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Simpson
received widespread notoriety when she attempted to lip-sync with a
pre-recorded vocal track on Saturday Night Live in October 2004.
Following
a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released a
second number-one album, I Am Me, in October 2005. Her third album,
Bittersweet World, was released in April 2008. The following month, she
married musician Pete Wentz and announced that they were expecting a
child. On November 20, 2008, Simpson gave birth to their son, Bronx
Mowgli Wentz. Simpson filed for divorce on February 8, 2011, citing
"irreconcilable differences."
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When Simpson first broke onto the
music scene in 2004, she was set apart from her sister's already
established image by a different musical style, different fashion
choices, and a more assertive personality. Simpson's songs have been
characterized by rock elements absent from her sister's music, and,
particularly during the time of her initial stardom, Simpson would often
wear outfits highlighting a more rock or punk-influenced sense of
style. Her fingernails and toenails have often been painted black. Over
time, Simpson has moved toward more typically feminine styles. In March
2008, she said that "I like to get dressed up now, and that's something
I've never been into before" and "I like to be feminine and sexy."
According to Simpson, in her sense of style she tends to "mix and
match".
Previously blonde like Jessica, she dyed her hair dark
during the recording of the MTV reality show after she finished filming
for the 7th Heaven television series. In November 2004, she debuted a
shorter haircut with the same dark color. Following the end of her
Autobiography tour, in early May 2005 she moved back to a blonde color;
she remained blonde until January 2008, when she appeared with a red
hair color. During her stint on Broadway, she dyed her hair black.
Recently, she dyed her hair back to a bleached blonde paired with a
pixie cut.
She has seven tattoos, including a star tattoo on one
wrist, two cherries on her ankle, the word "love" on her other wrist,
the number "3" added to one wrist in 2007, and a large peony flower on
one wrist in early March 2008.
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In November 2005,
eTalk broadcast a video of a late-night visit made by Simpson to a
McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Toronto, Canada. Simpson appeared to
be intoxicated in the video, and was shown arguing with an employee, as
well as rejecting a customer's attempt to get an autograph from her
because he wouldn't kiss her feet. According to Simpson in a 2006 Elle
interview, she was "a little tipsy", and the customer had first called
her "gross" before he had realized who she was, at which point he asked
her for an autograph. She said that she told herself to "grow up" after
the incident.
Simpson reportedly had a nose job in April 2006.
When asked about it in an interview in May, Simpson neither confirmed
nor denied it. In the May 2007 issue of Harper's Bazaar, she said that
she was not insecure about her appearance and had not been beforehand.
She said that plastic surgery was a "personal choice" that one should
only decide to do for oneself and not for others. Joe Simpson said of
the surgery in a September 2007 interview that "there was a real problem
with her breathing and that was cured". In March 2008, she said that
"as long as people have two eyes" they could determine whether she had a
nose job.
Simpson married Fall Out Boy Bassist/lyricist Pete
Wentz on May 17, 2008 in Encino, California at Simpson's parents'
residence, where Ashlee's father officiated at the ceremony.
The
couple announced that they were engaged on April 9, 2008. Simpson had
previously been wearing what she described as a "promise ring" from
Wentz for several months. On April 14, Us Weekly and OK! magazine
reported that Simpson was pregnant. Wentz promptly denied this in an
e-mail to MTV News, although Simpson, in an interview the next day,
chose not to confirm or deny the report, saying that it was something to
"keep personal", and on TRL she noted that rumors claiming she was
pregnant had been appearing for so long that, if they were all true, she
"would have had a baby by now". She changed her legal name from Simpson
to Wentz and wished to be known professionally as Ashlee Simpson-Wentz.
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On May 28, 2008,
Simpson and Pete Wentz announced on Fall Out Boy's official website
that they were expecting their first child. "While many have speculated
about this, we wanted to wait until the press was gone to have our first
child. This is truly the most joyous time in our lives and we are
excited to share the happy news and start our family." That fall, Pete
said they were "90% sure it was a boy". On November 20, 2008, Simpson
gave birth to their son, Bronx Mowgli Wentz.
