As a child, born on 2nd December 1981, to Jamie & Lynne Spears in Kentwood, Louisiana, Britney was constantly singing - she sang 'What Child Is This,' a Christian hymn, at her Kindergarten Graduation. After winning many local talent shows, she became bored and discovered auditions in Atlanta, for a remake of the hit 50's TV show, "The Mickey Mouse Club," and convinced her mother to take her there. At just 8, Britney was rejected for being too young, but recognising she had star quality, the producer gave her and her mother the name and number of an esteemed New York agent. Britney spent 3 years studying dance, music and performing arts in Manhattan and starring in commercials, and playing an evil child in the off-Broadway play "Ruthless" in 1991. At 10 years old, in 1992, she performed on American TV talent show, "Star Search," performing "Love Can Build A Bridge," where she won. Following this, at 11, she re-auditioned for "The Mickey Mouse Club," and became a Mouseketeer. She was the youngest there, and it was on the show that she met Christina Aguilera, JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake (both of *NSync), and Keri Russell (star of the US TV show 'Felicity').

She spent two years as a Mouseketeer, before the show was axed. She went home and spent a year as a "normal teenager" - attending high school, studying, playing basketball, having a boyfriend, etc. Soon she decided to pursue singing and recorded a demo-tape, which she sent around to record companies. She was offered a part in a girl group called Innosense, but declined, wanting to make it as a solo artist, not part of a group. Larry Rudolph, her New York Agent knew that pop was coming back and saw a gap in the market - there didn't seem to be a female solo artist flying the flag, so took Britney around to various record labels in New York, where she performed the Whitney Houston classic, "I Have Nothing." Relatively small record label, Jive Records, who were responsible for the Backstreet Boys, snapped Britney Spears up, and earmarked songs especially for their new signing, including "...Baby One More Time" and "(You Drive Me) Crazy," both written by Max Martin.

In the middle of 1998, Britney did her first tour across malls in America, playing a set of tracks from her now-finished debut album, and gaining a fanbase, slowly but surely. A few months later, "...Baby One More Time" was serviced to radio... a few weeks later, it was number one in the singles chart. The album, also titled "...Baby One More Time," followed, again entering at #1, breaking records in the US Billboard charts. Her debut album also reached multi platinum success in Canada, Germany, Sweden, France, Japan, Taiwan and France, when it was released in early 1999. In the UK, the single had the fourth highest first-week sales of any single ever, and became the biggest selling single of 1999. She also became the youngest person to have sold over a million copies of their debut single in the UK, and broke records on music television channel, "The Box." The album was eventually released in March 1999 in the UK, and sold 124,000 copies on its first day in the UK, 1000 more than the #1 of last week sold in 6 days. Two further UK top 5 singles followed that year - the top 3 hit "Sometimes," and "(You Drive Me) Crazy.".

"...Baby One More Time" gave Britney a second UK #1 single less than a year later, when the last single from the album, "Born To Make You Happy," was released in January 2000. The single, originally planned to be released in the USA following "From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart," became an exclusive for the UK and Europe, as recording for her second album was complete. Once again re-united with Max Martin and Rami in Sweden, but also featuring a collaboration with Rodney Jerkins, Britney's second album, "Oops!... I Did It Again," was released in May. The lead single from the album, also entitled "Oops!... I Did It Again," became her third UK #1, and the album hit #2 in the UK charts, being held off the top spot at the last minute by Whitney Houston's greatest hits. Three more singles were released from the album - "Lucky," "Stronger" and the Shania Twain and Mutt Lange-penned, "Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know," - and Britney embarked on her first ever world tour, hitting the UK and Europe in late 2000. The "Oops!... I Did It Again" tour proved to the world that Britney was more than just a singer; she was a world class entertainer, encompassing all of her hit singles and select album tracks. The demand for Britney, just like the demand for Spice Girls a few years earlier, was at feverpitch, and Britney merchandise was created to supply the demand from fans - everything from T-Shirts, mugs, calendars, beanie bears, singing locker posters, musical key rings, flip books, animated video cards to a huge range of sunglasses, figurine dolls and accessories, to name but a few.

