Stacy Ann Ferguson (born March 27, 1975),[1] better known by her stage name Fergie, is an American pop/R&B singer-songwriter, rapper, fashion designer, model, philantropist, and actress. She is a former member of the kids' television series Kids Incorporated, and the girl group Wild Orchid. Ferguson was also a co-host of the television show Great Pretenders. She is a vocalist for the hip hop/pop group the Black Eyed Peas, as well as a solo artist, having released her debut album, The Dutchess, in September 2006.[2] The album has so far spawned three U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number one singles and five Top 5 hits, making The Dutchess the seventh album from a female artist to spawn five Top 5 hits.[3]
Ferguson was born in Hacienda Heights, California, the daughter of Terri Jackson (née Gore) and Patrick Ferguson.[4] She has one sister, Dana, who is an actress. Her parents are of Irish, Scottish, and Mexican descent.[5][6] The daughter of devout Catholic schoolteachers, she was raised in a suburban area with strict Roman Catholic values while attending Mesa Robles Middle school and Glen A. Wilson High School.[7] She is quoted as saying that as a child she was so hyperactive, doctors wanted to put her on Ritalin until her mom vetoed the idea. Through dance school, her mom found her an agent and voiceover work, providing the voices for Lucy and Sally in Peanuts cartoons. From 1984 to 1989, she spent summers performing chart hits on the TV show Kids Incorporated. All that time she was a straight-A student. She was even a spelling bee champion,[7] as well as a Girl Scout.[8]