Britney Jean Spears was born in rural Kentwood, Louisiana on
December 2, 1981 to Jamie and Lynne Spears, a building contractor and second
grade teacher. Britney has one older brother, Byran Spears born in April 1977
and one younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, born in 1991. As a child, Britney
started out taking ballet and basic tumbling classes. Soon she was enrolled in a
gymnastics class where she excelled in floor exercises and the uneven bars.
Britney went on to compete at state level competitions and won several titles.
She also joined a dance company which toured the state competing in solo and
group dance competitions. As far as her musical talents, Britney sang in her
church choir and was a young contestant of Star Search. At age 8, Britney
tried out for Mickey Mouse Club (1989), but was turned down due to her
young age. As luck would have it, a producer from the Mickey Mouse Club thought
that Britney had a lot of talent and advised her mother to take Britney to New
York and obtain an agent for her. Britney then spent the next three summers in
New York, studying at the Off-Broadway Dance Center and Professional Performing
Arts School. She starred in an off-Broadway show, Ruthless, for a
2-year run as the title character. At age 11, she again tried for Mickey
Mouse Club. Britney Spears ended up as the youngest cast member; she won the
part after Jessica Simpson choked on the last
question during the final audition. After two years on the Mickey Mouse
Club, the show disbanded and she returned home to attend high school.
Britney attended Park Lane Academy for one year, a private school in McComb,
Mississippi until October 1994. The rest of her high school studies were
completed with the help of private tutors.
Britney Spears was signed as a Jive Recording Artist in the late 90s. The
release of her debut album, "...Baby One More Time" in early 1999 made her an
international success. Britney starred in a series of Pepsi commercials in 2001
which netted her upwards of $10,000,000 million. On November 17, 2003, Britney
Spears received a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame. She is tied with Melissa
Gilbert as the youngest person to have ever accepted a Walk of Fame star. FHM's
ranked Britney Spears as the #1 Sexiest Woman in the World in May 2004. Britney
is the first woman to have four albums go straight to number one on the American
charts. She has also had roles in three movies to date, her restaurant Nyla
opened in June 2002, and her perfume "Curious" was one of the best selling
fragrances of 2004. She has written 2 books about herself, one written with her
mom.
Britney Spears met Justin Timberlake during their time on the Micky Mouse
Club. They dated from 1998 to 2002. On January 3, 2004, Spears married
childhood friend Jason Alexander at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las
Vegas. According to a statement released by her record label, they had taken "a
joke too far," and the marriage was annulled two days later on January 5, 2004.
A few months later, in June 2004, Britney became engaged to her former back-up
dander Kevin Federline. They were married later that year on September 18.
Britney is now stepmother to Federline's two children. She is reportedly
considering the idea of taking her husband Kevin Federline's surname, which
would change her last name from Spears to Federline. Britney recently wrote a
"letter of truth" to her fans which was published on her official website,
telling her fans that she needed to take a hiatus from her career to concentrate
on her marriage with her new husband Kevin Federline and start a family with
him.
Evidently her new focus has paid off for her as she announced in April, 2005,
that she is pregnant with her first child. She gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, in September, 2005, but there have been reports of marital difficulties between her and Federline as he has been seen out partying til late hours while she stays home with the baby.