In addition to the merchandise, Britney co-authored her first book, with her mother Lynne, entitled "Heart To Heart," discussing Britney's early life, her family and important events in her career so far. The duo later released a novel loosely based on Britney's life in 2002, entitled "A Mother's Gift," which was developed into a succesful TV movie in the USA in 2004 called "Brave New Girl." To complete her domination of all sections of the media, Britney starred in her first feature film in 2001, entitled "Crossroads," written especially for her, based on a storyline she devised herself. In the film, she plays Lucy, a girl who finishes school to go to college, but takes a spontaneous roadtrip across America to meet her mother, having been reunited with two old friends, Kit (Zoe Saldana) and Mimi (Taryn Manning) on the night of their prom. The film was an instant success, hitting #2 in the US Box Office charts, #4 in the UK, and recouping the cost of production many times over. Released to coincide with her third album, the eponymously-titled "Britney," a lot of the songs crossed over into the film, including "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman," which was co-written by UK chanteuse, Dido. Also in 2002, Britney released her first fully interactive game, entitled "Britney's Dance Beat," formatted for the PC, Game Boy Advance and Playstation 2, where users play as Britney or as her dancers, practicing for her latest world tour. Before "Crossroads," in late 2001, Britney unveiled her third album, "Britney" which risked alienating her young fanbase, with lead single "I'm A Slave 4 U," being a melting pot of seductive whispers and minimalist hip-hop beat, dripping with sex appeal - even appearing in "Q" magazine's 2003 list of top 10 songs "to get you off."

Britney embarked on her third major tour, entitled "Dream Within A Dream," in late 2001, taking breaks from it throughout 2002 to promote "Crossroads" and the "Britney" album internationally. The concept of the tour was based on the philosophy that, even whilst you are achieving and realising your dreams, you should continue to dream. However, 2002 was Britney's hardest year yet. At the end of 2002, Britney drew "Britney" and "Dream Within A Dream" to a close. 2002 had been her hardest year yet. Although "Britney" reached #1 in the US, selling over 8million copies worldwide, it was deemed a failure compared to the 25million+ sales of "Oops!... I Did It Again" and the 30million+ sales of "...Baby One More Time." Whilst commercially successful, "Crossroads," her debut film, had received many bad reviews, and her personal life was also troubled, having split with her boyfriend of 5 years, Justin Timberlake, after controversial claims she had betrayed him. He also announced that he had taken Britney's virginity, after she famously claimed, at press conference in 1999 that she was going to try and wait until she was married. At the end of the year, she cut the "Dream Within A Dream" tour short in Mexico, and went home to take some time out.

Having already achieved massive worldwide success, Britney decided she was not going to worry about sales, and made an active decision to experiment on her fourth album to make the album she wanted to make. Making a fully fledged return to the industry, Britney performed "Me Against The Music," not officially intended to be the first single at te time, but the song she personally wanted to release first, at the Superbowl Half Time show in 2003. Jive were pushing for a song they bought in for Britney, "Outrageous," written by R. Kelly to be the first single, but Britney was adamant it would be a mistake, so suggested that it be given an urban remix by Rishi Rich, a pioneering British producer who merges hip-hop with bhangra. She was then asked to appear at the MTV Video Music Awards, where she is famed for pushing the boundaries with controversial performances (the *NSync medley in 1999, the flesh-coloured outfit in 2000, the tiger and snake in 2001) in a Madonna "tribute" with Madonna herself, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott. Backstage, Madonna heard "Me Against The Music," and agreed with Britney that it would be a great first single, which resulted in Britney asking if she wanted to duet on it, which she did. The VMA performance itself caused controversy due to the lesbian kiss Britney and Madonna shared. As Britney and Christina were the "brides" it only seemed right that they should share a kiss with Madonna, the "groom."

