Jessica Wahls | |
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Wahls at the Kieler Woche 2008
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Born |
Jessica Martina Wahls February 2, 1977 |
Other names | Jess, Jessy |
Occupation | Singer, songwriter, television host |
Years active | 2000–2014 |
Children | 1 |
Website | www |
Jessica Martina Wahls (born February 2, 1977 in Bad Nauheim, Hesse), also known under her nickname Jess, is a German pop singer, songwriter and television host, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date," according to the German media.
Wahls is the only child born to an African-American father, James, and a German mother, Gabriele "Gabi" Wahls. Her parents separated when she was six months old, and thus, Jessica was raised by her single mother near Bad Nauheim, in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse. After her parents' divorce, Wahls had little contact with her father, and her mother worked as a personal assistant to support the family. In 1999, Gabriele married Wahls' Barbadian stepfather Tosh.
In 2000, Jessica broke off her training as a travel management assistant to join the girl group No Angels, the result of a German version of the international television show Popstars. Two successful years later, Jess became pregnant by boyfriend, choreographer and background dancer Sascha Dickreuter, and consequently she had to leave the band for her baby girl by the name of Cheyenne Jessica.
In 2003, Wahls returned to the music business as a solo artist. Since then she has released four moderately successful singles in English and in German.
Wahls has also worked as a host for several TV shows, most noticeably on the German quiz channel 9Live. Furthermore she can be seen as the spokeswomen for a number of local advertising campaigns.