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There was a boom in young, blonde pop singers that came around in the late 1990s and early 2000s. You of course had Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, as well as Jessica Simpson. Simpson also embarked on an acting career during the 2000s, though these days she has become much more focused on her family life. As she heads into her 40s, you can’t rule out Simpson being completely done with music, but having three children takes up a lot of her time.

Simpson was born on July 10, 1980 in Abilene, Texas, and lived within the state throughout her childhood where she excelled as a singer in her local church. Simpson wanted to take her vocal talents to the mainstream, auditioning for “The Mickey Mouse Club” and recording work on her own. Simpson initially struggled to find a record label, but would get her big break in her late teens to launch her pop singing career.

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Simpson’s debut album was released just weeks before the 1990s came to an end with “Sweet Kisses” that sold 4 million copies worldwide. The album was propelled by the hit songs “I Wanna Love You Forever” and “I Think I’m In Love With You”. It was around this time that she had started a relationship with 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey, with the couple tying the knot in 2002.

Simpson followed up her debut album with 2001’s “Irresistible”, which had a hit song of the same name. Then came the 2003 release “In This Skin” that became her most successful, reaching number two on the charts. “With You” and “Take My Breath” away here big hits, and Simpson and Lachey had their marriage displayed on reality television. During this time, Simpson had gotten into acting, with a role on “That 70’s Show”, as well as “The Dukes of Hazzard”, “Employee of the Month” and “Blonde Ambition”. 

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The reality television life on “Newlyweds” wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, though. “I felt like I was being a phone, and I didn’t want to continue on with that,” Simpson said. “It wasn’t real anymore. It wasn’t reality. It wasn’t who we were. There was lots of eye-rolling, and that was real stuff...I don’t believe that the show was what tore our marriage apart. Nick and I were very great at being together publicly and on camera.”

At the height of his football career as the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, now-sportscaster Tony Romo had been in a relationship with Simpson that attracted a lot of headlines. The Cowboys had struggled shortly after the two became an item, which led to one of the NFL’s most popular team’s fans throwing out some criticism toward Simpson.

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The couple had dated for nearly two years, making many public appearances. They also made headlines when Romo celebrated his 28th birthday. As a gift to her then-boyfriend, Simpson gave Romo a brand new speedboat, and it wasn’t cheap. It was estimated to set her back $100,000 in total.

A source that was close to SImpson said that the gift had a lot of meaning. “(She’s) hoping that her birthday gift will lead to marriage, and by this time next year she’ll be walking down the aisle with him,” that source said. As we all know now, though, that wouldn’t happen since the couple went their separate ways, but she would find marriage eventually.

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Simpson had met another football player, this time with tight end Eric Johnson, who played for the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints. Simpson and Johnson got married in 2014, her second marriage after her four year nuptials with Nick Lachey. Along the way, Simpson has had three children with Johnson, and lately has had multiple ventures that include being a spokesperson, author and fashion designer.

There haven’t been many music ventures in recent years, though. Since “In This Skin” was released, Simpson has had four albums; two of which were Christmas albums. The most recent was released in 2010 called “Happy Christmas”, with her most recent non-holiday album being 2008’s “Do You Know”.

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In recent years, Simpson has been very open with her personal struggles that have been part of the reason she hasn’t been recording music. Simpson said she became addicted to alcohol and prescription pills, but has now been sober for multiple years. “When I finally said I needed help, it was like I was that little girl that found her calling in life again,” Simpson said. “I found direction and that was to walk straight ahead with no fear. Honesty is hard, but it’s the most rewarding thing we have. And getting ot the other side of fear is beautiful.”