Jessica Simpson Taking Charge

(AP)  She's a pop singer, a pinup-worthy beauty and a paparazzi favorite, but Jessica Simpson insists she's just "a normal girl."

With her fifth album now in stores, a new music video on the way and a movie opening Friday, normal might be a stretch.

At least in real life. On the big screen, she plays a very normal discount-store cashier in "Employee of the Month."

The role is an intentional departure from her sexy stint as Daisy Duke in last year's "Dukes of Hazzard." But, says the 26-year-old starlet, it also represents a new grown-up chapter in her life as she learns to take charge of her career, her future and herself.

"I'm kind of doing it by doses and, along the way, figuring myself out and learning to belong to myself, learning to be committed to myself," she says. "I see a lot of change in my life right now. I'm really grasping hold of what I want for the first time."

What she wants is to keep on being superstar-famous while growing as a performer on stage and on screen. She knows that means living in a fish bowl: her every move scrutinized, her love interests transformed into tabloid fodder. It means being followed by photographers and trailed by microphones that could capture her latest language flub.

But she'll take all that.

"It's worth it," she says. "My career is more than what I hoped for."

The Texas-born blonde says that though she never expected to become a movie star, she's embracing the opportunity. Playing concerts around the globe and starring in the popular MTV reality show "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica" prepared her for the challenges of acting, she says.

So far, she's stuck to eye-candy roles that call for short shorts and cleavage-baring blouses. But it's all on purpose and part of her plan, she says.

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