Born: December 2, 1981
Place of Birth: Kentwood, Louisiana
Major Notes:
Britney Spears was one of the most controversial yet the biggest selling musician worldwide in the years 2000-2010 with over 100 million album sales.
She was very active at a young age, performing gymnastics, dancing, and singing in her church choir.
Spears was a member of the Professional Performing Arts School which led into acting on Broadway and a role on the New Mickey Mouse Club.
She was definitely talented and at age 16 became part of the opening act for the pop group, the Backstreet Boys.
Spears eventually signed a recording contract with Jive Records and, on the release of her first album, it reached number one.
Over the next few years, Spears used sexuality to her advantage in making videos and performing on stage.
By the year 2000, it is estimated that she had sold over ten million albums taking numerous Billboard Magazine awards for Top Artist.
With Spears leading the way, several young female singers such as Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore enjoyed popularity.
Spears had so much support in television appearances, record sales, and music awards that she was called an international superstar when she was only 18 years old.
Her record sales and hit songs dropped beginning in 2001 when she reacted emotionally over a romance breakup from Justin Timberlake, another popular singing star at the time.
She seemed to withdraw and then came out with another album in 2003 where she tried to show herself as more mature and personally past the teenage period.
The acceptance of the new Spears persona was certified when the album, In the Zone, reached number one but the national tabloid magazines were running negative stories on her personal life.
Between 2001 and 2005 Spears' public image began to change because of what was viewed as erratic behavior.
She had two children fathered by Kevin Federline whom she divorced following the birth of her second child.
Despite personal problems over the years such as the public kiss with her idol, Madonna, and an incident where she shaved all her hair off, Spears continues to make and sell records.
Spears also had a very public squabble with Federline over the custody of the children and was admitted into hospital for mental disability problems.
By 2008, thanks to the support of her parents in large part, Spears made a comeback on an MTV show winning several Best Artist awards.
Spears launched her seventh world tour in 2009 of which every show was considered a sell-out.
In the same year, NRJ Music Awards voted Britney Spears the Female International Artist of the Year.
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