Simpson was ranked
in the Billboard Decade-End Chart at #145 of Billboard 200 artists,
while Autobiography was ranked at #148 on the Billboard 200 Albums.
On February 9, 2011,
it was announced that Simpson had filed for divorce from husband Pete
Wentz, citing irreconcilable differences. In the filing she asked for
joint legal custody with visitation for Wentz but sole physical custody
and spousal support. She also asked that her name be restored to her
birth name of Ashlee Nicole Simpson.
1984–2002: Early life and career beginnings
Simpson
was born in Waco, Texas, and raised in Richardson, Texas. She is the
second daughter of Tina Ann (née Drew), a homemaker, and Joe Truett
Simpson, a former Baptist youth minister who is now her manager. She
attended Prairie Creek Elementary. Simpson began studying classical
ballet at the age of three. She eventually became an accomplished dancer
and was admitted to the School of American Ballet in New York City at
the age of 11, a year in advance. Around that time, she suffered from an
eating disorder; the condition lasted about six months, but her parents
then stepped in and got her the help she needed to overcome the issue.
After her sister Jessica Simpson landed a record deal, the Simpson
family decided to move to Los Angeles, California, where Ashlee began
appearing in television commercials.
When her older sister
Jessica became a star after releasing her first album, Ashlee became one
of her backup dancers. Later, Ashlee began appearing in films and
television series, including an episode of the sitcom Malcolm in the
Middle in 2001, a minor role in the 2002 film The Hot Chick and a
recurring role, 39 episodes from 2002–2004, on the family drama series
7th Heaven.
Simpson recorded a song called "Christmas Past,
Present and Future" in 2002 for the holiday album School's Out!
Christmas, later to be re-released on Radio Disney Jingle Jams in 2004
and 2005.
edit 2003–2005: Reality television, Autobiography, film debut and I Am Me
In the summer of 2003,
Simpson released a song titled "Just Let Me Cry" for the soundtrack of
the film Freaky Friday. Eventually, she signed a record deal with Geffen
Records.
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Simpson occasionally appeared on
Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, a reality show about the married life of
Jessica and her then-husband Nick Lachey. To accompany and build
interest in the beginning of her own music career, Simpson filmed and
appeared on her reality television series, The Ashlee Simpson Show,
which aired in a subsequent time slot to Newlyweds, and whose theme was
the title song from her debut album, Autobiography. It ran in the U.S.
for eight weekly episodes over the summer of 2004 (a second season of 10
episodes aired from January to March 2005). The show dealt with the
process of writing, recording and performing Simpson-Wentz's music, as
well as aspects of her personal life.
Simpson's first album,
Autobiography, debuted at number one in the U.S. in July 2004, with
first-week sales numbering around 398,000 copies. The album was
certified triple-platinum in September 2004. Simpson co-wrote all of the
album's tracks and described it as "very true to my emotions" in one
interview, but critical reviews were mixed. Rolling Stone magazine's
Peter Relic characterised Autobiography as a "mundane melange of
Avril-ish brat pop and Sheryl Crow cod rock." E! Online wrote, "Even if
it doesn't wow you, Autobiography may surprise you." The single that
preceded the album, "Pieces of Me," was one of the biggest hits of the
summer in the U.S. and sold well elsewhere. However, the follow-up
singles, "Shadow" and "La La," were less successful.
When
appearing for live performances, Simpson performs with a backing band.
During the period from 2004 to 2006, the band consisted of Ray Brady
(guitar), Braxton Olita (guitar), Joey Kaimana (bass guitar—from 2004 to
2005 Zach Kennedy filled this role), Chris Megert (keyboards and
vocals—from late 2004 to 2005 Lucy Walsh filled this role) and Chris Fox
(drums).
In addition to her own first album, Simpson sang a duet
of the Christmas song "Little Drummer Boy" with her sister Jessica for
the album Rejoyce, which they had sung together during the ABC variety
hour special Nick & Jessica's Family Christmas.
