Britney Spears

1981-present

Britney Spears Now: Singer’s Memoir Is Now Out

Pop star Britney Spears released her long-awaited memoir The Woman in Me on October 24, and the singer offered more surprising details about her conservatorship and romantic relationships—including with former *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake.

In addition to an previously released excerpt in which Spears wrote she became pregnant with Timberlake’s baby and had an abortion, the book also contains sections detailing their alleged infidelity and eventual breakup in 2002, which Spears says happened via text message. “For as much as Justin hurt me, there was a huge foundation of love, and when he left me, I was devastated,” Spears writes. “When I say devastated, I mean I could barely speak for months. Whenever anyone asked me about him, all I could I do is cry.”

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

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Britney Spears starred in The All-New Mickey Mouse Club at age 11 before beginning a highly successful career as a pop singer and performer with the release of the single “... Baby One More Time” in 1998. Spears achieved massive sales with albums like Oops!... I Did It Again and Britney, before experiencing a series of personal and professional setbacks. The Grammy winner rebounded with the chart-topping Femme Fatale—her sixth No. 1 album—in 2011 and later enjoyed an extended residency at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. In recent years, Spears has been in the spotlight because of her controversial conservatorship under her father Jamie Spears, which ended in November 2021.

FULL NAME: Britney Jean Spears
BORN: December 2, 1981
BIRTHPLACE: McComb, Mississippi
SPOUSES: Jason Alexander (2004), Kevin Federline (2004-2007), and Sam Asghari (2022-present; separated)
CHILDREN: Sean and Jayden
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Sagittarius

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, in McComb, Mississippi, and raised nearby in Kentwood, Louisiana, by her parents James “Jamie” Spears and Lynne Spears. The middle of three children, Britney has an older brother, Bryan, and a younger sister, Jamie Lynn.

In childhood, Spears had a close relationship with her mother, who would take Britney to performances in Louisiana as well as out-of-state auditions. Meanwhile, her relationship with her father was strained from the outset.

Both Lynne and Jamie Lynn have documented Jamie’s struggles with alcoholism. In her 2008 book, Lynne described her ex-husband as “barely present, never mind supportive or loving” during the later years of their marriage, which began in 1975. The family also faced financial hardship, with Jamie struggling to keep a steady job. He and Lynne filed for bankruptcy in 1998—just months before the release of Britney’s debut single “… Baby One More Time.” Lynne and Jamie eventually divorced in 2002, which Britney has said is “the best thing that’s ever happened to my family.”

At a young age, Spears developed an interest in performing. “Ever since I was 7 or 8 years old, my mom would have company over, and I was always performing for everybody in front of the TV,” Spears told the Hollywood Reporter. “Even when I went to school, I was always the weird child; I would go outside and instead of playing, I wanted to have Star Search competitions.”

Her performance interested extended to athletics, too. Spears took up gymnastics at age 8 and even attended the training camp of Béla Károlyi, the former head coach of the United States national team.

The same year she started gymnastics, Spears auditioned for a spot on the Disney Channel’s The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. Spears didn’t get the part, but she did eventually achieve one childhood dream: showcasing her vocal talents on the popular entertainment competition Star Search in 1992.

Spears tried again for The All-New Mickey Mouse Club when she was 11. This time, she was picked for the cast, which also featured other up-and-coming talents such as Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and actor Keri Russell. Spears appeared on the children’s variety show for two seasons. “We had an amazing, amazing time; we got to sing and dance and do everything,” she later explained to the Hollywood Reporter.

After the Mickey Mouse Club’s cancellation in 1994, Spears returned home. She attended high school just across the Mississippi border at Parklane Academy in McComb. Spears played basketball as a student.

Britney Spears performs in a July 1999 concert.

After her run on the Mickey Mouse Club, Spears focused on developing her musical career. She eventually landed a contract with Jive Records. In September 1998, Spears released her first single, “... Baby One More Time.” The catchy tune reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the end of January 1999, propelled in part by a music video in which the singer danced in a skimpy version of a Catholic schoolgirl uniform. Although the racy outfit drew sharp criticism from the parents of her young fans, 17-year-old Spears claimed to be a sweet, innocent Southern girl at heart.

Her ... Baby One More Time album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts that same year and has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. At the 1999 Billboard Music Awards, Spears picked up four awards, including for Female Artist of the Year and Best New Artist. Her smashing success made her a headliner of the teen pop music wave that included fellow Mickey Mouse Club alumnae Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson.

