Jessica Simpson

Biography

Debuting as an adorable, all-American-looking pop singer with a powerful vocal range and squeaky clean image, Jessica Simpson initially stood in the shadows of her equally young, equally blonde pop predecessors Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in her early career. Routinely compared to the two divas—sometimes unfairly—Simpson has struggled to be nothing more than herself. Yearning to make her mark, Simpson found her true voice not in music, but on television. As the star of “Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica” (MTV 2003- ), a reality show co-starring husband Nick Lachey, formerly of the deflated pop band 98 Degrees, Simpson has become a household name. But because of her frequently naive, sometimes needy and often spoiled demeanor and near constant goof-ups on the show (a.k.a. “pulling a Jessica”), Simpson has propelled beyond mere celebrity into the realm of cultural zeitgeist.

Born on July 10, 1980 in Dallas, Texas, Simpson was raised in a strict Christian home. Her father, Joe Simpson, was a minister at her local parish, as well as being a professional psychologist (and later Simpson’s manager). When she turned 12, Simpson received a purity ring as a gift from her dad--a silver band with a cross to be worn until her wedding day. According to Simpson, she indeed retained her virtue until she married Lachey. Simpson’s talents as a singer were apparent at an early age when singing gospel at her dad’s church. At 12, Simpson attempted to break into show business by auditioning for “The Mickey Mouse Club” (Disney Channel, 1988-1995), but lost the part to the likes of Spears and Aguilera--already, the two future stars were dogging Simpson’s career.

The following summer, after her failure with “The Mickey Mouse Club”, Simpson was discovered by the head of a small label, CCM, while singing at a church camp. Simpson spent the next three years recording her debut album, but the label folded before it could be released. Her grandmother funded a small pressing of the album, but it failed to make any impact in the mainstream. However, Simpson was a hit on the Christian Youth Conference circuit, where she sang with such gospel biggies as Kirk Franklin and Ce Ce Winans. In 1997, she made another push into the mainstream and was signed by Sony after singing an a cappella version of “Amazing Grace” in then-CEO Tommy Mottola’s office. Columbia Records later released her first official album, Sweet Kisses, in 1999. The album would go on to sell close to 2 million copies, and the single, I Wanna Love You Forever, almost went platinum as well. However, her follow-up albums, Irresistible and In This Skin, didn’t fair nearly as well.

Despite slumping record sales, Simpson kept her career alive in other mediums: the singer cameoed as herself in the Dana Carvey comedy "Master of Disguise" (2002) and in 2003, she landed a recurring role as Annette, a girlfriend of Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) on “That 70’s Show” (Fox, 1998- ) and also starred in an episode of “The Twilight Zone” (UPN, 2002-2003) called “The Collection”. As Miranda Evans, Simpson played a babysitter who looks after a young girl and her dolls, only to discover that she is slated to be next in the collection.

But Simpson’s greatest claim to fame emerged with her MTV reality show with hubby Lachey. Though the cable channel didn’t have high hopes at first, the show proved to be an instant hit, thanks in large part to Simpson’s routine gaffes. In one infamous episode, Simpson confused Chicken of the Sea with actual chicken; in another, she refused to have Buffalo wings because she didn’t “eat buffalo”. Upon learning that the Happy Hour favorite wasn’t made of actual buffalo, Simpson added to the confusion: “Why name it a Buffalo wing when it’s not buffalo?” But Simpson took the inevitable jibes at her intelligence in stride, even going so far make the dumb blonde routine a conscious part of her celebrity image. And it was Simpson who laughed last, as her show, once anticipated to be a ratings dud, was renewed for a second and third season.

Simpson’s third album, In This Skin, released amid heavy cross-promotion with the show, did not fare particularly well on the charts at first, but eventually became something of a sleeper hit upon re-release as her star continued to rise (Lachey's simultaneously launched solo album did not fare as well). As the couple's popularity skyrocketed, ABC inked them to host their own variety special, "The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour" (2004), which aired on Easter Sunday and drew sky-high ratings with 11.5 million viewers--high enough to prompt the network to sign the couple for a Christmas follow-up, "Nick & Jessica's Family Christmas" (2004), and "Nick & Jessica's Tour of Duty" (2005), a special in which they entertained U.S. troops in Iraq. The couple's high profile proved to be a marketing bonanza (Simpson launched cosmetic and clothing lines, and garnered commercial endorsements for the likes of Pizza Hut's Buffalo wings) and also fueled the career of Jessica's younger sister, singer/actress Ashlee Simpson, who also earned her own MTV reality show and album deal.

