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."

sections: Celebrities