Jessica Simpson has a phobia of sharks

The blonde star celebrated turning 30 last month (10.07.10) with a trip to Italy where she stayed on a yacht, but she wouldn't go swimming in the sea because she was too afraid of what might be lurking beneath the waves.

She said: "I had a great birthday I had most of my best friends out in Italy with me. We got to have a yacht for three days, which is so not me, but I was like, 'If I'm going to turn 30 then I'm going to live it wonderfully and have the best birthday ever.' So I did that for myself.

"But the best part of the yacht was not actually jumping off it because I'm terrified of sharks. Everyone was like, 'There are no sharks, there are no sharks! But all I could think of was that a shark would attack me, if there were one."

Jessica has also revealed she is recording a new album and is excited to be returning to music after focusing on other projects.

The 'With You' singer – who has her own perfume, a denim range and a line of shoes and presented VH1 show 'The Price of Beauty' – added in an interview with website Popsugar: "It's so crazy to me to get to talk about music. Music is my heart and soul and it's how I got into this business. I've ventured a little left and right. The new record is all about inspiration and peace and it's going to inspire a lot of people - I hope."