From Stacy Ferguson to the Dutchess of Hip Hop: Fergie's Life Story so Far

In 2003, Stacy Ferguson joined the band, The Black Eyed Peas, as a replacement for singer Kim Hill, who left the group in 2000. She recorded five songs with the group before she was invited to join permanently. Since then she has become popularly known as "Fergie" and "the Dutchess", and the collaboration has propelled the previously low profile Fergie and The Black Eyed Peas into the public eye. As a result, Stacy Ferguson has finally realized a lifelong dream of having her own solo album which is called The Dutchess. This variant spelling of Duchess will no doubt help you distinguish between Stacy Ferguson and the sound-alike former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson.

Stacy Ferguson was born in Whittier, California on March 27, 1975 and has actually been in the entertainment business since she was 9 years old. Her parents, Patrick Ferguson and Terri Gore, encouraged and supported both Stacy and her sister, Dana, in their show business endeavors. Growing up in Hacienda Heights, she attended Glen A. Wilson High School where she was a member of the cheerleading squad.

In 1984, Stacy Ferguson won a role on the television program Kids Incorporated, and also provided the voice for Sally Brown in It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown. Stacy did two more Charlie Brown specials and continued as a Kids Incorporated kid until a music career beckoned.

In 1991, 16-year old Stacy was teamed with Kids Incorporated co-star Renee Sandstrom and another teen actress, Stefanie Ridel. They formed the girl group, Wild Orchid, and sold a million copies with their self-titled debut album. Wild Orchid also hosted the Fox Family Family Channel's Saturday morning show, Great Pretenders, which featured chart hits lip-synched by everyday kids. Sales of Wild Orchid's follow-up album failed to match their initial success. The group's third album was not even released by their label and they were dropped from the roster. As dreams of more Wild Orchid success went out the window, a depressed and unhappy Stacy developed an addiction to ecstasy and crystal methamphetamine.

Stacy told a Glasgow paper: . "I started doing Ecstasy. Then I got addicted to crystal methamphetamine. My weight dropped to 90 lb so I lied to my friends and said I was bulimic …" Stacy Ferguson chose to leave the group and strike out on her own, to pursue other avenues and to conquer her addiction.

Meeting Black Eyed Pea will.i.am (real name: William James Adams, Jr.) at one of Wild Orchid's last concerts proved fortuitous for Stacy Ferguson and after teaming up with the Peas, she began to cultivate a more "ghetto-funk" image and became known simply as "Fergie".

With Fergie now in the fold, the Black-Eyed Peas had a big hit with Where Is The Love, featuring Justin Timberlake. Soon the controversial My Humps focused all eyes on Fergie. Critics mercilessly trashed the song as smut while at the same time, it became quite popular, and even "grew" on people who said they initially disliked it.

The same thing happened when Fergie released her debut solo, London Bridge. It was viciously panned by music critics and Fergie was called, among other things, the Dutchess of vaginal metaphors. Many people have since commented that the song has "grown" on them.

Fergie is well aware of her detractors; however, she ignores them. "There's a song on the album [The Dutchess] called 'Pedestal,' " she says, "which is my answer back to people who don't do anything with their lives but stay on the Internet for hours and talk shit about me. You just sit there and rip me apart, but I bet you didn't know that I went to hell and back. Bet you didn't know that. So this is a question to them: What are you doing with your life?"

Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas are riding high. They were triples winners at the 2006 American Music Awards on November 21, 2006. The Black Eyed Peas were named favorite group in both the rap/hip hop and soul/rhythm & blues categories, and also won favorite rap/hip hop album for Monkey Business. Fergie has also returned to acting, appearing in the movie Poseidon. Be on the lookout for Fergie in the feature film Grind House due out in 2007.