Stacy Ann "Fergie" Ferguson (born March 27, 1975) ( ) is an American singer and rapper. She first achieved chart success as part of the hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas. Her debut solo album, The Dutchess (2006), saw commercial success and spawned three Billboard Hot 100 number one singles: "London Bridge", "Glamorous", and "Big Girls Don't Cry".
Fergie was originally a member of the children's television series Kids Incorporated and the girl group Wild Orchid. In 2001, she left the group and in the subsequent year joined the Black Eyed Peas. She worked with the Black Eyed Peas on two albums before releasing her debut solo album, The Dutchess, in 2006. She continued her collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas and released a further two albums with them, The E.N.D. (2009) and The Beginning (2010). Her second solo album, Double Dutchess, was released in 2017.
Fergie has additionally appeared as an actress in various films, such as Poseidon (2006), Grindhouse (2007), and Nine (2009). She launched her first fragrance, Outspoken, under Avon in May 2010 and has since released four more fragrances. Her footwear line, Fergie Footwear, was launched in 2009.
Early life
Ferguson was born in Hacienda Heights, California, to Terri (née Gore) and Jon Patrick Ferguson. Her father died in September 2021 at age 74. She has a younger sister named Dana Ferguson. Her ancestry includes English, Irish, Mexican, and Scottish. She was raised Roman Catholic and attended Mesa Robles Middle School and Glen A. Wilson High School. She was a cheerleader, straight-A student, spelling bee champion, and Girl Scout.
Career
1984–2002: Television, acting and Wild Orchid
Fergie studied dance and began to do voiceover work. She provided the voice for Sally Brown in two made-for-television Peanuts cartoons, It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984) and Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown (1985), as well as on four episodes of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show. From 1984 to 1989, Fergie starred on the TV show Kids Incorporated and was the longest running cast member. She starred in the first six of the show's nine seasons. Fergie was a member of the female trio Wild Orchid, which she fronted with Stefanie Ridel and fellow Kids Incorporated star Renee Sandstrom. By 1992, the girls began meeting with record labels, but they still could not get a recording contract. They eventually signed a music publishing deal with Sony Publishing before signing a record contract with RCA Records in 1994. In April 2007, she gave an interview in which she admitted that she went on a sex and drugs spree when she turned eighteen, saying: "I have had lesbian experiences in the past. I won't say how many men I've had sex with—but I am a very sexual person."
Wild Orchid released their self-titled debut album in March 1997, which debuted at #153 on the Billboard 200. In September 1998, they released their second album, Oxygen, which was a commercial failure, only selling 200,000 copies worldwide. From June 16 to August 28, 1999, they opened for Cher's Do You Believe? tour alongside Cyndi Lauper, which took them to 52 cities across the United States and Canada. They completed a third album, which their record label declined to release, and Fergie left the group in September 2001. In 2006, Fergie told Entertainment Weekly that both frustrations with the band's image and personal drug problems led her to leave Wild Orchid.