Ashlee Nicole Simpson (born October 3, 1984 in Waco, Texas) is an American … Read Full Bio ↴Ashlee Nicole Simpson (born October 3, 1984 in Waco, Texas) is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Simpson, who is the younger sister of pop singer Jessica Simpson, rose to prominence in mid-2004 through the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography and the accompanying reality series The Ashlee Simpson Show. Simpson received widespread criticism when she used a pre-recorded vocal track on Saturday Night Live in October 2004. Following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released a second number-one album, I Am Me, in October 2005. Her third album, Bittersweet World, was released in April 2008.

Her breakout came with her debut single, "Pieces of Me", which was released in 2004, became a top-five hit in the United States, and topped the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart based on radio airplay. The success of the single and her reality show helped propel her debut album, Autobiography, also released in 2004, to the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart. The project sold over five million copies worldwide, making it her most successful album to date. Simpson had a leading role in the film Undiscovered (2005), which became a critical and commercial flop. The failure of the film, along with multiple critically panned performances, led to media scrutiny. Despite that, Simpson's second studio album, I Am Me (2005), debuted atop the Billboard 200, becoming her second album to do so. The album went on to receive a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Following her appearance as Roxie Hart in the West End production of Chicago, Simpson announced that she had begun working on her third studio album. The album differed from the pop-rock sound of her previous efforts, featuring a dance-pop and 1980s-themed sound. Bittersweet World was released in 2008 with positive critical reception, but it saw a decline in sales. The effort reached number 4 on the Billboard 200. The following year, Simpson joined the main cast of the Melrose Place revamp, which was met with harsh critical reception. Later that year, she made her Broadway debut reprising her role as Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway.

Simpson announced a fourth studio album that same year. She independently released the single "Bat for a Heart", though it failed to have success. Simpson eventually scrapped the album and focused on her child. Simpson reprised her role as Roxie Hart for the third time in a 2-dates special production in Hollywood Bowl in July 2013 directed by Brooke Shields. In October, Simpson and her husband Evan Ross released their debut EP by Ashlee + Evan through Access Records, which was supported by a tour in select cities across North America, and their TV reality show.

She was married to musician Pete Wentz from 2008 to 2011. The couple's son, Bronx Mowgli Wentz, was born on November 20, 2008. She appeared as Violet Foster, a small-town girl in The CW's 2009 Melrose Place, a revamp of the '90s drama of the same name.