Ashlee Nicole Simpson

Ashlee Nicole Simpson (born October 3, 1984) is an American singer, actress and the younger sister of singer Jessica Simpson.

Simpson was the youngest person ever admitted to the School of American Ballet at age 11. After her sister Jessica achieved success in pop music in 1999, Ashlee became a dancer in her sister's concerts. She later played the character Cecilia on the television show 7th Heaven from 2002 until the beginning of her singing career in 2004, at which point she said that she would no longer regularly play the role.

Simpson's own music career began with the recording of her first album, Autobiography, which was released on July 20, 2004. It debuted at number one in its first week, selling over 398,000 copies, and has remained at number one for three of the four weeks since its release. Her first single is the song "Pieces of Me", which she said was written about her then-boyfriend, Ryan Cabrera. Her planned second single is "Shadow", which is about living in the shadow of her sister's dreams and accomplishments.

Simpson and the beginnings of her music career were the subject of a successful reality show on MTV, The Ashlee Simpson Show, which ran for eight weekly episodes from June 16 until August 4, 2004 and helped to establish recognition for her.

Ashlee has a somewhat different, more rock-oriented image than that of her sister. Previously blonde like Jessica, she dyed her hair dark during the recording of the reality show, after she had finished filming for 7th Heaven (although she has said that the change of hair color was not intended to separate herself from Jessica), and her songs have rock elements absent from her sister's music.

At the 2004 Teen Choice Awards, held on August 8, 2004, Simpson received the "Song of the Summer" award for "Pieces of Me", as well as the "Fresh Face" award.

Young, John. "All About You" Great Icons. New York: 2004.

...