Building upon her meteoric rise, Spears released Oops!... I Did It Again in 2000. The album was an instant No. 1 hit on the Billboard 200, selling more than 1 million copies in its first week. The singer’s personal life was also receiving more scrutiny, as rumors circulated that she was dating Timberlake, then part of the hit pop group *NSYNC.

Britney Spears on stage during her iconic 2001 MTV Video Music Awards performance

With 2001’s Britney, Spears made the first move toward shedding her innocent image, while also taking her sound in a different direction. The single “I’m a Slave 4 U” sounded more like a Prince track than her bubblegum pop of the past. Performing the song at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, Spears made heads turn by dancing with a seven-foot albino python around her neck.

Around this time, Spears had a leading role in the 2002 movie Crossroads. The coming-of-age drama ended up grossing more than $60 million worldwide. That spring, Spears and Timberlake announced they had broken up.

The following year, Spears created again headlines for her performance at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Both she and Aguilera shared a kiss with pop superstar Madonna during their song. Some saw this dramatic stage moment as another way for Spears to present the latest version of her more sexualized public persona. Spears acknowledged around this time that Madonna was an important influence on her.

Britney Spears and Madonna kiss onstage at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards as Christina Aguilera watches.

Spears’ next album, In the Zone, which included vocals from Madonna on the “Me Against the Music” track, hit stores that November. The album’s top single, “Toxic,” earned Spears her a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.

By January 2004, Spears appeared to be rebelling again—this time, against her intense work schedule. She married her childhood friend Jason Alexander in Las Vegas, but the union was annulled two days later. She then got involved with backup dancer Kevin Federline. At the time, Federline’s girlfriend was pregnant with their second child. Spears’ relationship with Federline only intensified with the media’s scrutiny of her private life.

Not deterred, Spears and Federline married on September 18, 2004, in Studio City, California.

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline in 2006

Shortly after her wedding, she released Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. Spears covered the Bobby Brown hit “My Prerogative,” which seemed to be her way of talking back to her critics and lashing out about the media frenzy that continually surrounded her. The recording sold more than 5 million copies, though it wasn’t as successful as In the Zone.

Despite her declining sales, Spears seemed content. She and her husband announced that they were expecting their first child together in April 2005. “I find being pregnant empowering,” Spears told People magazine. “I think it brings out a pure side of you.”

Spears and Federline have two children, both sons, together: Sean Preston Federline, born in September 2005, and Jayden James Federline, born in September 2006.

The new mother found herself in hot water in February 2006, after she was caught driving her car with infant Sean Preston in her lap. Her parenting skills became a subject of national debate, and she was even rebuked by Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta for her actions. Spears apologized for the incident, claiming that she just wanted to get away from the paparazzi.

Spears made a surprising move two months after the birth of Jayden, filing for divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences. After her separation, Spears frequented the club scene for a time, partying with socialite Paris Hilton, among others. She reportedly checked in and out of rehab, then shaved her head in a California beauty salon while the paparazzi took pictures in February 2007. She told the salon owner that “my mom is going to freak.” The following month, Spears spent time at a treatment center in California.

By summer 2007, Spears and Federline were in the midst of a difficult custody battle for their two sons, with Spears also estranged from her mother. In January 2008, a judge granted Federline sole custody of their children and suspend Britney’s visitation rights.

Despite her personal challenges, she moved forward musically with the album Blackout. However, Spears’ performance of “Gimme More” at that year’s MTV Video Music Awards was a disaster. She appeared nervous on stage, sluggishly dancing and poorly lip-syncing. A few days later, Spears was charged in connection to a hit-and-run incident in a parking lot.

Despite these setbacks, Blackout reached the second slot on the Billboard charts after its November release. This comeback of sorts seemed to be short lived, as Spears appeared to have another breakdown in January 2008. She was taken to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation when she refused to return her sons to their father after a court-appointed visit.

By month’s end, Spears returned to the hospital for another evaluation. Rumors circulated that she had bipolar disorder, but that diagnosis wasn’t confirmed. Her mother, Lynne, later wrote in her memoir Through the Storm that she believed her daughter experienced postpartum depression.

While in the hospital, Spears became the subject of a power struggle between her parents and her manager, Sam Lutfi. The couple believed that Lutfi was a bad influence on their daughter and was trying to control her life.

While Spears was receiving psychiatric care in 2008, her father, Jamie, filed for conservatorship, and a Los Angeles court granted him control of her home and liquid assets on February 1. After Spears was released from the hospital days later, her parents released a statement saying, “There are conservatorship orders in place created to protect our daughter that are being blatantly disregarded. We ask only that the court’s orders be enforced so that a tragedy may be averted.”

