What Happened to Ashlee Simpson?

By CelebPaid Editorial Team · 8 min read

Ashlee Simpson.Image via Wikimedia Commons

The Rise to Fame

Ashley Nicolle Ross-Næss (née Simpson; born October 3, 1984), also known as Ashlee Simpson, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. The younger sister of singer and actress Jessica Simpson, Simpson began her career as a backup dancer for her sister and appeared in television commercials at the age of 15. She later pursued acting, landing a main role on the family drama 7th Heaven. She also appeared on the MTV reality series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, which aired from 2003 to 2005 and followed Jessica and her then-husband, Nick Lachey. While recording her debut studio album, Simpson starred in her own spin-off reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show, which aired on MTV from 2004 to 2005 and brought her increased media attention.

Simpson achieved her musical breakthrough with her 2004 debut single, "Pieces of Me", which reached the top five of the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart. The success of the single and her reality series helped propel her debut album, Autobiography (2004), to number one on the US Billboard 200. The album sold more than five million copies worldwide, becoming her most commercially successful album. Simpson subsequently had a leading role in the film Undiscovered (2005), which was a critical and commercial failure. Her second studio album, I Am Me (2005), debuted atop the Billboard 200, becoming her second consecutive number-one album, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The Peak Years

Following her appearance as Roxie Hart in the West End production of Chicago, Simpson began working on her third studio album. Departing from the pop-rock sound of her previous releases, Bittersweet World (2008) incorporated dance-pop and 1980s influences and received generally positive reviews. The album reached number four on the Billboard 200 but experienced a significant decline in sales compared with her previous albums. In 2009, Simpson joined the main cast of the Melrose Place revival. Later that year, she made her Broadway debut, reprising her role as Roxie Hart in Chicago.

Simpson later announced plans for a fourth studio album and independently released the single "Bat for a Heart" in 2012, though the planned album was ultimately scrapped as she shifted her focus toward raising her child. In July 2013, she reprised her role as Roxie Hart for a third time in a two-date production of Chicago at the Hollywood Bowl, directed by Brooke Shields. In October 2018, Simpson and her husband, Evan Ross, released their debut extended play (EP) as Ashlee + Evan through Access Records. The release was supported by a select North American tour and their reality television series, Ashlee + Evan. In April 2026, Simpson was named the winner of season 14 of The Masked Singer.

Life and career

What Changed

1984–2002: Early life and career beginnings

Born Ashley Nicolle in Waco, Texas, in 1984, Simpson is the daughter of Tina and Joe Simpson. She has one older sister, Jessica Simpson. She and Jessica both attended Prairie Creek Elementary and North Junior High in Richardson, Texas, where they were raised. At the age of three, Simpson began studying classical ballet. At eleven, she enrolled at the School of American Ballet in New York City, becoming the youngest person ever to be admitted to the school. Although the school's minimum age requirement was twelve, Simpson's father later admitted to lying about her age. During this period, Simpson suffered from an unspecified eating disorder for approximately six months before receiving treatment with the support of her parents. She has said that she also began singing during childhood and dreamed of performing on Broadway, rather than pursuing a career in pop music. The Simpson family relocated to Los Angeles, California, in 1999 as Jessica pursued a singing career. As Jessica's career began to take off, Ashlee started appearing in television commercials, with her father, Joe, serving as her agent.

Following the commercial success of Jessica's debut album Sweet Kisses (1999), Ashlee joined her sister as a backup dancer on tour. Hoping to pursue an acting career, Simpson made a minor guest appearance on an episode of Malcolm in the Middle. The following year, she had a small role in the Rob Schneider teen comedy film The Hot Chick (2002), portraying 'Monique.' She later joined the seventh season of the family drama 7th Heaven as Cecilia Smith, a role she continued to portray during the eighth season. Simpson appeared in a total of forty episodes as Cecilia. That same year, she recorded the song "Christmas Past, Present, and Future" for the holiday album School's Out! Christmas; the track was later re-released on Radio Disney Jingle Jams following Simpson's musical breakthrough. She subsequently recorded "Just Let Me Cry" for the soundtrack to the film Freaky Friday (2003). Simpson then began writing and recording demos in hopes of securing a record deal. One month after the release of the Freaky Friday soundtrack, it was confirmed that she had signed with Geffen Records to release her debut studio album.