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. In addition, she won a Billboard Award for New Female
Artist of the Year in December, and in the same month, Entertainment
Weekly Magazine named her one of its Breakout Stars of 2004. Simpson
also co-hosted Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve along with Regis
Philbin (in Dick Clark's absence) at the end of the year, hosting the
west coast portion of the show and performing three songs.
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Simpson's first North American tour
ran from mid-February to late April 2005, and its opening acts were
Pepper's Ghost and The Click Five. In addition to material from
Autobiography, Simpson performed her own unreleased song "Hollywood,"
The Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket," Blondie's "Call Me" and Madonna's
"Burning Up." She said that the tour would be "stripped down," without
pyrotechnics, and that "it's gonna be me and my band getting out there
and having fun." In March 2005, Simpson said that The Ashlee Simpson
Show would conclude at the end of its second season, the last episode of
which aired at the end of the month.
Simpson had a
supporting role as an aspiring actress named Clea in Undiscovered,
originally titled Wannabe, an independent film that was released in
theaters in August 2005. Simpson filmed her scenes in late 2004. While
Simpson's performance was met with acceptable reviews, the film itself
was trashed by critics and placed outside of the top 10 in its opening
weekend, earning just $676,048. Her performance in the film earned her a
Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.
Simpson's second
album, I Am Me, was released in on October 18, 2005. Simpson said that
she had wanted to incorporate the feel of music from the 1980s on the
album, and that unlike her debut, it would focus less on relationships
and more on herself. I Am Me debuted at number one, with roughly 220,000
copies sold, but sales quickly deteriorated; by April 2006, it had sold
a little less than 900,000 copies in the United States and 3 million
copies worldwide, according to Simpson's biography. Its first single,
"Boyfriend," became a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and performed
similarly elsewhere. The second single, "L.O.V.E.," reached the U.S. top
25; its success aided by a remix by R&B/hip-hop producer Missy
Elliott and MTV's heavy rotation of the single's music video. It has
been her most successful video to date on Total Request Live.
Simpson
began a concert tour in late September in Portland, Oregon and appeared
on the October 8, 2005 episode of SNL to promote the album. The first
of Simpson's two performances on the show was of the ballad "Catch Me
When I Fall," which was written about her previous SNL experience, and
she thanked the crowd after her second performance. In mid-December,
Simpson collapsed after performing in Japan, possibly due to exhaustion.
She was briefly hospitalized, and consequently canceled an appearance
at the Radio Music Awards.
Simpson and her sister Jessica were
scheduled to appear in Rolling Stone magazine in a shoot shot by
photographer David LaChapelle in 2005, but upon hearing the concept,
both sisters were said to be uncomfortable with LaChapelle's raunchy
ideas and canceled, outraging the photographer. He ranted to the press
in early 2006, calling them "everything that's wrong with music."
Furthering his statement, LaChapelle said he was just trying to "make
the Simpsons look cool. I realize now that is an impossible task."
LaChapelle planned to have the sisters "down and dirty" and appearing
with snakes.
2006–08: Theater, Bittersweet World, pregnancy, and marriage
Simpson
appeared on the December 2005/January 2006 cover of Teen People with
her sister Jessica, and could also be seen on the December 2005 issue of
Blender, Cosmopolitan magazine's January 2006 edition, the March 2006
issues of Seventeen and Elle, the April 2006 issue of Jane, the
June/July 2006 issue of Teen People (in which she was named one of its
"25 hottest stars under twenty-five"), the July 2006 issue of Marie
Claire, and the September 2006 issue of CosmoGirl.
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Simpson won a Kelly Slater/MTV
celebrity surfing invitational competition, which also featured
celebrities such as Meagan Good, Jack Osbourne (her main competitor
during the competition), Ashley Parker Angel and Tony Hawk, as part of
an MTV-sponsored 'Spring Break' Special in March 2006. On April 12, 2006
she hosted and performed at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards, where
she won "Best Female Artist" and "Best Pop Video" (for "Boyfriend"). A
new single, "Invisible," was released in mid-2006 and reached the top 25
on the Billboard Hot 100. Simpson began a summer tour on June 5, 2006
with Ashley Parker Angel as an opening act; initially The Veronicas also
opened but quit the tour after the first few shows due to a problem
with one of their singers' vocal cords.
