One of the most well-known 2000s sitcoms, That ’70s Show follows a group of teenage friends during the titular decade, and Jessica Simpson guest-starred in a few season 5 episodes. Simpson played Annette Berkardt, a high schooler living in California who Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) dates when he spends time there with Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon) at the end of season 4. Annette is ditzy and the joke is that she is just like Kelso’s love interest Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis). Annette sheds light on the problems in Kelso and Jackie’s romance, even though she doesn’t appear in the series for very long.
Simpson played Annette in That ’70s Show in 2002 and 2003, which was a few years before she starred in the Johnny Knoxville movie The Dukes of Hazzard along with the 2006 comedy Employee of the Month and 2007’s Blonde Ambition. The pop singer’s acting resume is comprised of similar roles: characters who play into the “dumb blonde” stereotype and who are mostly there to provide comic relief. Simpson did the same in her MTV reality series Newlyweds with her then-husband Nick Lachey. Although Annette has a similar personality to these other roles, she does teach Kelso and Jackie some much-needed lessons.
Jessica Simpson Played Annette Berkardt On That ’70s Show
In the season 5 premiere “Going to California,” Kelso and Annette date, and he is interested in her because of her good looks and fun-loving personality. In the spin-off That ’90s Show, Jackie and Kelso are married, but years before they reconcile, Kelso explores other love interests, including Annette. She appears again in the season 5 episode “Your Time Is Gonna Come” when she travels to Point Place, Wisconsin and Jackie sees her kissing Kelso. The continued joke about Annette’s brief arc is that she talks and behaves similarly to Jackie, and Kelso’s strong feelings for his ex-girlfriend have never disappeared.
Kelso falls for several other people during the sitcom, including Steven Hyde’s half-sister Angie Barnett in season 7, but his longest love story is with Jackie, even if they don’t end the series together. The fact that Annette’s presence is so upsetting to Jackie helps Kelso and Jackie see that they still have feelings for each other. But like when Kelso also likes Laurie Foreman (Christina Moore), Eric’s (Topher Grace) sister, Annette proves that one of the show’s main couples needs some time apart from each other. The fact that they both become so envious means that they need to grow up and mature.
Annette Exposes Cracks In Kelso And Jackie’s Relationship
Annette in That ’70s Show proves that Kelso and Jackie have too many problems to be in a relationship at this point in the show, and without her character, it would likely take them much longer to realize that getting back together right now is a bad idea. When Jackie sees Kelso and Annette kissing and says that he is still her boyfriend, she proves that she loves Kelso but has to let him go if she’s going to become more mature. It’s telling that the couple isn’t yet reconciled in the series finale of That ’70s Show as their love isn’t enough to help them through these tough spots.
The thread of cheating is present throughout the entire sitcom, with Kelso having an affair with Laurie in season 1 and Jackie’s boyfriend Hyde sleeping with someone else in season 5. Jackie and Kelso split up in season 3 because she is devastated by his unfaithfulness. While Kelso is free to date Annette, Jackie’s envy speaks to the pain that he has caused her, and how hard it is for them to let go of the past. Jackie ultimately needs to watch Kelso and Annette together so she can move on for the time being until they are older, wiser, and ready for a more committed relationship.
