BRITNEY SPEARS

BRITNEY SPEARS

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is a Grammy Award-winning, American pop singer, dancer, actress, author and songwriter.

She is best known for her studio albums, music videos, and songs such as "...Baby One More Time", "Oops!...I Did It Again", "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Toxic". In the early 2000s, Spears's success as a singer led her way to high-profile advertising deals and endorsements, as well as forays into other forms of media, including film and reality television. Her third and fourth albums, Britney and In the Zone, were released during this era. In 2004 she married back-up dancer and aspiring rap artist Kevin Federline, and the following year she gave birth to their first son, Sean Preston. Their second son, Jayden James, was born in 2006. Spears filed for divorce from Federline on November 7, 2006 citing irreconcilable differences.

Spears has sold over seventy-six million records worldwide according to TIME magazine. Having sold 28 million albums in the US, Spears ranks as the eighth best-selling female artist in American music history.


Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised Southern Baptist in Kentwood, Louisiana. Her parents are James Parnell Spears, a building contractor, and Lynne Irene Bridges, a former grade school teacher. Spears's brother, Bryan, is one of her managers, and her sister, Jamie-Lynn, is an actress and singer. Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Woolmore, was an English war-bride, who met Spears's maternal grandfather, Barnett O'Field Bridges, in England during World War II, and subsequently moved with him to the US. Her paternal grandparents were June Austin Spears and Emma Jean Forbes
Towards the end of 1998, Spears's debut single "...Baby One More Time" hit the airwaves. Accompanied by a music video that featured the pop princess in a Roman Catholic schoolgirl outfit, the song became an international success, earning double platinum sales and going to number one in the UK, and a large number of countries throughout the world. Her first solo single achieved nine million sales worldwide

Spears's success had made her notable in the music industry as well as popular culture. In early 2001 she caught the attention of Pepsi who gave Spears a multi-million dollar promotional deal which included numerous television commercials, point-of-purchase promotions and Internet ties between Spears and the company


Spears married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander on January 3, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On February 16, 2007, Spears entered an off-shore drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua. She stayed, however, for less than twenty-four hours. The following night, Spears went to a haircutting studio in Tarzana, California and subsequently shaved her own hair off with clippers. A few days later, on February 20, 2007, Spears admitted herself to a treatment facility in Malibu, California. A statement by her manager read, "We ask that the media respect her privacy as well as those of her family and friends at this time." She left the facility briefly but returned on February 22, 2007. The previous day Kevin Federline had requested an emergency hearing regarding the custody of his children with Spears but his attorney announced that his client asked to cancel the court appearance. No further explanation was given. Spears left rehab March 20 according to her manager who said she was released after "successfully completing their program". A friend told People magazine Spears was "doing fine".