Britney's fourth album, "In The Zone" was released on 17th November 2003, to a mixed reception, thanks to the eclectic mix of sounds on the album. Britney herself says that on reflection she feels that "less is more" would have worked better, but it became another worldwide #1, it received its worst reception in the UK, where it debuted at #14, despite selling over 35,000 copies (it later went on to sell more than "Britney," although it peaked at #13 in the chart). Already tabloid fodder, thanks to her comments about virginity, and the fact that she was a normal teenage girl who had partied and smoked, Britney hit the headlines in early 2004, when she married her childhood friend, Jason Alexander, in a small chapel in Las Vegas, and had the marriage annulled within 2 days. Britney said, "it was a crazy thing to do, I just wanted to see what being married was like." Britney was adamant that the second single from "In The Zone" be the Cathy Dennis-penned, electropop "Toxic," produced by Bloodshy & Avant. With a stunning video from Joseph Kahn, the single gave Britney her biggest worldwide single since "Oops!... I Did It Again" in 2000, selling over 105,000 copies in the UK in its first week to give Britney her fourth UK #1 single. The next single, the bittersweet "Everytime," written by Britney herself, with a backing vocalist from her previous tour, and produced by British producer, Guy Sigsworth (one half of Frou Frou) also scored her a UK #1.

At the same time as she was promoting "In The Zone," Britney also embarked on her second world tour, the Onyx Hotel Tour 2004, where "guests" enter the hotel and get a guided tour of the rooms during their stay. The tour was a huge success all over Europe, and, having won her choices for the first three singles, Britney finally agreed that "Outrageous" would be the fourth single from "In The Zone." Whilst filming the video, just before the second leg of the tour in the USA, she injured her knee and the video was left incomplete. At the same time as she had been on tour in Europe, Britney had been seeing former dancer, Kevin Federline, who left his pregnant girlfriend, Shar Jackson, back in the USA. He was single when he met Britney, although he already had one child with Jackson. Following the cancellation of the rest of the tour, due to her injury, the "In The Zone" project was abandoned and Britney officially "left" the industry to spend time with Federline. In September 2004, after resting and recuperating her knee, Britney married Kevin Federline in a secret ceremony that surprised her family and friends, officially signing documents for the marriage on 6th October 2004. The wedding was covered exclusively by "People" magazine (and republished in "OK!" magazine UK), officially beginning their working relationship, which would lead to Britney giving them exclusives.

At the end of 2004, a new Britney single was released, taken from her greatest hits compilation, "Greatest Hits: My Prerogative," named after the new single,"My Prerogative," a cover of the 1989 Bobby Brown hit, with lyrics that could so easily be applied to Britney's life. The single hit #3 in the UK, and the album debuted at #2 in the album chart (nearly hitting #1 if it were not for the high sales of a Friday debut by Eminem with his new studio album). The album sold 105,000 copies in its first week, breaking records for the first-week sales of a greatest hits record by a female artist. In late December, Britney premiered a brand new song on USA radio station Kiis, entitled "Mona Lisa," taken from her fifth studio album, which she stated was to be called "Original Doll" and which would be released that summer. However, in early January, she decided to record a video for the other new song on her hits compilation, "Do Somethin'," and, despite it not being a UK single, she phoned in to MTV "TRL" USA to prmitere the video. Britney denied an "album" was being planned, saying that the song was from "a show," leading to rumours that Jive was so upset by her impromptu radio appearance, as she went on the show without their permission, that they had cancelled plans for the album. Britney also continues her "brand status" with her first hit perfume range, Curious, with Elizabeth Arden, which launched to massive success internationally in March 2005.

Throughout 2005, Britney posted messages to fans on her official web site, officially confirming her rumoured pregnancy, as well as posting a message about "false tablouds," who claimed her marriage was on the rocks. Later, the happy couple signed a contract for their private home videos from behind-the-scenes at Britney's 2004 "The Onyx Hotel Tour" to be edited and shown on the US channel, UPN, in a show entitled, "Britney & Kevin: Chaotic." The show showcased the beginnings of their relationship, using a video camera as a "third person" and was interspersed with new clips of the couple talking, both together and separately, about how they felt at the time. The last episode, the 5th of the first season, also premiered Britney's brand new music video, "Someday (I Will Understand)," which she wrote back in January before she found out she was pregnant and which was released as a single in Europe in August 2005. The track was released on the bonus CD of the "Britney & Kevin: Chaotic" DVD internationally, alongside the finished version of "Mona Lisa," and "Chaotic," the theme tune to the show, which had originally been written for "In The Zone."

