Ashlee Simpson: "I'm thrilled to be joining Melrose Place"

Ashlee Simpson: "I'm thrilled to be joining Melrose Place"

Actress Ashlee Simpson says she can't wait to move into Melrose Place.

"I'm thrilled to be joining the cast of Melrose Place," she tells Usmagazine in a statement. "I look forward to being a part of its new generation of residents."

As had earlier been reported, Simpson will play a lead character named Violet, a small-town girl who moves to L.A. with a secret, in the show spinoff.

Ashlee Simpson will return to the small screen after a guest spot with her husband, Pete Wentz , on the March 18 episode of CBS' CSI: New York. She was also a regular for two seasons on the WB drama 7th Heaven.