Brooke Simpson

Brooke Mills Simpson is an American singer and Broadway performer, born and raised in Hollister, North Carolina. A member of the Haliwa-Saponi, a state-recognized tribe, Simpson grew up in an evangelical family and discovered a passion for singing at age seven. Throughout her childhood she traveled and performed with her family, attending pow wows hosted by the Haliwa-Saponi. Her parents are Jimille and Mike Mills, and she has two siblings, sister Leah and brother Mikey, both eight years her junior. Before pursuing singing professionally, Simpson relocated from Hollister to Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her husband, Ray Simpson, and had been weighing other career paths. She began working with vocal coach Andrez Franco in 2013.

Simpson gained national attention in 2017 when she auditioned for the thirteenth season of NBC's singing competition The Voice. Her blind audition, broadcast on October 1, 2017, featured a performance of Demi Lovato's "Stone Cold" that prompted all four judges — Adam Levine, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, and Blake Shelton — to turn their chairs. Simpson chose to join Team Miley and went on to finish third in the competition on December 19, 2017. Her releases from that season included solo recordings such as "Praying," "Amazing Grace," and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World," as well as collaborative performances with Sophia Bollman, Davon Fleming, and Miley Cyrus. She subsequently released several independent singles, including "2 AM" and "Perfect" in 2018, "Little Bit Crazy" and "Stick Like Honey" in 2019, and "Real Long Nails" in 2020.

In 2021, Simpson auditioned for the sixteenth season of America's Got Talent, receiving a yes vote from each judge and advancing to the quarterfinals, where she ultimately placed fourth in the finals.

Simpson's Broadway career began with the 2022 revival of 1776. She first originated the role of Roger Sherman at the American Repertory Theater in Boston, Massachusetts, then continued in the role when the production transferred to the American Airlines Theatre in New York. In 2023, she joined the national touring company of 1776, performing the role of Courier.