On 14th September 2005, Britney gave birth to a baby boy in LA, who she named Sean Preston. Rumours began abounding that Britney would be making her comeback to the music industry in 2006, spurned on by the release of her first remix collection, "B In The Mix," that November. In January 2006, she did another exclusive photoshoot with "People" and a few months later, filmed a guest spot in NBC's hit sitcom, "Will & Grace." Rumours began abounding that she was pregnant with a second child, and she confirmed these rumours in a special surprise guest appearance on David Letterman's chat show in May 2006. Britney's parenting skills were brought into question twice; once when she was photographed driving with Sean Preston on her lap (getting away from the paparazzi), and once when she was walking with him in one arm, and a glass of water in the other, and nearly fell over (again, surrounded by paparazzi). In July, she decided to partake in a 1-hour interview with Matt Lauer on NBC's "Dateline," to address all the rumours, looking dishevelled and breaking down and crying on national television. The interview seemed to do Britney's public image more harm than good, and shortly after, she appeared looking radiant on the front cover of "OK!" magazine, and in August, appeared on the front cover of fashion magazine, "Harper's Bazaar," naked, sporting a new black hair colour. Britney spoke about how her second pregnancy was unplanned, and spoke of her plans to return to her music career as soon as possible in 2007, with many esteemed producers, including JR Rotem, Sean Garrett and T-Pain speaking of tracks they have produced for Britney's 5th album. She gave birth to her second child in the same LA hospital on 12th September 2006, who she named Jayden James.

Britney took a short break from the public eye after giving birth, appearing sporting a slimmer physique at the launch party for Kevin Federline's album, "Playing With Fire," on which she appears, on 31st October 2006. Rumours had been flying all year that the couple were unhappy and were going to break up, fueled by a long period of the couple not being photographed together, and it seems those rumours were confounded when, on 7th November 2006, Britney Spears filed for divorce from Kevin Federline. In the documents, Britney asked that each party pay their own legal fees and requested assets including "miscellaneous jewellery and other personal effects" and her earnings from after the separation date be confirmed as separate from her husband's property. Shortly after, she was seen photographed with her former manager, Larry Rudolph, who it was confirmed she had resigned with; he introduced her to Paris Hilton and she became a staple on the LA party scene, including a string of incidents around 27th November, when she was photographed without underwear. Aware of what this was doing to her public image, Britney made a statement on her web site, apologising and saying she had purchased new underwear and was looking forward to a new her in 2007, saying, "The last couple of years have been quite a ride for me, the media has criticised my every move and printed a skewed perception of who I really am as a human being." She hosted a nightclub party on New Year's Eve, and collapsed, amidst rumours she was drinking too much and not eating. Things got worse, when her aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, 59, passed away from breast cancer on 21st January, at her home in Greensburg, Louisiana. Britney, and her children, went to the funeral that week, accompanied by Isaac Cohen, who she was rumoured to be dating, returning to LA.

Things got worse in February, when her former assistant, Felicia Culotta, made a statement, saying that she feels like a failure and when Isaac Cohen sold his story, it seemed Britney had given in to the demands of her management and family, and entered rehab in Antigua. However, after only a few hours, reportedly as they found she was clean and had no need to be in rehab, she left. On 17th February 2007, Britney Spears shocked the world once again, by shaving her head in front of the paparazzi. Entering Esther's Haircutting Studio in Tarzana, California, she complained of tight hair extensions, and asked for her hair to be shaved off; when they refused, she picked up the razor and did it herself, saying, "Oh, my God, I shaved it all off. My mum is going to be so upset with me." After leaving the salon, she went, bald, to a tattoo parlour and got a new tattoo. Britney was admitted and quickly released from hospital the followng day. Sporting a short blonde wig, Britney went about her daily business, before trying to see her children, before heading to Promises Rehab centre in LA. It appears Kevin refused, and, Britney, in a moment of temporary insanity, lashed out at nearby photographers, attacking a car with an umbrella, whilst not wearing a wig. She then headed to rehab, completing a month of treatment, before leaving and throwing herself into dancing at the Millennium Dance Studio, accompanied by her 'cousin', Alli Sims, amidst reports she had cut ties with her family, due to them forcing her to go to rehab, when she was adamant she didn't need to. This was fuelled further when she made a statement to X17 photographers in a sarcastic, self-deprecating voice, saying her management 'were so right'.

