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Britney Spears

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American pop singer-songwriter, dancer and occasional actress. She has sold over 83 million records worldwide according to Zomba Label Group. The RIAA ranks her as the eighth best-selling female artist in American music history, having sold 31 million albums in the U.S. Her success as a recording artist has allowed her to work in other media; she has acted in film and television, has written two books, and has been contracted to endorse several products, including her own perfume line.

Spears released her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999, propelling her to international stardom. It spawned the Billboard topping single "…Baby One More Time". She released her second studio album Oops!… I Did It Again in 2000 with continued success. A third album Britney was released in 2001, followed by the release of her fourth album In the Zone in 2003. The album's breakout single "Toxic" won Spears her first Grammy Award. After the release of a greatest hits collection, EP, and a remix album, she released her fifth album Blackout in 2007.

As a result of her fame, Spears's personal life has received much media attention. This only escalated after her marriage to Kevin Federline in 2004. She gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston, in 2005 and to her second child, Jayden James, in 2006. The couple's divorce in November of the same year was highly publicized, followed by an ongoing custody battle over their sons.

Childhood and discovery

Britney Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana as a Southern Baptist. Her parents are Lynne Irene (née Bridges), a former elementary school teacher, and Jamie Parnell Spears, a building contractor. Spears's brother Bryan works as a manager for the Spears family interests and her sister Jamie Lynn is an actress and singer. Her maternal grandmother Lillian Woolmore was an English war-bride, born in Tottenham, London who met Spears's grandfather Barnett O'Field Bridges in England during World War II. Her paternal grandparents were June Austin Spears and Emma Jean Forbes.

Spears 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. At age eight she 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. Spears subsequently spent three summers at NYC's Professional Performing Arts School and also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions, including 1991's 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, Spears 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, Spears 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 demo solo 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.

Film and television

Spears entered New York City's Professional Performing Arts School when she was 8. She was an understudy in the 1991 play Ruthless! and appeared in several other off-Broadway productions. At age 11, she joined the cast of The New Mickey Mouse Club until the show ended in 1993.

Spears had her first starring role in the 2002 film Crossroads, in which she portrayed a high school graduate who travels to find her long-lost mother. The movie was poorly received, as was Spears' performance; Spears received Razzie Awards for Worst Actress and for Worst Original Song. Nonetheless, the film grossed over $60 million worldwide. Spears also made cameo appearances in Austin Powers in Goldmember and Longshot. Footage of Spears appeared in the 2004 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, which samples a 2003 CNN interview about the Iraq War in which Spears says, "Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes and should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens."

In late 1999, Spears appeared on the sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and performed the song "(You Drive Me) Crazy"; this cameo was a cross-promotion for the film Drive Me Crazy, which starred Sabrina's Melissa Joan Hart and was named after the song. She later appeared on Saturday Night Live as host and musical guest during 2000, 2002 and 2003. In 2006, Spears guest-starred on the Will & Grace episode "Buy, Buy Baby". Her portrayal of a closeted lesbian drew criticism from conservative Christian groups.

In 2008, Spears guest-starred on CBS's television show How I Met Your Mother playing a receptionist. She received positive reviews for her performance as well as bringing in the series highest ratings ever. Spears reprised her role in May 2008.

Britney Spears products

In early 2001, Spears signed a multi-million dollar promotional deal with Pepsi that included television commercials, point-of-purchase promotions, and Internet ties between Spears and the company. Britney Spears has earned over US$370 million from her many, multi-million dollar advertisement and endorsement deals all around the World.. She has published four books, including A Mother's Gift, and released seven DVDs, including her self-produced 2005 reality series Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. Other Spears products include a doll and a video game. She participated in seven tours including "The Onyx Hotel Tour" in 2004. She has grossed over US$350 million from tour ticket sales and over $185 million in merchandise from her tours, the most ever grossed by a performer (male and female).

Spears endorsed her first Elizabeth Arden fragrance "Curious" in 2004. The perfume netted more than US$190 million in one year of sales, making it the best selling perfume of 2004. To date it has netted over US$590. It sold over 570 million bottles to date (April 2008); on average every 1 in 12 people owns a bottle of the highly successful perfume. In September 2005, Spears released the fragrance "Fantasy" with Elizabeth Arden, which also saw great success. These were followed by the release of two more fragrances of "In Control" and "Midnight Fantasy" in 2006. Her latest Elizabeth Arden fragrance "Believe", was released in September 2007.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Britney Spears.