Summarise Bio
Simpson was born in Waco, Texas,[1] and raised in Dallas. She is the daughter of Joe Truett Simpson (a former Baptist youth minister who is now her manager) and Tina Ann Drew (a former Sunday School teacher who homeschooled Ashlee).[citation needed] An accomplished dancer, Simpson began studying classical ballet at the age of three, and was admitted to the School of American Ballet in New York City at the age of eleven.[2] Around that time, she suffered from an eating disorder; the condition lasted about six months, and she dropped to about 31 kg (70 pounds) at 159 cm (5ft 2in), but her parents then stepped in and got her to eat more.[3] 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.[4] When Jessica became a star after releasing her first album, Ashlee became one of her backup dancers. Later, she 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 on the family drama series 7th Heaven. In the summer of 2003, recorded a song titled "Just Let Me Cry" for the soundtrack of the film Freaky Friday. Eventually, Simpson signed a record deal with Geffen Records.
More on her album career
Ashlee started dancing at the age of 4 and by the time she was 11 enjoyed the status of being the youngest person ever admitted to the prestigious School of American Ballet. By 14, She was dancing professionally on the road with her older sister, singing sensation Jessica Simpson. She has spent the past three years on tour supporting her sibling and garnering her own fan-base. She appears on the big screen this February in the film The Hot Chick (2002) alongside Rob Schneider. She already has television appearances under her belt including a guest-starring role on "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000). She has also appeared alongside her sister on "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" (1993), "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" (1996), "The View" (1997), "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) and a Disney Christmas show and concert special. Ashlee is in the process of signing her own recording deal and has been talking to MTV about doing her own show. She has also been training with renowned acting coach Janet Alhanti. Currently living in Los Angeles, Ashlee enjoys spending her free time vintage shopping, writing and recording music and hanging out with friends. Her most recent work includes two well-received CDs, "Autobiography" and "I Am Me".
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 emotion" 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.
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 the beginning of her own music career, she got her own MTV reality show entitled The Ashlee Simpson Show, which aired in a subsequent time slot to Newlyweds. It ran in the U.S. for eight weekly episodes over the summer of 2004, and a second season of ten episodes aired from January-March 2005. The show dealt with the process of writing, recording, and performing Simpson's music as well as aspects of her personal life. When appearing for live performances, Simpson performs live with a backing band consisting of Ray Brady (guitar), Braxton Olita (guitar), Joey Kaimana (bass guitar—from 2004-2005 Zach Kennedy filled this role), Chris Megert (keyboards and vocals—from late 2004-2005 Lucy Walsh filled this role), and Chris Fox (drums).
In addition to her own first album, Simpson sang "Christmas Past, Present, and Future" on the 2004 holiday album Radio Disney Jingle Jams and 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".[9][10] In 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 also won a Billboard Award for New Female Artist of the Year in December,[11] and was later named Entertainment Weekly's "Breakout Star of 2004" in January 2005. 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.
Brief Focusing on her Third Album
In November 2006, Simpson said that she was going to meet with record executives soon and begin working on her third album. Simpson also stated that she would like to work with Robert Smith from The Cure, who attended her last performance as Roxie Hart in the musical "Chicago".
Producer 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."
On January 17, 2007, Simpson sent out a message to her fans, saying "I am starting to write and record a new album which I am so excited about", and "I have a good feeling about 2007, and I can't wait for you guys to hear my new album later on this year".
On February 1, 2007, MTV's TRL spoke about Simpson's new music, saying such top artists as Tom Petty, Pharrell Williams, Linda Perry, India Arie, and Will.I.Am want to help Simpson with her third album.
On March 6, 2007 MTV reported that Simpson's next album would have "a more soulful sound" and was planned for release in October 2007. Simpson said she was writing with many different people.
On March 22, 2007 EW.com reported that Joe Simpson revealed she had been writing with Keena and Chad Hugo. She also is said to be working with Timbaland, John Legend, and Tim Rice-Oxley, who worked with Gwen Stefani on a song from her album The Sweet Escape. Simpson is also working on a collaboration with The Cure's frontman, Robert Smith.
In an April 2007 issue of US Magazine, Simpson was quoted to say her album will have a more "mature" sound, yet still remain "rock." In the June 2007 issue of Cosmopolitan, which featured Simpson on the cover, she said that as she was becoming more mature, her music was changing, and she mentioned that the new album would have less focus on relationship trouble and breakups.
- Thanks to Wikipedia for the biography
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