In May, Britney took part in a surprise series of mini-gigs at the House Of Blues in LA, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami and San Diego, performing a short set consisting of some of her biggest hits, before posting a full message to her fans at the end of the month, confirming she had split with her family, and saying, "I was sent to a very humbling place called rehab. I truly hit rock bottom. To this day I don't think that it was alcohol or depression. I was like a bad kid running around with ADD. I had a manager from a long time ago come in and try to direct me and my life after I got my divorce. I was so overwhelmed I think that I was in a little shock too. I didn't know who to go to. I realised how much energy and love I had put into my past relationship when it was gone because I genuinely did not know what to do with myself, and it made me so sad. I confess, I was so lost." The message ended with a quote, saying, "It is OK to disagree with people regarding certain issues. You’re not being true to yourself if you succumb to others' opinions because you feel guilty." In June, the letter wsa replaced by a self-deprecating message titled, "You'll Never See It My Way, Because You're Not Me," asking fans to choose the title of her new album, from titles including, "What If The Joke's On You?" and "Omg is Like Lindsay Lohan Like Okay Like." Shortly after, one more line was added at the bottom, simply saying, "Mother to Grandmother, and my my, you're grand." In July, she added an apology, a copy of which she hand delivered to the X17 photographers, saying, "I want to apologise for the past incident with the umbrella. I was preparing a character for a possible movie role, where the husband doesn't play his part so they swap places. Unfortunately I didn't get the part, I'm sorry I got a lil' carried away with my role! Britney."

In July, Britney set the wheels in motion for her comeback, having spent a lot of the past two years recording with many different writers and producers, shooting a video for a track entitled, "Gimme More," produced by Danja. The same day, she took part in an "OK!" magazine photoshoot, which didn't go according to plan, for undisclosed reasons. On 31st July, it was announced she was finally divorced legally from Kevin Federline, with the couple sharing custody of their two children. In August, she hired Jeff Kwatinetz of The Firm as her full-time manager, who had recently been fired by Kelly Clarkson, and appeared on the front cover of "Allure" magazine, looking stunning with a dark brown wig, accompanied by a magazine article, as an interview had been delayed on more than one ocassion, and eventually cancelled. Kevin Federline also began a campaign for 70% custody of his two children with Britney, and asked her to pay his legal bills, summoning people close to her in a bid to confirm tabloid reports, which would be used in court. It was also confirmed that she would make a comeback performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, and on 31st August, her first single in 3 years was premiered, the Danja-produced, "Gimme More." Her fifth studio album was released in October 2007, and just missed out on giving Britney her 5th consecutive #1 album in the USA, surrounded by controversy as the chart rules were changed the day before the announcement, in order to ensure a store-exclusive title was eligible. The album was a huge critically acclaimed hit, and the second single, "Piece Of Me" became another million-selling single in early 2008, before she was admitted to hospital, having reportedly 'held her sons hostage'. Sam Lufti, a man who befriended Britney through Alli Sims, had effectively taken over as her manager, and sent statements saying she was seeing a psychiatrist, before on 31st January, she was admitted back into hospital, having been photographed crying on her doorstep, and her parents filed a restraining order against Lufti, accusing him of drugging Britney, selling details to the paparazzi and trying to block her channels of communication with the outside world. Her father applied for a temporary conservatorship to take control of her finances and help her in her mental health crisis, which was granted and her parents took over, with her father quitting his job. Britney is introducing routine into her life, with regular visits to the gym and recording sessions for her sixth album, where she is really enjoying 'just singing' and her ex-manager, Larry Rudolph, a longtime family friend, is also back providing her with assistance and friendship. The courts have also looked upon her new lifestyle favourably and have granted her more visitation with her sons, helping her back on track.