Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	58/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
BBC	mixed
E! Online	B−
Entertainment Weekly	B−
IGN
Robert Christgau
Rolling Stone
The New York Times

Autobiography is the debut studio album by American singer Ashlee Simpson. Released in the United States by Geffen Records on July 20, 2004, the album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Musically, it combines elements of rock and pop. Critical reception for the album by critics were mixed. Autobiography has sold more than five million copies worldwide.

Three singles from Autobiography were released: "Pieces of Me"—the first and most successful single—which was a hit in several countries in mid to late 2004, as well as the follow-up singles "Shadow" and "La La". MTV highlighted the process of making the album in the reality series The Ashlee Simpson Show, which drew a large audience and served as an effective promotional vehicle for the album.

Simpson described the process of writing the album's twelve songs as being similar to keeping a diary, and before the album's US release she said that "My inspiration came from what I have gone through in the past three years. Every single day I was thinking of what I was going through and would write songs about it." The lyrics primarily deal with love and heartbreak; in particular, much of the album's lyrical content was inspired by Simpson's breakup with her boyfriend at the time, Josh Henderson. She has described the album as being "very honest" and "very true to my emotions"—"I wasn't afraid to say that I was hurting and how I got over it." Simpson worked closely with a number of experienced songwriters on the album. The album's producer, John Shanks—who won a Grammy in February 2005, in part for his work as producer on Autobiography—receives songwriting credit alongside Simpson on all but two songs. Kara DioGuardi also receives songwriting credit, together with Simpson and Shanks, on seven of the songs, including the three singles. (See the track listing.)

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