Ashlee Simpson

Ashlee Simpson biography

Ashlee Nicole Simpson (born October 3, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in 2004 with the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography. Her reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show, aired for two seasons. Following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released her second number-one album, I Am Me (2005). Simpson assumed creative control over her third album, Bittersweet World (2008).

Biography

1984-2003: Early life and career beginnings

Simpson was born in Waco, Texas and raised in the Richardson area of Texas. She is the daughter of Tina Ann (née Drew), a homemaker, and Joe Truett Simpson, a former psychologist and Baptist youth minister who works as her manager. Simpson has an older sister, Jessica, who is also a singer and actress. She attended the same schools as her sister, Prairie Creek Elementary and Richardson North Junior High. She is of Scottish, English,and Native American ancestry.

At the age of three, she began studying classical ballet, eventually becoming an accomplished dancer. When Simpson was 11 years old, she enrolled at the School of American Ballet in New York City a year in advance. During this time, Simpson suffered from an eating disorder; the condition lasted for about six months before her parents stepped in and got her the help she needed to overcome the problem. At age 15, Tina and Joe Simpson made the decision to relocate to Los Angeles, California for Jessica's singing career. Subsequently, Ashlee was cast in infomercials.

Eventually, Simpson made appearances in films and television series, including Malcolm in the Middle (2001), a minor role in The Hot Chick (2002), and a recurring role on the family drama series 7th Heaven (2002, 2003, and 2004). In the summer of 2003, she worked as a video personality for MTV. Occasionally, Simpson appeared on Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, a reality show documenting the married life of her sister Jessica and her former husband, Nick Lachey.

2004-05: Autobiography, The Ashlee Simpson Show, and controversy

Following the success of her sister Jessica's first album, Ashlee became one of her backup dancers. Simpson recorded a song entitled "Christmas Past, Present and Future" in 2002 for the holiday album School's Out! Christmas, which was later re-released on Radio Disney Jingle Jams in 2004 and 2005. In the summer of 2003, she released a song called "Just Let Me Cry" for the soundtrack to the film Freaky Friday. After her appearances on the School's Out! Christmas and Freaky Friday albums, Simpson signed a record deal with Geffen Records. Her first album, Autobiography, debuted at number one in the United States in July 2004, with first-week sales of around 398,000 copies. The album was certified triple-platinum by the RIAA in September 2004. Simpson co-wrote all of the album's tracks, describing it as "very true to my emotions", however, critical reviews were mixed. Rolling Stone magazine's Peter Relic characterised the album as a "mundane melange of Avril-ish brat pop and Sheryl Crow cod rock." The single which preceded the album, "Pieces of Me", was one of the biggest hits of the summer in the United States and was certified gold by the RIAA. The follow-up singles, "Shadow" and "La La", were less successful, although the latter became an RIAA-certified gold seller. At the Teen Choice Awards on August 8, 2004, Simpson received the "Song of the Summer" Teen Choice Award for "Pieces of Me", as well as the "Fresh Face" Award. She also won the Billboard Award for New Female Artist of the Year in December, and in the same month, Entertainment Weekly named her one of its Breakout Stars of 2004.

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