Biography
Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, in Kentwood, Louisiana. She always knew she wanted to pursue a musical career, so she took her talents to her local church, where she sang with the choir. She even sang on national television as a Star Search contestant.At the age of 8, Britney auditioned for the popular children's variety show The New Mickey Mouse Club, but she was refused because of her young age. Luckily for Britney Spears, one of the show's producers saw the young singer's talent and helped her find an agent in New York City.
Britney Spears spent the next three summers in New York, where she studied at the famous Off Broadway Dance Center and at the Professional Performing Arts School. She also appeared in commercials and off-Broadway shows, one of which showcased Britney as an innocent 10-year-old with a "bad girl" edge.
britney spears as a mouseketeer
At the age of 11, three years after her first Mickey Mouse Club rejection, Britney Spears finally landed a spot as a "Mouseketeer." Joining a cast of talented teens, Britney showed off her acting, dancing and singing talents on the show that also spawned the careers of fellow celebrities Keri Russell, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake.After two years of living in Orlando while doing the show, Britney Spears moved back home to Kentwood and returned to high school. Her one year as a 14-year-old high-school student would be the last bit of normalcy in her life. With dreams of pursuing a career as a singer and a desire to leave her small hometown, Britney set off to New York City. Britney then signed with Jive Records after impressing an executive with her demo tape.
britney releases hit me baby one more time
Her debut album ...Baby One More Time (1999) held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts, was certified RIAA 14 times platinum (it has gone on to sell more than 20 million copies) and won Britney awards such as the 1999 MTV Europe Awards for Best Female Artist, Best Pop Artist and Best Breakthrough Artist.With the hype nowhere near being over, she returned to the music scene in 2000 with her follow-up album, entitled Oops!... I Did It Again. With a hit video accompanying the hit title track (in which Spears definitely did it again, this time in a red latex cat suit), a second worldwide tour in support of her album and millions of fans later, Britney Spears accomplished what few artists ever accomplish -- and she was only 18 years old.
2001 was a banner year for the pop star, as she cohosted the American Music Awards with LL Cool J, sang with Aerosmith, 'N Sync, Nelly, and Mary J. Blige at the Super Bowl, appeared on a spoken-word CD of the Pope's prayers (irony?), and signed a multimillion-dollar endorsement deal with Pepsi. Her third, self-titled album was released, which spawned hits like "Overprotected," "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman" and "Slave 4 U."
A year later she starred in the less-than-talked-about movie Crossroads. That same year, she also appeared as host and performer on Saturday Night Live and had a cameo in Austin Powers Goldmember.
britney spears and justin timberlake
After her public breakup with Justin Timberlake in 2002, the once-chaste Spears began showing up in tabloids and entertainment news shows due to her heavy partying and rebellious lifestyle.She even appeared at a movie premiere with bad boy Colin Farrell, and her many tattoos and the confirmation that she did indeed have sex with Justin only added fuel to the fire. Throw in a nearly naked performance at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, a performance with caged animals and a snake at the following year's VMAs and a very erotic video for "Slave 4 U," and Britney's good-girl image was down the drain.
britney spears releases in the zone
A few months before the release of her fourth album, In The Zone, Britney Spears shocked audiences yet again at the VMAs, this time during a remixed rendition of Madonna's "Like A Virgin." Along with Christina Aguilera, Britney kissed Madonna in one of the most memorable -- and scandalous -- moments of the year. In The Zone was released in November 2003, and debuted at No. 1 with more than 609,000 copies sold in its first week of release. That same month, Britney received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.britney spears marries kevin federline
Britney married her former backup dancer, Kevin Federline, on September 18, 2004, and after months of weight-gain rumors, Britney announced that she was pregnant with a baby boy, to whom she gave birth in 2005. The young husband and wife would go on to have another child, a baby boy named Jayden, in 2006, but the couple ended up in court when Britney Spears filed for divorce on November 7, 2006.Soon after her breakup with Federline, Spears began hitting the dance-club circuit with Paris Hilton, and her privates were photographed with no underwear by a number of paparazzi.
On February 16, 2007, after months of wild partying, Britney Spears entered a drug rehab facility, but she left the very next day. That night, Britney entered a closed hair salon, and to everyone’s dismay, she shaved her head completely bald. After leaving the salon, Spears visited a tattoo parlor and got several new tattoos.
In October of the same year, Spears lost custody of her two boys to Kevin Federline.
britney spears on how i met your mother, releases circus
In early 2008, police were called to the home of Britney Spears. She was hospitalized briefly, and after that, she started taking strides to clean up her act. She stayed out of the spotlight as much as possible and took on projects that would help improve her image, like making guest appearances on the hit TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Surprisingly, viewers were quite impressed with her acting skills.She continued to improve her image, regaining visitation rights to see her children in July 2008, opening the MTV Movie Awards in October and heading a documentary on her life called Britney Spears: For The Record in November. It seemed to work, as people started to see Britney as more of a "victim" of her stardom than self-destructive. She won two MTV Europe Music Awards, and her fifth album, Circus, hit the charts that November as well.
Britney's romance problems didn't end when she broke up with K-Fed. In 2007 she was linked to paparazzi photographer Adnan Ghalib, and ultimately had to get a restraining order against him after they broke up. Ghalib continued to cause stress for Britney into 2009, when he was still making statements to the press about how their relationship was ongoing.
britney spears is no. 90 on 2009 top 99
In January 2009, Britney Spears made AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women list, coming in at No. 90. She also worked out a custody agreement with her ex-husband Kevin Federline that would see her bringing their two sons on her The Circus: Starring Britney Spears tour, which kicked off in March 2009. When the tour began, Britney appeared to have gotten back into great physical condition. The atmosphere on the tour was controlled tightly by Britney's father, who fired several backup dancers early in the tour because of suspected drug use.Fewer >>
