Born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears first came to fame as a member of the Disney Channel's New Mickey Mouse Club in the 1993 and 1994 seasons.
Her castmates on the show included Justin Timberlake and Joshua Chasez (who later became members of the pop band NSYNC), Keri Russell (star of the TV show Felicity), Christina Aguilera, also a pop singer, and actor Ryan Gosling. Spears dated Timberlake for about five years.
Her first album on Jive Records, ...Baby One More Time, debuted in the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Charts in early 1999, and also topped the charts in the UK. The single of the same name was also a number one hit in many countries, and was accompanied by a music video in which Spears wore a schoolgirl outfit and danced down a high-school corridor.
Spears broke the record for the youngest artist, at age 17, to have his or her first single debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Spears also broke the record for the youngest artist, at age 17, to have his or her first single and first album debut simultaneously at #1 on the Billboard charts. Spears still holds this record. The album ...Baby One More Time is to date the best-selling album by a teenager, with 14 million copies sold in the United States and over 25 million worldwide, plus 3 million with the five released singles.
Spears took home several awards for her work on ...Baby One More Time throughout 1999, including Choice Single ("...Baby One More Time") at that Summer's Teen Choice Awards, as well as four MTV Europe Music Awards, including Best Song ("...Baby One More Time"), Best Pop Act, Best Female Act and Breakthrough Act. In addition, she also won four Billboard Music Awards including Female Artist of the Year, New Female Artist of the Year, Hot 100 Female Artist of the Year and Album Artist of the Year (...Baby One More Time).
In 2000, Spears was nominated for two Grammy awards: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the single "...Baby One More Time", and Best New Artist. She did not receive either award.
Her followup album, Oops!... I Did It Again, released on May 16, 2000, also debuted at number one, and was a similarly huge hit. It sold over 1.3 million units its first week in the U.S., making it the fastest-selling album by a female artist. The album sold 10 million units in the U.S. and 20 million worldwide.
Following the success of her first two albums, Spears' career skyrocketed, and a multimillion-dollar music, film, advertisement, concert and TV-special "industry" sprang up around her. Her most popular ads were for Pepsi, for which she earned a reported $7-$8 million. In 2003, there was media speculation that the soft drink behemoth were planning to replace Spears with Destiny's Child frontwoman Beyoncé Knowles. This speculation turned out to be false, and Spears has gone on to sponsor other Pepsi products since.
During 2000, Spears extended her wins at awards shows beginning with an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist and the Favorite Female Singer prize at that Spring's Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Throughout the year, she won for Choice Female Artist and Choice Hottie Female at the Teen Choice Awards, Best-Selling Album (...Baby One More Time) at the Juno Awards and Best-Selling Female Pop Artist at the World Music Awards. At the end of the year, Spears took home two Billboard Music Awards for Album Artist of the Year (Oops!... I Did It Again) and a special award for Highest One-Week Female Artist Album Sales in History (Oops!... I Did It Again).
In 2001, Spears was again nominated for two Grammy awards: Best Pop Vocal Album for Oops!... I Did It Again, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the single of the same name. She did not receive either award.
Her next album, Britney, was released on November 6, 2001, and debuted at number one in the charts, selling over 740,000 units its first week. This made her the only female artist in SoundScan history to have her first three albums debut at #1. The first single "I'm A Slave 4 U" was produced by The Neptunes, and its R'n'B stylings heralded the starlet's attempt to grow with her audience, young and old. Over 4 million copies of Britney were sold in the United States alone, and the album went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide. While the album was very much a hit by anyone else's standards, these figures are low in comparison to the sales of her other albums.
Throughout 2001 and 2002, Spears took home such awards as Best-Selling Female Pop Artist and Best-Selling Female Dance Artist at the World Music Awards, Favorite Female Singer at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, Choice Female Artist (in both 2001 and 2002), as well as Choice Hottie Female at the Teen Choice Awards and Best Female Artist at the MTV Asia Awards.
In 2002, Spears starred in a movie, Crossroads, which reached number two in the box office charts. Songs from the album Britney appeared in the film. Spears' performance was poorly received by critics, and she netted herself a Razzie Award for Worst Actress of 2002, tied with Madonna. One of the tracks off of Britney, "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman," also 'won' for Worst Original Song. This wouldn't be her last encounter with the awards show, however; in 2005, she was proclaimed Worst Supporting Actress for her cameo role in the documentary Farenheit 9/11. In June 2002, Spears branched out as a restaurateur with the opening of a New York City eatery, NYLA; but the venture was not a success and the restaurant closed in 2003.
In September 2002, she took a break from the spotlight, and in 2003 many music industry critics speculated that her career was in decline. Over the course of her first three albums, Britney Spears had sold approximately 57 million copies worldwide.
In 2003, Spears was nominated for two Grammy awards yet again: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Overprotected", and Best Pop Vocal Album for Britney. She did not win either award.
