Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) 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.

Abilene, Texas, the daughter of Tina and Joe Truett Simpson, who was a minister and psychologist. She began singing at her local Baptist church. She auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club and made it to the finals at the age of twelve. She attended J.J. Pearce High School, but dropped out around the age of sixteen, after releasing a self-titled gospel album, at the age of fourteen. The album, however, failed to make an impact in the US. Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1998.

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.

Meanwhile, Simpson's album Sweet Kisses had gone double platinum, helped by follow-up singles "Where You Are" and "I Think I'm In Love With You", which were both released in 2000. The latter became Simpson's biggest radio hit at that point and was her first release of an uptempo single. But although her debut album sold 2 million copies, sales fell far short of those achieved by Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and unlike the two pop princesses, Simpson was not a worldwide household name. Columbia Records officials reportedly decided Simpson needed a change for her second album.

In 2001, Simpson recorded a follow-up album with what Columbia considered more radio-friendly, up-tempo tracks. The result in that was Irresistible, released in mid-2001 on the heels of the title-track first single. "Irresistible" became one of the biggest hits of her career; it peaked at # 15 on the Hot 100. Irresistible debuted at #6 in June 2001 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, and has sold 825,000 copies to date.

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.

In December 2006, while performing a tribute to Dolly Parton at the Kennedy Center Awards, she botched the lyrics, getting flustered in front of a crowd that included prominent persons such as Steven Spielberg, Shania Twain, and President George W. Bush. Afterward, during the final tribute to Parton, Parton's "biggest fan" Reese Witherspoon and her second cousin Jessica Savelli gave a tearful Simpson a comforting hug. Though Simpson was given the chance to redo the song for cameras, ultimately her portion was edited out of the CBS broadcast.

Luke Wilson co-starred with Simpson in her third film, Blonde Ambition, which was leaked online in December 2007. The movie was released on DVD the following month.

Simpson recently said she is due back in front of the cameras filming her next movie role in "The Witness." She also said she will be publishing a book containing selections from her personal journal and photographs, titled "Look Up To the Sky." Simpson has also been confirmed to be in studio recording with Eddie Galan and Drew Lane.

Jessica's father Joe Simpson stated to People magazine on September 11, 2007, that Jessica is considering doing a country album. Joe told People that Jessica is "talking about doing a country record and going back to her roots, being from Texas."

The country album has been confirmed for a 2008 release, via Columbia Nashville. Her first single from the upcoming album, "Come on Over," leaked on May 27, 2008, but will not be released until July 2008. The country album, entitled Do You Know, is scheduled for a September 9, 2008 release.