Where Ashlee Simpson Is Now

2003–2004: Breakthrough, Autobiography and Saturday Night Live incident

It was announced that Jessica Simpson and her then-husband, Nick Lachey, would star in their own MTV reality series, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. The series, which chronicled Simpson and Lachey's lives as a married couple, became a pop culture phenomenon and helped draw greater attention to the Simpson sisters. During the summer of 2003, Ashlee worked as a VJ on MTV's TRL.[2] Following the success of Newlyweds, it was confirmed that Simpson would star in her own reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show. Hoping to distinguish herself from her sister and reduce comparisons between them, Ashlee wanted the series to focus on the recording of her debut album. During this period, Simpson also dyed her naturally blonde hair brown, a change that received considerable media attention.

Simpson wanted her debut album to feature pop-rock music, as she did not consider herself a listener of mainstream pop. The project was produced by John Shanks, with Simpson co-writing every song on the album. She also collaborated extensively with songwriter Kara DioGuardi, who received writing credits on seven of the album's tracks.The album's lead single, "Pieces of Me", became a commercial success in the United States, reaching the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Mainstream Top 40 chart. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of 500,000 copies. Her debut album, Autobiography, was released on July 20, 2004, to generally mixed reviews from critics. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in the United States, selling an estimated 398,000 copies in its first week. It was the best-selling debut album by a female artist that year and had sold more than 2.5 million copies in the United States by January 2005. The album's commercial success, along with that of its lead single, was widely attributed in part to the exposure Simpson received from her reality television series. Autobiography ultimately sold more than five million copies worldwide.

Legacy

On October 23, 2004, Simpson appeared as the musical guest on an episode of Saturday Night Live to promote Autobiography. After suffering from what she described as vocal cord inflammation caused by acid reflux, Simpson said she had nearly lost her voice and decided to use a pre-recorded vocal track as support during her performances. Her performance of "Pieces of Me" proceeded without incident; however, as she prepared to perform "Autobiography", the vocal track from "Pieces of Me" was mistakenly played. Simpson briefly performed a jig before leaving the stage, later apologizing during the closing credits and attributing the incident to her band playing the wrong song. The incident generated widespread media attention and criticism over Simpson's use of pre-recorded vocals. Days later, Simpson called music video series Total Request Live and said that she had almost completely lost her voice. A 60 Minutes segment filmed behind the scenes that night and broadcast the following week showed Simpson struggling with her voice during rehearsals and eventually leaving the studio in tears. SNL producer Lorne Michaels later stated that he had been unaware of the plan to use pre-recorded vocals and would not have permitted it had he known. Reflecting on the incident, Simpson said, "I made a complete fool of myself."

Despite the negative media attention surrounding the incident, Simpson continued promoting Autobiography. "Shadow" was released as the album's second single in the United States, though it was not released as a single in European territories. While it failed to match the commercial success of its predecessor, it reached the top twenty of the Mainstream Top 40 chart, becoming Simpson's second hit on the chart. Lyrically, the song addressed Simpson's feelings about growing up in the shadow of her older sister's success and received a positive critical reception, with some critics identifying it as a highlight of the album. "La La" was released as the album's third and final single in January 2005 and similarly failed to match the success of "Pieces of Me." Despite peaking relatively low on the Hot 100, the song was certified gold by the RIAA and served as the album's second single in European territories. At the Teen Choice Awards on August 8, 2004, Simpson received the Choice Music: Song of the Summer award for "Pieces of Me", as well as the Fresh Face award. She also received the Billboard Music Award for New Female Artist of the Year in December, and that same month, Entertainment Weekly named her one of its Breakout Stars of 2004.

2005–2007: I Am Me, touring and Broadway

Frequently asked questions