Jessica Ann Johnson (nee Simpson; born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress and fashion designer. Simpson signed a recording contract with Columbia Records when she was sixteen, and released her debut studio album in 1999. The album sold over four million copies worldwide, and spawned the top three hit "I Wanna Love You Forever" (1999).

Jessica Ann Simpson was born in Abilene, Texas. She is the first child of Tina Ann (nee Drew), a homemaker, and Joseph "Joe" Simpson, a psychologist and Baptist youth minister. Simpson's parents married in 1978; they divorced in 2013. Simpson has stated that she grew up in Dallas, but her parents now live in McGregor, Texas. Simpson is the first child of the couple; she has a younger sister, Ashlee Simpson. She briefly attended J. J. Pearce High School in her teenage years, though had to drop out as her career began to take off; she later earned her GED. Being the daughter of a minister, Simpson was raised with a strong Christian faith. She was given a purity ring by her father when she was twelve years old. Jessica and her family moved frequently due to her father's job, though they remained in Texas. Her father would often take in unwed mothers for periods of time to provide them shelter.  She began singing in the church choir as a child. When she was eleven, she realized she hoped to achieve success as a singer while at a church retreat. Simpson auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club at the age of twelve, auditioning with a performance of "Amazing Grace" and dancing to "Ice Ice Baby" (1990). She advanced through multiple rounds, eventually being a semi-finalist for the show alongside artists such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake. Simpson claimed that she became nervous about her final audition after seeing Aguilera perform, and she ultimately was not selected for the show. Simpson resumed performing in her church choir, eventually being discovered by the head of a Christian music label. He initially asked her for an audition, and immediately signed her after she performed "I Will Always Love You" (1973) by Dolly Parton. She began working on her debut album with Proclaim Records, and began touring to promote the project. Jessica's father later claimed that she had to quit touring as the size of her breasts led to her being deemed too "sexual" for the genre.  Her debut album, Jessica, remained unreleased after Proclaim Records went bankrupt; despite this, her grandmother did personally fund a limited pressing of the album. Shortly after this, Simpson landed several auditions as Jessica was sent to numerous labels and producers. She ultimately caught the attention of Tommy Mottola, then-husband of Mariah Carey and the head of Columbia Records. He went on to sign her to the label, claiming "She had a great little look and a great attitude, a fresh new face, and something a bit different than Britney and all of them; she could actually sing." Simpson began working on her debut album in Orlando, Florida. Mottola hoped to market Simpson as a contrast to Spears and Aguilera, both of whom had launched successful careers focused on dancing and sexuality. While working on her musical debut, Simpson enlisted her father Joe as her manager; her mother became her stylist. While at a Christmas party in 1998, Simpson met 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey, and the two began a romantic relationship; Lachey claimed that he left the party and proclaimed to his mother that he would marry Simpson some day.

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