The downside of the young couple's newfound fame was that they were suddenly fodder for a seemingly endless array of cover stories among the weekly celebrity gossip magazines, usually weighing in on the state of their marriage. Almost as soon as Simpson was cast as cutoff-clad Southern Belle Daisy Duke in the big screen remake of the fondly recalled '70s series "The Dukes of Hazzard" (2005) her star was shining even brighter than ever, and even though Lachey had ventured into acting as well with a recurring role on The WB's "Charmed" in 2004, speculation ran rampant that her higher profile, compounded with extended periods apart and the availability of other partners, was taking its toll on his ego and her marriage. But even as coverage of their every outing reached critical mass on the verge of the "Dukes" premiere, the couple stood fast and insisted their bond was enduring. Meanwhile, Simpson shed a layer of her feminine "baby fat" and appeared leaner and more overtly sexy than ever, steaming up her Brett Ratner-directed music video "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by washing the film's car the General Lee in Daisy's pink, barely there bikini. She took some flack for her more sexually provocative image from conservative Christian groups, but the tyro actress proved imminently charming and sunny in her big screen debut, though Meryl Streep had nothing to worry about. Throughout the rest of the year the celebrity magazines dogged Simpson and Lachey, breathlessly reporting their every move and trumpeting the couple's alleged split, and after repeated denials the one-time "Newlyweds" did indeed formally announce their separation over Thanksgiving weekend in 2005.

Born: on 07/10/1980 in Dallas, TexasJob Titles: SingerFamily
Father: Joe Simpson. manages daughters career
Mother: Tina Simpson.
Sister: Ashlee Simpson. born October 3, 1984
Significant Others
Husband: Nick Lachey. began dating Summer of 1999; separated April 2001; engaged in February 2002; married on October 26, 2002; announced separation November 23, 2005

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Jesica Simpson and Nick Lachey

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Sharon Stone

Biography

A self-described "ubergeek" who couldn't get a date to her high school prom, Sharon Stone proved that brains (an IQ of 154) were certainly no impediment to forging a career in the entertainment industry, especially when capitalizing on naturally blonde good looks as a fetching piece of "eye candy" in movies both good and bad. The former beauty pageant contestant and Ford model made her film debut with a non-speaking part as a beautiful woman fleetingly glimpsed from a moving train in Woody Allen's "Stardust Memories" (1980) and then survived more than a decade of mostly mediocre parts to claw her way to stardom. A journalist's dream, she is one of the best interviews in Hollywood, talking smart, tough and funny (she once described former beau Dwight Yoakam as less appealing than a "dirt sandwich"), and bringing back an old-fashioned, high-octane glamour to her role as a "movie star". Despite demonstrating considerable range as an actor, Stone has shown her true genius to be self-invention, creating a persona to rival that of stars like Joan Crawford and Betty Davis from a more style-conscious, bygone era.

The high points for Stone through the 80s were few, though she did attract notice as Ryan O'Neal's conniving actress girlfriend in "Irreconcilable Differences" (1984) and as Robert Mitchum's daughter-in-law in the much-watched ABC miniseries "War and Remembrance" (1988). Mostly, she persevered as a stereotypical blonde in lackluster films like Wes Craven's "Deadly Blessing" (1981, whose saving grace was meeting best friend Mimi Craven, the director's ex-wife), "King Solomon's Mines" (1985) and its sequel "Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold" (1987), "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol" (1987) and a remake of "Blood and Sand" (1989, in a role that had done considerably more for Rita Hayworth). She didn't fare any better on the small screen either, including a regular role as the wife of a bed-wetting baseball pitcher in the short-lived "Bay City Blues" (NBC, 1983).

Stone's first real break came playing Arnold Schwarzenegger's kick-boxing secret agent "wife" in Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi actioner "Total Recall" (1990). After five more forgettable thrillers and comedies, she finally achieved the proverbial "overnight" success as a voracious bisexual crime writer in Verhoeven's controversial and popular erotic thriller "Basic Instinct" (1992), written by Joe Ezsterhas. Her panties-less, leg-crossing scene brought Stone much notoriety but has haunted her ever since. Though she really didn't want to do "Sliver" (1993), another sizzling sex melodrama written by Ezsterhas which did middling business stateside and boffo box office overseas, she couldn't find any other part she liked better, so she made the mistake of retreating into the much more familiar and conventionally sympathetic role as the victim of a psychotic voyeur. Trying to escape the sex-bomb trap, she begged for the frigid wife role (they offered her much more to play the girlfriend) in "Intersection" (1994) and scored great reviews despite its limited success.

