Date of Birth: July 10, 1980

Relationships:
Nick Lachey, ex-husband (1999 to 2005)
John Mayer, ex-boyfriend (2006 to 2007)
Tony Romo, ex-boyfriend (2007 to 2009)


Children:
(substitute) Maltipoo Daisy (2004-2009)

Biography:
Auditioning as a Mouseketeer aged 12 in 1993 against Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Ryan Gosling, the church-choir-trained singer from Texas chokes in her final performance. "I froze and forgot everything," she later recalls.

Finding some fame as a pop/ballad singer and clean Britney alternative, Simpson's star is cemented with her 2002 marriage to her boyfriend of two years, 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey (she famously abstained before marriage).

The launch of the MTV show Newlyweds in 2003 broadcasts their adventures through marriage, featuring Jessica's pronunciation of "platymapus" and confusion over tuna: "Is this chicken or fish?" she asks Lachey, eating Chicken of the Sea tuna. "I know it's tuna. But it says chicken!"

In 2004, Simpson's manager father, Joe, famously talks up his daughter's assets: "Jessica never tries to be sexy. She just is sexy," he tells GQ. "If you put her in a T-shirt or you put her in a bustier, she's sexy in both. She's got double Ds! You can't cover those suckers up!"

To play The Dukes of Hazzard's Daisy Duke in 2005, Simpson works out two hours a day for two months before her pink-bikini appearance in the clip for "These Boots Are Made For Walkin' ".

A solo trip to Kenya as a goodwill ambassador for Operation Smile in 2005 marks the beginning of the end for her and Lachey, she later reflects: "I went there on our three-year wedding anniversary. He stayed home." They separate a month later.

A relationship lasting some six months with John Mayer includes visiting him on tour in Miami and Australia.

The singer is accused of distracting Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo from his game. They date for two years and he supports her through the flurry of weight criticism she cops after wearing "mum jeans" to perform at a chilli cook-off. The night before her 29th birthday, he breaks up with her.

Simpson's beloved maltese terrier-poodle, Daisy, is snatched by a coyote before her eyes in 2009. A gift from Lachey for her 24th birthday, "Daisy was her baby," says one friend. "It will put her into the worst place ever."