Work it! Jessica Simpson’s muscular legs would make anyone jealous. The feature became a hallmark of the singer’s brand after she starred as Daisy Duke in the 2005 film remake of The Dukes of Hazzard.
However, Simpson has been vocal about the “scrutiny” she has faced through the years because of her body. According to her 2020 memoir, Open Book, her Daisy Duke-era legs — complete with the character’s defining cutoff shorts — “created a gold standard Jessica, the ‘before’ for every ‘is she fat or is she thin’ story for the rest of my career.”
The fashion designer continued to endure backlash for her physique, including in 2009 when she wore a pair of high-waisted jeans to Radio 99.9 Kiss Country’s annual Chili Cookoff. “This picture that circulated and went worldwide broke my heart. Not the picture necessarily, but the caption. Like, all the captions. It was just viral,” she explained to Hoda Kotb on the Today show in February 2020. “I was taken down by the world.” She noted in her book that she was a size 4 and “around 120 pounds” at the time.
After giving birth to daughter Maxwell, son Ace and daughter Birdie, Simpson became more comfortable in her skin, focusing on her health as she shed baby weight. “6 months. 100 pounds down (Yes, I tipped the scales at 240),” she revealed via Instagram in September 2019, adding: “So proud to feel like myself again. … Even when it felt impossible, I chose to work harder.”
The actress acknowledged that her weight loss journey was tough but rewarding. “It’s been a lot of hard work. I have to say that I have worked very hard,” she said during an HSN appearance in September 2019. “Everything that I’ve been eating is mostly made with cauliflower.”
The author stopped short of calling her venture a “diet,” though. “I just ate a bag of Cheetos in the back,” she admitted. “I do think that writing down what we eat is important to keep [ourselves] in check.”
Scroll down to revisit Simpson’s most enviable leg moments in her years since stepping — pun intended — into the spotlight!
