Who I Am: From Ballet Class to Number One

If you grew up with Autobiography on repeat, you already know the voice. Here is a short look at me and the music behind our designs.

Where did I start?

I was born on October 3, 1984, in Waco, Texas. Before I ever sang on a record I was a dancer: at eleven I was accepted into the School of American Ballet in New York. My older sister is Jessica Simpson, so music was never far away. My first big TV role was Cecilia Smith on 7th Heaven (2002 to 2004).

How did I get to number one?

In 2004 everything happened at once. My first single, Pieces of Me, which I wrote with John Shanks and Kara DioGuardi, went top five on the Billboard Hot 100 and to number one on pop radio. My debut album Autobiography came out on July 20, 2004, and went straight to number one on the Billboard 200, with Shadow and La La as the next singles. MTV followed the whole ride on The Ashlee Simpson Show.

A year later I Am Me went to number one too, with Boyfriend and L.O.V.E., and in 2008 came Bittersweet World with Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya).

What did I do next?

I took the stage as Roxie Hart in Chicago, first in London's West End in 2006 and then on Broadway from 2009 to 2010, and played Violet Foster on Melrose Place. I released Bat for a Heart in 2012, and in 2018 my husband Evan Ross and I put out the duet I Do and the EP Ashlee + Evan.

Where do the designs come from?

From that first album and that first single. Autobiography says it in its title, and our designs start with its cover, its songs and the name on the record.

Shop the Ashlee Simpson collection and bring a little 2004 with you.