Jessica Simpson has made headlines recently after reports her close friends were ‘worried’ about her drastic weight loss, but the mom-of-three is no stranger to scrutiny.
The 42-year-old has never been far from the public eye, having stepped into the limelight more than two decades ago.
She first forged a name for herself in the music industry but it was ultimately her marriage to Nick Lachey that cemented her as a household name as the then-couple fronted their own reality show.
Despite the breakdown of their relationship, Simpson used the series as a springboard to expand her career horizons before diving headfirst into the worlds of both film and fashion.
Here, FEMAIL has laid bare Simpson’s climb from ‘anti-sex appeal’ hitmaker to billion-dollar business owner.
Jessica Simpson (pictured in an ad for her own brand) has made headlines recently after reports her close friends were ‘worried’ about her drastic weight loss
The singer suffered a series of setbacks before finally getting her big break in the music industry
Jessica Simpson had suffered a string of setbacks as she attempted to forge a path for herself in the music industry.
Having discovered her talent for singing at a young age, she applied for a series of roles including for TV series The Mickey Mouse Club at 12 years old.
She reached the semifinals alongside artists such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake, but did not make the final cut.
Jessica Simpson (pictured at the 54th Presidential Inaugural Opening Celebration in 2001) had suffered a string of setbacks as she attempted to forge a path for herself in the music industry
Head of Columbia Records Tommy Mottola planned to market Simpson as the ‘anti-sex appeal’ contrast to the likes of Spears and Aguilera (pictured together in 2000)
Simpson was forced to reserve her vocal talent to the church choir, but would not have to wait long until she secured her big break when the head of a Christian music label watched her perform.
The rising star began working on her debut album – simply titled Jessica – but label Proclaim Records went bust before it was released.
Fortunately, Simpson’s grandmother stepped in and bankrolled a test release of the album which was then sent to a number of producers.
It ultimately caught the attention of Tommy Mottola – the head of Columbia Records – in 1997.
The cleaner-cut look seemingly worked wonders and her debut studio album Sweet Kisses, released in 1999, sold more than two million copies in the US alone
The youngster (pictured in 2000) bolstered this by going public with her vow of chastity as she revealed her decision to remain a virgin until marriage
His plan was to market Simpson as the ‘anti-sex appeal’ contrast to the likes of Spears and Aguilera, and the youngster bolstered this by going public with her vow of chastity as she revealed her decision to remain a virgin until marriage.
The cleaner-cut look seemingly worked wonders and her debut studio album Sweet Kisses, released in 1999, sold more than two million copies in the US alone.
Simpson harnessed her success by touring with then-boyfriend Nick Lachey and his band, 98 Degrees, as the opening act on the Heat It Up Tour.
She continued to release music with varying degrees of success before her relationship with Lachey ultimately catapulted her from the music industry onto TV screens across America.
The rising star used her TV debut as a stepping stone into the world of film
Simpson and Lachey got engaged in 2002 and were married by the end of the year at a ceremony in Austin, Texas.
The then-couple became one of the first to make a reality show out of their everyday lives when they starred in MTV’s Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica.
Simpson became a household name across the show’s three seasons as she played up to a ‘dumb blonde’ persona.
Simpson and Lachey became one of the first to make a reality show out of their everyday lives when they starred in MTV’s Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica (pictured)
The couple’s (pictured in 2005) relationship would not last and the show was also forced to come to an end
In one iconic episode, which shot her further into the fame stratosphere, Simpson sat with a bowl of food as she asked: ‘Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it’s tuna but it says, Chicken By the Sea. Is that stupid?’
Simpson previously told Stellar that she did not regret her infamous line as she revealed: ‘Nothing that I’ve said out loud I regret; it’s who I am and the way I see it.’
The couple’s relationship would not last and the show was also forced to come to an end.
It was around this time that Simpson also decided to sex up her image – and the cameras could not get enough.
In 2005, she slipped into a pair of very short shorts to assume the role of Daisy Duke in the film adaptation of The Dukes of Hazzard alongside Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville.
In 2005, she slipped into a pair of very short shorts to assume the role of Daisy Duke in the film adaptation of The Dukes of Hazzard
And in the years that followed she would get a whole host of other titles under her belt including Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous (pictured)
Simpson was able to channel criticism into reality show The Price of Beauty (pictured), which saw her travel across the world to find out what constituted beauty in different cultures
And in the years that followed she would get a whole host of other titles under her belt including Employee Of The Month, Blonde Ambition, and Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous.
In the meantime, Simpson continued to plug away at her music career, but the increased limelight also came with increased scrutiny.
In 2009, while touring with Rascal Flatts, she received backlash about her perceived weight gain.
But she was able to channel the criticism into reality show The Price of Beauty, which saw Simpson travel across the world to find out what constituted beauty in different cultures.
Adding another string to her bow, Simpson plunged headfirst into the fashion industry
Despite having already enjoyed considerable success, the entrepreneur showed no signs of slowing down.
In 2005, she decided to launch a shoe collaboration with Nine West co-founder Vince Camuto as she ventured into the world of fashion.
The brand soon expanded to become an all-encompassing lifestyle company that also produced clothing, fragrances, luggage and other items for women and was reporting revenues of more than $1 billion in 2014.
But it was not all plain sailing.
Despite having already enjoyed considerable success, the entrepreneur showed no signs of slowing down as she ventured into the fashion world (shoe line pictured in 2017)
The brand soon expanded to become an all-encompassing lifestyle company that also produced clothing, fragrances (pictured with the singer), luggage and other items for women and was reporting revenues of more than $1 billion in 2014
A majority share of the Jessica Simpson Collection was purchased by Sequential Brands Group Inc. back in 2015, which left the entrepreneur and mother Tina with only a minority stake of 37.5 per cent in the company.
And the mother-daughter duo would be locked in a two-year battle over the billion-dollar empire.
They discovered that Sequential was struggling financially and contacted the corporation about their plans to regain full ownership as Simpson insisted that she did not want to see her ‘name’ tarnished.
By August 2021, Sequential Brands Group Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
According to Bloomberg in September that year, Simpson had offered to buy the brand out of bankruptcy for $65 million.
Simpson also appeared as a host on the HSN channel while promoting her products alongside mother Tina
Having asserted herself as a fashion mogul, Simpson appeared alongside John Varvatos and Nicole Richie as a mentor on NBC’s Fashion Star
Just one month later, Jessica successfully became the CEO of the Jessica Simpson Collection after two years of determination to reclaim the brand.
In an interview with Footwear News after the victory, Jessica gushed that it ‘means the absolute world to me to be able to take over complete ownership of my brand.’
Having asserted herself as a fashion mogul, Simpson, who also appeared as a host on the HSN channel while promoting her products, appeared alongside John Varvatos and Nicole Richie as a mentor on NBC’s Fashion Star.
The show, which aired in 2012, saw designers compete to win a multimillion-dollar contract to launch their own line in retail stores across America.
In 2015, Simpson was reportedly offered an opportunity to write a motivational book, but said she did not feel comfortable writing something aspirational when she was struggling behind-the-scenes, according to People.
She did eventually decide to put pen to paper, however, and much of her journey was laid bare in her 2020 memoir, Open Book, which topped The New York Times Best Seller list with more than 59,000 copies sold in its first week.
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