Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American pop singer-songwriter and occasional actress.

Spears first came to fame as a member of the New Mickey Mouse Club in the early 1990s, taking a five-year break from entertainment after the show wrapped. She subsequently emerged at the forefront of the pop music scene in 1999, thanks to the crafting of her chart-topping debut album by producer-songwriter Max Martin. Her second album, released the following year, was a similarly huge hit.

In the early 2000s, Spears' success as a singer led her way to high-profile advertising deals (most notably for Pepsi), as well as forays into other forms of media, including film and reality television. Her third and fourth albums released during this era included more artistic input from Spears, but yielded lower sales. In 2004 she married Kevin Federline, and the following year gave birth to their son Sean Preston. In 2006, she is set to resume her recording career.

With worldwide record sales topping the 85 million mark (as of 2006)^[1], Britney Spears has become one of the most recognisable celebrities and sex symbols of her generation and is the biggest selling female artist of the 2000's.

Biography

Childhood and discovery

Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana. Her parents, who are now divorced, are James Parnell Spears (b. 1952), a building contractor, and Lynne Irene Bridges (b. 1956), a grade school teacher. Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Woolmoore (b. 1924-d. 1993), was an English war bride, who met Spears' maternal grandfather, Barnett O'Field Bridges (b. 1919-d. 1978), in England during WWII, and subsequently moved with him to the United States. Her paternal grandparents were June Austin Spears (b. 1930-) and Emma Jean Forbes (b. 1934-d. 1966); Spears also claims some Native American heritage [2]. Spears has a brother, Bryan (b. 1977) and a sister, Jamie Lynn (b. 1991).

As a young girl, Spears was an accomplished gymnast, attending gymnastics classes until age nine, and competing in state-level competitions. She performed in local dance revues and her local Baptist church choirs, and was auditioning for the Disney Channel's New Mickey Mouse Club by the time she was eight. Although she was considered too young to join the series at the time, a producer on the show introduced her to a New York agent. Spears subsequently spent three summers at NYC's Professional Performing Arts School and also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions, including 1991's Ruthless!. In 1992, she landed a spot on Star Search, and though she won the first round, she lost in the second. Spears returned to the Disney Channel for a spot on the New Mickey Mouse Club and was accepted. She was featured in the 1993 to 1994 seasons during the ages of eleven and thirteen. Other performers on the show included Justin Timberlake and Joshua Chasez (both of whom later became members of the pop group *NSYNC), Keri Russell (star of the TV show Felicity), fellow pop singer Christina Aguilera, and actor Ryan Gosling.

A few years later, Spears recorded a demo, which landed in the hands of a Jive Records executive. She was signed to their label and began touring American venues for a series of concerts sponsored by American teen magazines, before joining *NSYNC and becoming their opening act.