Jessica Ann Simpson is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, Sweet Kisses (1999), sold two million copies in the United States and was led by the Billboard Hot 100-top three single "I Wanna Love You Forever". Simpson adopted a more mature image for her second studio album, Irresistible (2001), and its namesake lead single track peaked within the top 20 of the chart. The album received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In This Skin (2003), Simpson's third studio album, sold three million copies in the United States.

Simpson was born on July 10, 1980, in Abilene, Texas. She is the first child of Tina Ann Simpson (née Drew), a homemaker, and Joseph Simpson, a minister. Simpson's parents married in 1978; they divorced in 2013. Simpson has stated that she grew up in Dallas and Waco, but her parents now live in McGregor, Texas. Simpson has a younger sister, Ashlee. In her preteens she briefly attended Amelia Middle School while her father did outreach in Cincinnati, Ohio. After moving back to Texas 20 months later, she attended J. J. Pearce High School in Richardson during her teenage years, though she had to drop out in 1997 as her career began to take off; a year later she earned her GED via distance learning through Texas Tech High School. Simpson was raised in the Christian faith, and was given a purity ring by her father when she was twelve years old. Jessica and her family moved frequently due to her father's job as a minister, though they remained in Texas for the most part; however, they did live in the Midwest for a few years.