Fergie is pretty and talented, but it wasn't always money and fame. Find out about her difficult childhood

Fergie of ‘The Black Eyed Peas’ was born Stacy Ann Ferguson. When she was a kid in the 1980’s, she was the voice of Sally Brown for some Peanuts TV specials and The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show. Sally Brown is the younger sister of Charlie Brown and an important female character in the comic strip ‘Peanuts’ by Charles M. Schulz.

Before Fergie’s career with The Black Eyed Peas, she was also a presenter on the children's TV series ‘Kids Incorporated’ and a member of the girl group Wild Orchid. She also co-hosted the TV show ‘Great Pretenders’.

During her youth, she was involved with members of the Mexican gangs in Hacienda Heights. The failure of the group Wild Orchid was such a disappointment to Ferguson that she became addicted to crystal methamphetamine.

After a long battle and recovering from her addiction, she spoke about it to Time in 2006: "It was the hardest boyfriend I ever had to break up with," she said. "It's the drug that's addicting. But it's why you start doing it in the first place that's interesting. A lot of it was being a child actor; I learned to suppress feelings."

Fergie joined The Black Eyed Peas as lead female vocalist in 2003. The band enjoyed underground success before, but when Fergie joined them permanently, the band quickly grew into mainstream popularity.

(Source)