Stone again flexed her international box-office clout paired with Sylvester Stallone in the explosive actioner "The Specialist" (1994), and though she couldn't make Sly sexy, her good work helped make the picture (which James Woods walked off with) worth watching. She liked the script for "The Quick and the Dead" (1995) and became its co-producer, paying half of Leonardo DiCaprio's wages out of her own salary when the project ran into difficulties. Stone looked terrific in Western duds playing something of a distaff version of a Clint Eastwood-like gunfighter, and director Sam Raimi helmed the smartly derivative tale with style to spare. Unfortunately, the critical reception was uneven, and the public stayed away. She rebounded as Ginger, the Vegas hustler who wins the heart of Robert De Niro, in Martin Scorsese's "Casino" (also 1995). No part before had ever made such heavy demands on the actress, and she was a revelation, letting loose with a corker of a performance as the beautiful and unstable, ultimately pathetic moll with no inner life that yielded a Best Actress Oscar nomination.

The now highly-paid, much-in-demand diva, boasting her own production company (Chaos) and a first-look deal with Miramax, filmed a remake of the noir classic "Diabolique" with Isabelle Adjani and Chazz Palminteri and played a death-row inmate whose lawyer (Rob Morrow) works to save her from execution in "Last Dance" (both 1996). The former (a pale imitation of the 1955 classic) was notable more for her battle with its producer over refusing to bare her flesh, while the latter, despite presenting a uniquely drab, unglamorous Stone, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, following so close on the heels of the previous year's "Dead Man Walking". Protecting her hard-won stardom, Stone had became a clever manipulator of her public image, on heavy press days reportedly changing outfits between each interview and photo session, a practice unheard of since the days of Carole Lombard and Norma Shearer. Onscreen and off, she understood that her power resided in her unwillingness to relinquish her femaleness.

Stone's acting teacher Roy London had told her that audiences could love to hate her, and the advice made her a star. In her personal life, however, the wreckage of femme fatalities left in her wake solidified her image as an "ice princess", a tag she sought to lose in order to be taken seriously as an actress. Stone went to work on changing the public's perception of her, crediting Miramax executive Harvey Weinstein with having the foresight to see she could convincingly play a relatively normal, single mother "when everyone else said it was impossible" (of course the fact that her production company ultimately provided financing for 1998's "The Mighty" made his decision infinitely easier). That said, her strong, emotional performance in a secondary role confirmed her range, and her marriage to San Francisco Examiner editor Phil Bronstein helped with her transition from sex bomb to domestic goddess.

Having reached the age of 40, she intended to keep her clothes on, and her superstar clout led to the diversity she had craved in movies like "Antz", the 1998 animated film which vocally reunited her with Woody Allen, "Sphere" (1998, cast as a biochemist in the lackluster Barry Levinson venture), "Gloria" (1999, a remake to unsettle John Cassavetes' final repose) and, terrifically, in "The Muse" (1999, playing the titular role to writer-director-star Albert Brooks, a Greek muse who lends her inspiration to Hollywood types, but not without turning their lives upside down with her demands). She appeared, in fine form, in a brief but pivotal appearance as the alcoholic wife of a horse breeder in the otherwise dismal "Simpatico" (also 1999). Although Stone would sometimes resurface in low-profile projects--including "Picking Up the Pieces" (2000), "Beautiful Joe" (2000) and in a charming turn opposite Ellen Degeneres in HBO's lesbian-themed "If These Walls Could Talk 2" (2000)--but her 1998-2003 marriage to San Francisco Chronicle publisher Phil Bronstein kept her away from Hollywood--geographically and on film--for many years (and produced at least bizarre anecdote: the publisher was bitten on the foot by a komodo dragon at the Los Angeles Zoo during a birthday visit there arranged by Stone in 2001). Also in 2001, the actress suffered a brain aneurysm that nearly proved fatal.

After filing for divorce from Bronstein, Stone returned looking as fit and fabulous as ever and lit up the big screen again in director Mike Figgis' sly reinvention of a haunted house thriller "Cold Creek Manor" (2003). Stone gave one of her most campy—but unenjoyable—turns as the villainous model-cum-mogul Laurel Hadare opposite Halle Berry in the lackluster "Catwoman" (2004) on screen, while off-screen she was the subject of a courtroom battle after producers backed out of an alleged verbal $19.36 million agreement for her to star in a sequel to "Basic Instinct"—she later settled, with part of deal including a planned sequel. After a brief appearance in the unsurprisingly rotten “Jiminy Glick in La La Wood” (2005), Stone played one of four ex-girlfriends tracked down by a man (Bill Murray) who received an anonymous letter from the mother of his unknown son in Jim Jarmusch’s “Broken Flowers” (2005).

Born: on 03/10/1958 in Meadville, PennsylvaniaJob Titles: Actor, Model, Producer, Counter girl, WaitressFamily
Son: Laird Vonne Stone. adopted May 7, 2005
Son: Quinn Stone. Adopted June, 2006

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