she refused to
have Buffalo wings because she
didn’t “eat buffalo”. Upon learning
that the Happy Hour favorite wasn’t
made of actual buffalo, Simpson
added to the confusion: “Why name it
a Buffalo wing when it’s not
buffalo?” But Simpson took the
inevitable jibes at her intelligence
in stride, even going so far make
the dumb blonde routine a conscious
part of her celebrity image. And it
was Simpson who laughed last, as her
show, once anticipated to be a
ratings dud, was renewed for a
second and third season.
Simpson’s third album, In This Skin,
released amid heavy cross-promotion
with the show, did not fare
particularly well on the charts at
first, but eventually became
something of a sleeper hit upon
re-release as her star continued to
rise (Lachey's simultaneously
launched solo album did not fare as
well). As the couple's popularity
skyrocketed, ABC inked them to host
their own variety special, "The Nick
and Jessica Variety Hour" (2004),
which aired on Easter Sunday and
drew sky-high ratings with 11.5
million viewers--high enough to
prompt the network to sign the
couple for a Christmas follow-up,
"Nick & Jessica's Family Christmas"
(2004), and "Nick & Jessica's Tour
of Duty" (2005), a special in which
they entertained U.S. troops in
Iraq. The couple's high profile
proved to be a marketing bonanza
(Simpson launched cosmetic and
clothing lines, and garnered
commercial endorsements for the
likes of Pizza Hut's Buffalo wings)
and also fueled the career of
Jessica's younger sister,
singer/actress Ashlee Simpson, who
also earned her own MTV reality show
and album deal.
The downside of the young couple's
newfound fame was that they were
suddenly fodder for a seemingly
endless array of cover stories among
the weekly celebrity gossip
magazines, usually weighing in on
the state of their marriage. Almost
as soon as Simpson was cast as
cutoff-clad Southern Belle Daisy
Duke in the big screen remake of the
fondly recalled '70s series "The
Dukes of Hazzard" (2005) her star
was shining even brighter than ever,
and even though Lachey had ventured
into acting as well with a recurring
role on The WB's "Charmed" in 2004,
speculation ran rampant that her
higher profile, compounded with
extended periods apart and the
availability of other partners, was
taking its toll on his ego and her
marriage. But even as coverage of
their every outing reached critical
mass on the verge of the "Dukes"
premiere, the couple stood fast and
insisted their bond was enduring.
Meanwhile, Simpson shed a layer of
her feminine "baby fat" and appeared
leaner and more overtly sexy than
ever, steaming up her Bret Ratner-directed
music video "These Boots Are Made
for Walkin'" by washing the film's
car the General Lee in Daisy's pink,
barely there bikini. She took some
flack for her more sexually
provocative image from conservative
Christian groups, but the tyro
actress proved imminently charming
and sunny in her big screen debut,
though Meryl Streep had nothing to
worry about.
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