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“For me, success is a state of mind. I feel like success isn’t about conquering something; it’s being happy with who you are.” Embracing her southern roots with ties to Mississippi and Louisiana, Britney Spears used her southern charm and talent to attract millions of adoring fans over the last two decades. She got her start in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana where she appeared in local productions before her mother drove her to Atlanta, Georgia to audition for The Mickey Mouse Club. Eventually landing a part on the show alongside Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera, there was no looking back for the young Spears!

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In the mid-1990s, Spears signed her first contract with Jive Records and released her debut album … Baby One More Time followed by her second album, Oops!... I Did It Again. Quickly becoming a pop icon, Spears released her third self-titled album and proved her talents on the silver screen in Crossroads (2002). Then, her highly publicized relationship with Kevin Federline ignited a shift in her career as Spears embarked on a public breakdown and shaved her head. Losing custody of her children, many wondered if Spears would ever rebuild her career or her family. Although it’s taken a few years, the 37-year-old Spears has launched the second chapter of her career with even greater international acclaim! How has she done it? Let’s find out!

Life and Career

Britney Jean Spears came into this world on December 2, 1981, in McComb, Mississippi as the middle of three children. She was raised in Kentwood, Louisiana where, from an early age, she showed a natural talent for performing as she entertained her family. She started dance lessons at the age of three and later added in voice lessons and gymnastics, all of which fueled Spears’ passion for entertaining. “I was in my own world as a kid. I found out what I’m supposed to do at an early age,” she said.

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Spears won several local talent competitions and made her stage debut at five years old when she sang “What Child Is This?” at her kindergarten graduation. Three years later, her mother drove her to Atlanta, Georgia to audition for a part in The Mickey Mouse Club revival but the casting director rejected her for being too young. Instead, he recommended her to New York City talent agent Nancy Carson who got Spears a spot at the Professional Performing Arts School. Within months, the Spears family moved to the Big Apple where Spears landed her first professional role as an understudy in the off-Broadway production of Ruthless!

After competing on Star Search and appearing in several television commercials, Spears auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club a second time and, fortunately, landed a spot alongside Keri Russell, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake in 1992. She spent four seasons on the show until it was canceled in 1996. With no other projects lined up, she returned to Mississippi and briefly studied at Parklane Academy where she played basketball and desperately tried to fit in despite being unimpressed with life in Mississippi. “I wanted more,” Spears later admitted. “I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal.”

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More was certainly on the horizon for Spears as she recorded her demo and made her way to New York. She sent her tape to three major record labels, but they wanted an artist with more of a “pop” sound. Refusing to take the rejection to heart, Spears persisted and landed an audition with Jive Records in 1997 where her rendition of “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston wowed executives. She was offered a contract on the spot and immediately got to work with producer Eric Foster who helped her develop her voice and her signature emotional style.

The 18-year-old Spears released her debut album …Baby One More Time in 1999 and enjoyed immediate success as the title track climbed to the top of the US Billboard 200 charts. The album itself reached number one in 15 countries and sold over 10 million copies its first year to become the biggest best-selling album ever recorded by a teen artist. With the album’s success, Spears skyrocketed to fame and graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in April 1999. She launched her first tour and, in 2000, released her second album, Oops!... I Did It Again.

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With the sky as the limit, Spears penned her first book, Britney Spears’ Heart to Heart, with her mother and gave a risqué performance at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards that proved she was no longer a teen icon but an international sex symbol. Her budding romance with Justin Timberlake of NSYNC also helped as Spears went on to release Britney (2001), In the Zone (2003), Blackout (2007), and Circus (2008). She also ventured to the silver screen with a starring role in Crossroads (2002).

Personal Troubles

“Whoever is in the spotlight, people are really quick to judge.” Spears’ overnight fame suffered a minor blow after she broke up with Timberlake, but things got progressively worse when she married and divorced Jason Allen Alexander in 2004 only to fall in love and start a family with Kevin Federline in 2004. Three years later, Spears fell off the rails during her highly publicized divorce from K-Fed and the death of her aunt from ovarian cancer launched a mental breakdown. Spears shaved her head and later admitted herself into drug rehabilitation as she lost custody of her children and gave her family control of her finances and well-being.

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In the decade since then, Spears has slowly rebuilt her credibility and brand in the music industry. She finally found her footing in her 30s and has since returned to the stage with a four-year residency at Las Vegas’ Hollywood Resort and Casino. “My 20s were awful,” she said. “There are moments where I look back and think, ‘What the hell was I thinking?’”

Spears released her ninth album, Glory, in 2016 and took her Las Vegas show on tour with Britney: Live in Concert. She was set to return to Sin City in 2019 with Britney: Domination but has postponed the show due to her father’s poor health. Will she return to Vegas later in the year? We’ll have to wait and see!