The conservatorship was extended multiple times during the year, most notably on October 28. Then, a court officer gave Jamie indefinite control of her affairs. In 2012, Britney’s fiancé, Jason Trawick, was added as a co-conservator and granted control of her decisions regarding food, clothing, and medical care—but not her assets.

The arrangement continued for years and became a source of controversy, as many fans believed Jamie used the conservatorship to take financial advantage of Britney and maintain control over her. Those in favor of the singer regaining her autonomy began using the #FreeBritney hashtag on social media to show their support.

Only a few weeks after her personal crisis, Spears enjoyed a well-received guest appearance on the popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother. That summer she made a triumphant return to the MTV Video Music Awards, bringing home three awards for the single “Piece of Me.”

In late 2008, Spears released her next album, Circus, which rose to the top of the charts thanks in large part to the success of her No. 1 single “Womanizer.” Rolling Stone critic Caryn Ganz heralded the album as “clubby, adventurous pop.” The singer’s fans agreed, sending the singles “Circus” and “If U Seek Amy” into the Billboard Top 10 and Top 20, respectively.

Spears proved she could still make powerful pop music in 2011 with Femme Fatale, which featured the hit songs “I Wanna Go” and “Till The World Ends.” The recording climbed to the top of the charts, becoming her sixth No. 1 album. In addition to all of this commercial success, Spears seemed happier in her personal life. She and then-boyfriend Trawick got engaged in December 2011, though they later split in early 2013.

In 2012, Spears took on a new challenge: She joined the judging panel of the popular singing-competition show The X Factor, embracing the role of the difficult-to-please critic. Spears left the show after one season.

The pop star made headlines in late 2013 with the release of her eighth studio album, Britney Jean, which Spears called her “most personal album ever” in a Tweet. The album’s lead single, “Work Bitch,” had been released ahead of the album; other tracks included “Alien,” “Perfume,” and “Passenger.” Britney Jean received mixed reviews. Three years later, she followed that up with Glory, which clinched the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200 chart upon its release.

Britney Spears, seen here in a 2016 concert, had a Las Vegas residency from 2013 through 2017.

Also in 2013, Spears began her residency at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas with the show Britney: Piece of Me. The residency was initially expected to last for two years, though the singer later signed an extension to stay through December 2017.

In 2015, Spears teamed up with female rap star Iggy Azalea for the single “Pretty Girls.” They performed it together at the Billboard Music Awards in May, but the song topped out at a relatively modest No. 29 in the United States.

In November 2017, the pop star oversaw the opening of the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation’s Britney Spears Campus, an effort made possible through the donation of $1 million from her ticket sales. Further demonstrating her attachment to the Las Vegas area, she donated a painting for an auction to support victims of the October 2017 shooting massacre, with famed TV personality Robin Leach splurging $10,000 for the piece.

Shortly after her Vegas residency concluded at the end of 2017, the pop star announced she would be embarking on a tour in a few months. “I’m so excited to announce that we’re bringing the #PieceOfMe tour to select cities in North America, Europe and the UK!” she tweeted in late January 2018. “See you guys this summer.”

In August 2018, it was reported that Spears was ordered to pay her ex-husband Kevin Federline $100,000 in child support dues. The singer had already been shelling out $20,000 per month, but Federline wanted more for their two boys as they approached their teenage years.

In January 2019, shortly before she was scheduled to begin another Las Vegas residency, Spears announced that she was taking an indefinite leave of work to support her ailing father, Jamie. In April, it was revealed that the singer had entered an “all-encompassing wellness treatment” facility amid the stress of dealing with her father’s health struggles.

Concerns over Spears’ condition remained even after she checked out of the facility that month. In May, it was reported that the singer’s mother, Lynne, was seeking to be involved in her daughter’s conservatorship. Around that time, Spears’ manager, Larry Rudolph, suggested that his client was in no condition to resume performing.

In 2019, Spears was granted 30 percent custody of her two children. However that August, Federline obtained a restraining order for the two boys after an incident at the home of Spears’ father. According to Federline’s attorney, a “disagreement” took place after the singer took the kids to visit their grandfather, leading to a “physical altercation.”

In May 2019, Spears attended a conservatorship hearing with her mother and reportedly asked for the arrangement to be dissolved. Just four months later, citing health reasons, her father gave temporary control of the conservatorship to Britney’s caretaker, Jodi Montgomery. Another extension of the conservatorship was granted in August 2020, and later that year, Spears—who preferred Montgomery manage her assets—announced she would no longer perform with her father serving as a conservator.

