Name Britney Spears

Birth name Britney Jean Spears

Date of birth 2 December 1981

Star sign Sagittarius

Birthplace McComb, Mississippi, USA

Height 5ft 4in

Eye colour Brown

Marriages Jason Alexander, 3 January 2004 (annulled 5 January 2004); Kevin Federline, 18 September 2004 (divorced 30 July 2007)

Children Sean Preston Federline, born 14 September 2005; Jayden James Federline, born 12 September 2006

Biography

From pop princess to fallen idol, Britney Spears is a celebrity phenomenon whose spectacular rise and fall has been closely tracked by the media.

Raised in rural Louisiana as a Southern Baptist, Britney landed a spot on The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993, where she performed with Christina Aguilera and future squeeze Justin Timberlake.

In 1997 she was snapped up by Jive Records after recording a demo and a year later the world got a new international sex symbol when Britney released debut single Baby One More Time – provocatively clad in school uniform.

Her debut album of the same name and her 2000 follow-up, Oops!... I Did It Again, brought Britney a string of Billboard Awards and Grammy nominations. In the same year, she went public with her romance with rising star Justin Timberlake and confirmed her pin-up status when she performed at the MTV Video Music Awards in a sequined, nude-coloured outfit – and at the 2001 ceremony with a seven-foot python.

Although her third, self-titled album made her the first female artist to have three albums debut at No.1, Britney went through a traumatic break-up with Justin in 2002. And she wasted no time trying to shed her girl-next-door image, famously kissing pop queen Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.

Despite scoring a massive, Grammy-winning hit with Toxic (2003), Britney continued to shock, wedding childhood friend Jason Alexander in Las Vegas in 2004 – a union that lasted just 55 hours – and then dancer Kevin Federline just nine months later. The couple welcomed their first child, Sean Preston, in 2005 and Jayden James in 2006, but Britney’s parenting skills were questioned when she was snapped driving with a five-month-old Sean on her lap.

Following a messy divorce from Kevin and a legal tussle for custody of their boys, Britney made her most shocking headline to date in February 2007 when she shaved her head in a California salon before admitting herself to rehab. Despite making a mini-comeback with her Breakout album, her troubles continued and she lost custody of her children after being hospitalised twice for psychiatric assessment in early 2008.

In February 2008, a US court gave Britney's father, Jamie Spears, full legal control over his daughter's affairs until October 2008. Reportedly diagnosed as bipolar, one-time golden girl Britney regained visitation rights to see her children, although in July 2008 Kevin was granted sole custody of them, and she gave her career a boost by guest-starring in Amercian comedy How I Met Your Mother.

Quotes

‘I don’t allow anybody to change me. I still walk outta my house in rollers and I take walks. I do not care what people think.’ (Msnbc.com, 16 June 2006)

‘I wish my hair was thicker and I wish my feet were prettier. My toes are really ugly. I wish my ears were smaller. And my nose could be smaller, too.’ (About.com)

‘I’m just, like, this geeky person from Mississippi.’ (The Observer, 17 February 2002)

‘I know not everyone will like me, but this is who I am, so if you don’t like it, tough!’ (Thinkexsist.com)

‘Who really cares if I’ve had sex? It’s nobody’s business. Trust me, I’m not going to have a press conference to announce it. If I mess up, I’m human. If I have a drink or I’m with someone, I’m human. I’m no different than anyone else my age.’ (Internet Movie Database)