Britney Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana as a Southern Baptist.

Parents are Lynne Irene, 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.

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.

Spears's debut single "…Baby One More Time", released in the end of 1998, became an instant international success; it peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In December 1999, she won four Billboard Music Awards, including Female Artist of the Year. A month later, she took home the Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist award at the American Music Awards. At the 2000 Grammy Awards, Spears received two nominations in the categories of Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for …Baby One More Time, but lost to American singer Christina Aguilera and Canadian musician-singer Sarah McLachlan, respectively. Spears released her third studio album Britney in November 2001. Although not as successful as her previous albums, she assumed some creative control by co-writing five of the album's tracks.

Her career success was highlighted by Forbes magazine in 2002 as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity. At a performance at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, she appeared with Aguilera performing the song "Like a Virgin", and was later joined by American pop singer Madonna. Spears locked lips with Madonna in a highly-publicized kiss. In November 2003, Spears released her fourth studio album, In the Zone, jettisoning the Max Martin-produced synthpop of her earlier releases. The album took in lesser-known producers such as RedZone and big names including Moby and R. Kelly. Spears co-wrote eight of the album's thirteen songs and co-produced several pieces of her material for the first time. In the Zone reached number one in the U.S. charts during its debut week, selling over 609,000 copies. This made Spears the first female in the Nielsen SoundScan era to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one. The album spawned the hit single "Toxic", winning Spears her first ever Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording. The Onyx Hotel Tour began in March 2004 to promote the album. The tour's choreography generated much controversy and criticism, with the presence of young children in the audience.

After her marriage to Kevin Federline, Spears announced on her website she was taking another career break in order to start a family.[61] November 2004 saw the release of her first greatest hits collection, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. In November 2005, Spears released her first remix album, B In The Mix: The Remixes. The album ranged from "…Baby One More Time" to "Toxic". Her newest single "Someday (I Will Understand)" was also remixed.

In May 2007, just weeks after Spears left a rehabilitation center, she produced a mini-tour for the House of Blues under the name "The M+M's", with 6 shows altogether, she sang live during some lines of her songs. She recorded her latest album with producers such as Sean Garrett, J. R. Rotem and Nate "Danja" Hills throughout 2006 and 2007. Spears's highly-anticipated performance of "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards was panned as a disappointing attempt at a comeback and prompted Jive Records to cancel all further promotion involving Spears and the album, except for music videos and radio airplay.

Music producers, JR Rotem and Sean Garrett, whom worked with Spears on her previous album, Blackout have confirmed to People that they are back in the studio with Spears. 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.

Spears posed for her first major magazine publication, Rolling Stone in April 1999. Shot by photographer David LaChapelle, the photo shoot garnered much criticism for the controversial mixing of child-like innocence and adolescent sexuality. The cover featured her in a skimpy outfit lying on a bed. More controversy arose when Spears declared that she would "remain a virgin until marriage". Spears married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander on January 3, 2004, at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The marriage lasted 55 hours, ending with an annulment stating that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to marriage because before entering into the marriage the Plaintiff and Defendant did not know each others' likes and dislikes, each others' desires to have or not have children, and each other's desires as to State of residency."

In July 2004, Spears announced her engagement to Kevin Federline, three months after they met. Federline had recently been in a relationship with actress Shar Jackson, who was eight months pregnant with their second child. On the night of September 18, Spears married Federline in a surprise, non-denominational ceremony at a residence in Studio City, California, filing legal papers on October 6. After the marriage, Spears announced via her website that she would be taking another career break to start a family. She gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005 in Santa Monica, California by a scheduled caesarean section. Spears announced her second pregnancy in May 2006 during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. She also appeared on Dateline the next month to discuss tabloid rumors about an impending divorce, and motherhood. She addressed an incident which occurred in February when photos revealed her driving with her son unrestrained in her lap, explaining, "I see a bunch of photographers and I’m scared and I want to get out of the situation… They’re coming up on the sides of the car which is a scary situation for me… so I get my baby out of the car and I go home." The month following the televised interview, Spears posed nude for the August 2006 cover of Harper's Bazaar. Just two days before Sean's first birthday, Spears gave birth to her second son, Jayden James Federline on September 12 in Los Angeles.

Spears filed for divorce from Federline on November 7, citing irreconcilable differences and asking for both physical and legal custody of their two children, with visitation rights for Federline. The following day, Federline filed a response to Spears's divorce petition, seeking physical and legal custody of their children. Laura Wasser was hired to represent Spears in the case. According to a representative for Federline's lawyer, the divorce filing "caught Kevin totally by surprise". The couple reached a global settlement agreement in March 2007 and their divorce was finalized in July.

Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of ovarian cancer on January 21, 2007. Spears then stayed in an off-shore drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than 24 hours on February 16. The following night at a hair salon in Tarzana, California she shaved her head with electric clippers. A few days later, she admitted herself to another treatment facility in Malibu, California. While leaving the facility briefly, she quickly returned on February 22. The previous day, Kevin Federline had requested an emergency hearing regarding the custody of their children but then his attorney announced that Federline asked to cancel the court appearance. No further explanation was given. Throughout 2007, Spears's behavior received heightened media attention, including attacking a paparazzi vehicle with an umbrella. Spears left the rehabilitation center on March 20 according to her manager, who said she was released after "successfully completing their program." As the legal battle over the custody of their children continued, many members of her entourage have been summoned to testify about her parenting skills.

On the evening of January 3 2008, police were called to Spears's home after she refused to relinquish custody of her children to Federline's representatives. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after she "appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance," though blood tests show negative for any illicit substances. She was held for psychiatric evaluation for two days. Pending a February 19 hearing, Commissioner Scott Gordon issued an order on January 14 stating that her visitation rights have been suspended indefinitely. On January 31, a court placed Spears under temporary co-conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallete, giving them complete control of her assets. As a result of an order placed by her psychiatrist, she was taken to UCLA Medical Center to be put on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold for the second time that month. On February 1, a restraining order was issued against Sam Lutfi, a prominent figure in Spears's life She was released from the hospital on February 6, amid speculation that she has bipolar disorder, although medical records are classified, and no confirmation has been made. Her parents expressed disappointment and concern at the decision to release her. She has regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline and his counsel.

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