Public interest in the conservatorship exploded with the release of two documentaries in 2021. First came Framing Britney Spears, one of two episodes from FX’s The New York Times Presents series. The February 2021 episode featured interviews with people close to the singer providing analysis on the state of her career. The second episode, Controlling Britney Spears, released in September and focused on the mechanics of her conservatorship and allegations it was used as a tool of control against her.

Also in September, Netflix premiered Britney Vs Spears, an investigative documentary which focused specifically on her conservatorship and the controversy surrounding it. CNN even aired a special report, Toxic: Britney Spears’ Battle for Freedom, which included interviews with the singer’s friends and former employees. Fans clamored around the star, even staging rallies in support of the #FreeBritney movement.

A fan holds a #FreeBritney sign at a rally in front of the U.S. Capitol in September 2021 calling for an end to her conservatorship.

In June 2021, Spears gave a 24-minute statement in court detailing her life during the 13-year conservatorship. “I just want my life back,” she said, also describing the arrangement as abusive. “I’m so angry, and I’m depressed. I cry every day.”

A month later, Spears and her lawyer filed to end the conservatorship. As public interest around the case grew, her father agreed to step down as conservator in August 2021 and soon filed a petition to end the arrangement. Finally, that November, a judge ruled to end the conservatorship. Spears took back control of her estate and was no longer required to pay anyone to oversee her affairs.

In May 2023, Fox aired TMZ Investigates: Britney Spears: The Price of Freedom, which provided a look into her life following the end of her conservatorship. Spears heavily criticized the program in an Instagram post, calling TMZ the “trashiest news channel” and saying it was another example of the media having “always been cruel to me.”

Britney Spears and Sam Asghari, seen here in April 2018, were married in 2022.

Spears met Sam Asghari, an Iranian-American trainer and model, while making the music video for her 2016 song “Slumber Party.” They began dating within months. The couple married in June 2022. Spears’ children notably didn’t attend the wedding and, according to a May 2023 documentary by TMZ, hadn’t seen their mother in over a year.

In April 2022, Spears announced she was pregnant following a vacation to Hawaii with Asghari. However, a month later the couple revealed they had lost the baby. “Our love for each other is our strength. We will continue trying to expand our beautiful family,” they said in a statement.

Ultimately, their days together were numbered. The couple separated in July 2023. Asghari filed for divorce in a Los Angeles County court weeks later on August 16, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking spousal support. Spears posted about the breakup soon after on Instagram, writing, “I couldn’t take the pain anymore honestly... I’ve been playing it strong for way too long and my Instagram may seem perfect but it’s far from reality and I think we all know that.”

Spears published two books with her mother, Lynne: Brittney Spears’ Heart to Heart in 2000, which gave a behind-the-scenes look at Britney’s career, as well as a young adult novel called A Mother’s Gift in 2001.

After the two had a public falling out, Lynne published Through the Storm in 2008. The book detailed the family’s struggles following Britney’s fame.

The next year, journalist Steve Dennis wrote an unofficial biography titled Britney: Inside the Dream based on interviews with friends, performers, and other people in the singer’s circle.

Spears released her first solo memoir, The Woman in Me, in October 2023. Promotional materials for the book promised it would tell Britney’s “own story, on her own terms, at last.” Spears opened up about many different facets of her life and career, including her conservatorship, strained relationship with sister Jamie Lynn, and romance with Justin Timberlake.

A week before the book’s release, People published an excerpt in which Spears revealed she became pregnant with Timberlake’s baby while dating the former *NSYNC member, then had an abortion. “If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father,” she wrote, adding that she ultimately agreed to undergo the procedure. “To this day, it’s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life.” Timberlake nor his representatives have publicly commented on Spears’ claim following the book’s release.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Spears’ net worth is around $70 million as of July 2023. However, her fortune has fluctuated wildly over the years.

In 2002, Forbes estimated she had a pre-tax income of $40 million dollars. By the start of her conservatorship in 2008, a lawyer for her father has claimed her assets were valued at only $2.8 million. As she released more albums and went on tour, she likely recouped some wealth. Per Caesars Entertainment, her Las Vegas Residency paid off handsomely, too, grossing $137.7 million over five years.

According to The New York Times, Spears was worth $60 million as of 2021. At the time, she said she was given a $2,000 weekly allowance under the terms of her conservatorship, even as her father drew $16,000 per month in salary as the conservator.

• I don’t like going out... I love my home and staying in bed and watching Dancing with the Stars or reading a Danielle Steel novel. I’m kind of boring.
• I’d get bored singing the same type of songs all the time. I still love my old stuff, but you have to extend yourself and grow.
• I remember being in my living room and watching [Madonna] on TV. I’d dance around in my short tops and sing and dream about being her.

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