Simpson said that after
this tour, which ended in late July, she would be going on vacation,
that she would take her time making her third album, and that she would
look at movie scripts and continue her acting career.
Simpson
played the role of Roxie Hart in the West End production of Chicago to
rave reviews, from September 25 to October 28, 2006. One reviewer called
Simpson's performance in the show "dazzling and near flawless".
In November 2006,
Simpson said that she was going to meet with record executives soon and
begin working on her third album. During 2007, Simpson worked on the
album, which was eventually given the title Bittersweet World, with
producers Timbaland, Kenna, and Chad Hugo. She said that it would have a
more "soulful" sound and more emphasis on beats than guitars.
Geffen
chairman Ron Fair said in December 2006 that working on Simpson's next
album would be "very tricky" because of press scrutiny and "prejudices",
but that Geffen would work with her to overcome that, "because she
deserves to be heard and she deserves a shot." A March 2007 interview
with EW.com suggested she was working with a variety of musicians for
her new album.
In October, the album's release was delayed to the
first quarter of 2008. The album's first single, the Timbaland-produced
"Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)", was released as a digital download in
December 2007.
In an interview with Cosmogirl for its December
2007/January 2008 issue (for which she was the cover girl), Simpson said
that she had a "stronger vision" for this album and that she challenged
herself by "working with new sounds and new people". She described the
result as a "fun party album" with a "silly and quirky" side. Regarding
her future plans, she said that she wanted to take some small movie
roles and eventually move into bigger roles. She also said she would
like to do theater again and to someday have a clothing line.
Simpson
has described the album as having some influences from '80s music while
still incorporating some pop/rock. She intends to go on tour to support
the album. Its second single, "Little Miss Obsessive", was released in
March 2008.
Bittersweet World was released in the U.S. on April
22, 2008. Reviews for the album were characterized as mixed. A
collection of tops designed by Simpson was launched by the clothing
retailer Wet Seal on April 22, in connection with the album's release.
Simpson
began appearing in commercials for Canadian retailer Zellers to promote
their independent clothing line, Request, in mid-2008.
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2009–present: Melrose Place and upcoming fourth album
On March 18, 2009,
Simpson-Wentz appeared alongside her husband in the crime drama series
CSI: NY. She played a drug dealer named Lila Wickfield in Season 5,
Episode 18, "Point of No Return". This marked Simpson-Wentz first acting
role since her stint in the 2006 west end production Chicago.
Simpson
returned to television in the acting role of Violet Foster in Melrose
Place, the CW's revamp of the '90s series Melrose Place. Simpson was
originally signed to the show as a full-fledged cast member, but
producers and CW executives changed their mind and Simpson was let go
from the show after 13 episodes. Multiple rumors surfaced about her
sudden departure, including feuds with cast members, lack of acting
ability and financial issues. Simpson-Wentz stated that she knew all
along that her character would be written out once the murder mystery
storyline had concluded. Her last appearance on the show aired in March
2010. It was later revealed that Simpson's departure was due to the show
needing a "face lift" because of the decreasing viewing figures.
It
was reported on November 5, 2009, that Simpson-Wentz would reprise her
role in the Broadway musical production Chicago. It was later confirmed
on November 16, 2009. She began her Broadway run on November 30, 2009
and performed in New York for six weeks. She played 8 shows a week
through February 7, 2010.
After finishing her run in Chicago
Simpson-Wentz stated in an interview that she was going to take a break
to spend time with her son. She also stated that she is ready to record
her fourth studio album, and has been listening to bands on her
husband's record label for inspiration. She did however say she will
continue acting, but wishes to play comedy roles in the future. At a red
carpet event, Simpson confirmed that she is back in the recording
studio working on her fourth album. During an interview with Paper
magazine, Simpson-Wentz stated that the new album would have a “folk
feel” and that she is also creating a fashion line. The fashion line,
which is a collaboration with her sister, Jessica Simpson, will be aimed
at girls aged 7-16. She is the co-creative director of the line, which
is set to be in stores by the end of 2011.
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