Her fourth album, In the Zone, was released on November 18, 2003. Jettisoning the Max Martin produced synth pop of her earlier releases, the album took in lesser-known producers such as RedZone as well as such big names as Moby and R. Kelly. Spears co-wrote eight of the album's thirteen songs. In the Zone rose straight to the top of the album charts in its debut week. Spears is the only female in music history to have her first four albums debut at No. 1. After an opening performance in which she kissed Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards in August, Madonna was also featured on the album's first single, "Me Against the Music". The single only reached No. 35 on the Hot 100, but was a No. 1 hit in other countries. In the Zone, however, has sold close to 3 million copies in the United States alone and over 9 million copies worldwide, totalling over 10.4 million with singles.
On January 3, 2004, Spears married her childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The couple promptly arranged for an annulment, which was granted on January 5, ending their 55-hour marriage. Following the wedding, Spears released the second single from In the Zone, "Toxic", which became a worldwide hit and a No. 1 hit in over twenty different countries. The single occupied the No. 1 slot in the US for four consecutive weeks, though it only peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart.
In March, Spears embarked on her fourth world tour, "The Onyx Hotel Tour", which grossed over $34 million dollars and was seen by over 600,000 fans in North America and Europe. Meanwhile, the album's third single, "Everytime", was starting to receive radio play. While the song only reached No. 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, it was a No. 1 hit overseas in such countries as the UK and Australia. In June, she cancelled the remaining dates of her tour after injuring her knee during the filming of a video for her fourth single, "Outrageous". Shortly after returning from hospital, Spears, 22, announced her engagement to dancer Kevin Federline, 26. Federline was formerly linked with actress Shar Jackson, with whom he has two children.
In September 2004, Forbes estimated Spears' net worth at $123 million.
On the night of September 18, 2004, Spears married Federline before 20-30 guests in a private non-denominational ceremony at a residence in Studio City, California. Spears wore an off-white dress and Federline wore an off-white tuxedo. The men and women attending the ceremony wore light blue and pink sweatsuits respectively. The legitimacy of the marriage was initially questioned, but on November 18, 2004 a representative of the Los Angeles County registrar's office confirmed that Spears and Federline had successfully filed their marriage license with the county within ten days of their ceremony and were therefore legally married.
During 2004, Spears won for Choice Single ("Toxic") at the Teen Choice Awards, Best Female Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards and received the award for Hot Dance Sales Single of the Year ("Me Against the Music" featuring Madonna) at the Billboard Music Awards; Spears' public appearance at the ceremony on December 8, 2004 was her first since marriage to Federline.
In 2005, Spears received her first Grammy award for "Toxic" in the category of Best Dance Recording.
Spears released her first fragrance, "Curious", in September 2004. It is a floral scent with vanilla and musk. "Curious" is currently ranked the #1 fragrance in department stores. The fragrance had the biggest debut in sales in history from Elizabeth Arden. Spears is expected to earn anywhere from $10 million to $28 million from the fragrance. The fragranceended up the #1 fragrance of 2004 in department stores.
Spears released her first greatest hits collection, ', on November 9, 2004. The album debuted at #4 in the US charts, selling 255,000 copies in its first week. Spears also notched up the biggest selling first week for a greatest hits compilation by a female artist in UK chart history (115,341 copies), smashing the first week sales of previous high profile collections from Whitney Houston, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, and Shania Twain. The collection includes "...Baby One More Time", "Oops...I Did It Again" and "Toxic", as well as two new songs and a cover of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative". As of January 2005, the set has sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide.
On December 29, 2004, Spears did a live interview on KIIS FM in America and stated that her new album was already half done and that it would be named Original Doll, appropriately enough for her changing image. Additionally, after the interview, the first single from the new album, called "Mona Lisa", was played. She announced that the album would probably be out in the late spring or early summer. However, Jive Records later released a statement saying the album would not be released until at least next year (2006). Spears also called into TRL U.S. in early 2005 and mentioned that there would probably be no new album for this year, though she did say that she was working on a song for an upcoming show of some sort.
Xenite.Org has now expanded and redesigned its celebrity news resource section. Stay up to date with the latest headlines from around the world about your favorite celebrities like Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Vida Guerra, Lindsay Lohan, and others. New pages have been added and we now feature slide shows from selected Flickr topics! Published: Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:49:30 GMT - Source: Celebrity-news.Xenite.Org - Read the article
Entertainment
Spears wants child-friendly home
Britney Spears is looking for a new home with extra space for her children and more privacy, court records reveal. Published: Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:10:08 GMT - Source: News.Bbc.Co.Uk - Read the article
Entertainment
Spears' sister 'has a baby girl'
Singer Britney Spears' actress sister, Jamie Lynn has given birth to a baby girl in a US hospital, reports say. Published: Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:56:59 GMT - Source: News.Bbc.Co.Uk - Read the article
