Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is a Grammy Award-winning American pop singer, dancer, actress, and model.
Britney was born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana as a Southern Baptist. Her parents are Lynne Irene a former elementary school teacher, and Jamie Parnell Spears, a former building contractor and chef. Britney has two siblings, Bryan and Jamie Lynn.
Britney was an accomplished gymnast, attending gymnastics classes until age nine and competing in state-level competitions. She performed in local dance revues and sang in her local Baptist church choir. She entered New York City's Professional Performing Arts School when she was eight. Spears's parents would often argue, and they eventually divorced in 2002.
At age eight, Britney auditioned for the Disney Channel series The New Mickey Mouse Club. Although she was considered too young to join the series at the time, a producer on the show introduced her to a New York City agent. She subsequently spent three summers at NYC's Professional Performing Arts School and also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions. She was an understudy in the 1991 off-Broadway musical Ruthless!. In 1992, she landed a spot on the popular television show Star Search. She won the first round of competition, but ultimately lost. At age eleven, Britney returned to the Disney Channel for a spot on the The New Mickey Mouse Club in Lakeland, Florida. She was featured on the show from 1993 to 1994, until she was 13. After the show ended, she returned to Kentwood and attended high school for a year.
In 1997, Spears briefly joined the all-female pop group Innosense. Later that same year, she recorded a solo demo and was signed by Jive Records. She began a U.S. concert tour sponsored by American teen magazines, and eventually became an opening act for 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.
Britney posed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in April 1999, shot by photographer David LaChapelle. Geoff Boucher of The Los Angeles Times reported, "there was no mistaking the titillation factor in the recent Spears cover story and accompanying photos in the April 15 issue of Rolling Stone, which sent eyebrows arching throughout the music industry, where several executives half-jokingly called it "child pornography"
Her career success was highlighted by Forbes magazine in 2002 as she was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity. At a performance at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, Britney appeared with Christina Aguilera performing the song "Like a Virgin", and was later joined by American pop singer Madonna, with whom Britney locked lips; the incident was highly publicized.
Britney married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander on January 3, 2004, at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The marriage lasted 55 hours, ending with an annulment stating that Britney "lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to marriage because before entering into the marriage the Plaintiff and Defendant did not know each others' likes and dislikes, each others' desires to have or not have children, and each other's desires as to State of residency".
Months after her Las Vegas marriage, Britney embarked on The Onyx Hotel Tour, which was canceled in June after she injured her knee during the filming of the video for the single "Outrageous". The tour's choreography generated much controversy and criticism, which was cited inappropriate with the presence of young children in the audience. In September 2004, she became involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna. However, she publicly left the religion in 2006, stating on her website, "I no longer study Kabbalah, my baby is my religion."
In July 2004, Britney announced her engagement to Kevin Federline, three months after they met. Federline had recently been in a relationship with actress Shar Jackson, who was eight months pregnant with their second child. These initial stages were chronicled in Britney's first reality show Britney & Kevin: Chaotic, which aired on UPN in May and June 2005. On the night of September 18, Britney married Federline in a surprise, non-denominational ceremony at a residence in Studio City, California, filing legal papers on October 6. After the marriage, Spears announced via her website that she would be taking another career break to start a family. She gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, nearly one year later, on September 14, 2005 in Santa Monica, California by a scheduled caesarean section.
In 2006, Spears guest-starred on the Will & Grace episode "Buy, Buy Baby" as a closetedlesbian. Spears announced her second pregnancy in May 2006 during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. Three months later she posed nude for the August 2006 cover of Harper's Bazaar.
In January 2007, Britney's aunt -- with whom she had been very close -- died of ovarian cancer. Following this Britney checked herself into a treatment center for drug addiction for 24 hours, shaved her head with electric clippers the following night, checked herself into another treatment center, filed for divorce and custody of her children, won and subsequently lost custody of her children, was charged with a hit-and-run misdemeanor, ordered to undergo random drug and alcohol testings and, in January 2008, was hospitalized while apparently under the influence of an unknown substance and held for psychiatric evaluation.
MaryHelen said of Britney:
--Heidi