Fergie

Stacy Ann Ferguson better known by her stage name Fergie, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, and actress. She is a former member of the kids' TV series Kids Incorporated, and the girl group Wild Orchid. Fergie was also a co-host of the TV show Great Pretenders. She is currently a vocalist for the hip hop/pop group the Black Eyed Peas, as well as a solo artist, releasing her debut album, The Dutchess, in 2006.

Fergie was born in Whittier, California to Terri Gore and Patrick Ferguson in nearby Hacienda Heights on March 27, 1975 and has one sister, named Dana, who is an actress. Her parents were Catholic and worked as schoolteachers, and Fergie had a strict Catholic upbringing which has lead her to get involved with members of the Mexican gangs in Hacienda Heights.

Fergie was a member of the female trio Wild Orchid, which she fronted with Stefanie Ridel and fellow Kids Incorporated star Renee Sandstrom. Wild Orchid released two albums, but after completing a third album, their record label declined to release it, and she left the group shortly thereafter. Her disappointment with Wild Orchid led to an addiction to crystal methamphetamine. In September 2006, Fergie talked with Time about quitting her crystal met addiction.

"It was the hardest boyfriend I ever had to break up with," she says. "It's the drug that's addicting. But it's why you start doing it in the first place that's interesting. A lot of it was being a child actor; I learned to suppress feelings."

In 2003, Fergie took over the lead female vocal duties for the Black Eyed Peas, replacing background singer Kim Hill, who had left the group in 2000. Fergie recorded five songs with the group before she was invited to join them permanently. Fergie's addition to the band, which had enjoyed underground success until then, helped them quickly grow into mainstream popularity. After two successful Black Eyed Peas albums, Fergie began pursuing a solo career. Her first album, released on September 19, 2006, was entitled The Dutchess.