.She attended J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas and was discovered singing at a church camp by a head of a small contemporary Christian record label. She recorded an album over the next three years; however, the label folded before the record could be released. She dropped out in her senior year to tour and promote her demo album, which was funded by her grandmother, Joyce (thus the reason for the name of her 2004 holiday album, Rejoyce: The Christmas Album). She later earned her GED. During this time, she also toured with the Christian Youth Conference circuit performing with Kirk Franklin, God's Property and CeCe Winans. She and her father sold copies of the album after these performances.

Tommy Mottola of Columbia Records later obtained a copy of the album and, thinking she had potential as a pop singer, signed her to a recording contract.

2002: Marriage to Nick Lachey & TV success
On October 26, 2002, at age 22, Jessica Simpson married Nick Lachey. She famously announced that she had remained a virgin until a week before her wedding night.

During the summer of 2003, the reality show, Newlyweds, starring Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey began airing on MTV. Though she was moderately successful before the series began, the show quickly became a pop culture phenomenon and is credited with making her a household name, even among those who did not follow pop music or MTV. Later that summer, Simpson won three Teen Choice Awards; Female Fashion Icon, Choice Hottie Female, and Female Reality/Variety TV Star for Newlyweds.

Throughout the run of four seasons, Simpson epitomized the stereotypical dumb blonde, most notably when she asked Lachey whether the Chicken of the Sea tuna she was eating was in fact chicken or fish. She also indicated that she believed that buffalo wings were made from actual buffalo. Her ignorance helped turn the show into a huge hit, making the average rating for each episode about 1.4 million viewers while reaching a series peak of about 4 million viewers. When introduced to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Simpson responded: "You've done a nice job decorating the White House".

Simpson's third album, In This Skin, was released in August of 2003 to coincide with the series premiere of Newlyweds. It debuted at #10 on The Billboard 200 album chart with sales of just 64,000 in its first week. It rebounded after a special collectors' edition was released in April of 2004 and subsequently reached a peak of #2. It was eventually certified triple platinum, fueled largely by the couple’s television success on Newlyweds. It contained the hits “With You” (#14, 2004) and a cover of the Berlin song “Take My Breath Away” (#20, 2004).

 
Simpson at the first military-base showing of The Dukes of Hazzard (2005).The couple appeared in the television special The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour that aired in 2004 and drew comparisons to Sonny and Cher. Simpson released ReJoyce: The Christmas Album in late 2004 which peaked at #14 on the album chart and was later certified gold.

In 2005, Newlyweds won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Reality Show before wrapping shortly after.

Film debut
In the summer of 2005, at age 25, Simpson made her first appearance in a motion picture as Daisy Duke in the movie-remake of The Dukes of Hazzard. The film debuted at #1 at the U.S. box-office but critics panned both the movie and Jessica. The Dukes of Hazzard quickly lost interest from the public and left theaters fast after bad word-of-mouth spread.[citation needed]

Simpson also appeared on the film’s soundtrack, releasing "These Boots Are Made for Walkin” (#14, 2005) a cover of the 1966 Nancy Sinatra hit. The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Song from a Movie in 2006.

2006:Career Setbacks
On June 30, 2006, Jessica and Nick's divorce was finalized. Simpson hosted the Teen Choice Awards in August of 2006 and appeared on The View in September of 2006 as the first choice of new co-host Rosie O'Donnell.

Her fourth album, A Public Affair, was released on August 29, 2006 via Epic Records. The album saw lower-than-expected sales, debuting at #5 on the Billboard 200 with 101,000 copies sold in its first week and, as of November 4, 2006, has sold only a little over 240,000 copies in the United States which is less than half of what her 2001 album Irresistible sold. Public Affair dropped down to the lower part of the charts after only a few weeks out. Week number four saw the album slip down from number five to the sixties. The first single, "A Public Affair" (#14, 2006), reached the Top 20 of the Hot 100 but quickly fell off the charts. The music video for "A Public Affair" featured Eva Longoria, Christina Applegate, Christina Milian, Maria Menounos, Andy Dick and Ryan Seacrest. A second single, "I Belong To Me", was also released through her website and is now included on the CD itself.

Her second movie, Employee of the Month, co-starring Dane Cook and Andy Dick. The film, released on October 6, 2006, grossed under $27 million dollars in almost a month. The movie flopped with critics and currently sits with a poor 21% rotten score on rottentomatoes.

Personal life
Jessica has been very publicized in the media since her marriage to Nick Lachey. Following their break-up and pending divorce, She was reportedly linked to her Employee of the Month co-star Dane Cook, singer John Mayer, and actor/comedian Johnny Knoxville and during the marriage several reports of a one night stand with Bam Margera surfaced which both denied at the time. Recently Bam Margera went on Howard Sterns radio show to confirm the rumors were actually true.

Jessica's rep has repeatedly denied that she has dated anyone since her break-up with Nick. Magazines have also speculated that she was jealous of her ex-husband's growing stardom and relationship with television personality Vanessa Minnillo, though she has publicly denied this to be true.