Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 00:08, 20 June 2006

Template:Infobox musical artist 2

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is a Grammy-winning American pop singer, dancer, occasional actress, and author. Spears is best known for her studio albums, music videos, and pop songs such as "...Baby One More Time" and "Toxic".

Spears first came to fame as a member of the New Mickey Mouse Club in the early 1990s after which she took 5 year break from entertainment. She subsequently emerged at the forefront of the pop music scene in late 1998, thanks to her chart-topping debut album, ...Baby One More Time which was crafted by producer-songwriter Max Martin. Her second album, Oops I Did It Again which was released the following year, was a similarly huge hit.

In the early 2000s, Spears' success as a singer led her way to high-profile advertising deals, notably for Pepsi, as well as forays into other forms of media, including film and reality television. She had a relationship with 'N Sync's Justin Timberlake. Her third and fourth albums which were Britney and In The Zone were released during this era and included more artistic input from Spears, but yielded lower sales, although they still reached #1 in the Billboard 200 and went Top 5 in many other countries. In 2004, she married dancer-rapper Kevin Federline and the following year she gave birth to their son Sean Preston Federline. Spears is currently expecting her second child.

Biography

Childhood and discovery

Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised a Southern Baptist in Kentwood, Louisiana. Her parents are James Parnell Spears, a building contractor, and Lynne Irene Bridges (born 1956), a former grade school teacher. Spears's brother, Bryan (born 1977), is one of her managers, and her sister, Jamie Lynn (born 1991), is an actress and singer. Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Woolmoore (1924–1993), was an English war bride, who met Spears's maternal grandfather, Barnett O'Field Bridges (1919–1978), in England during WWII, and subsequently moved with him to the United States. Her paternal grandparents were June Austin Spears (born 1930) and Emma Jean Forbes (1934–1966); Spears claims to have some Native American heritage.

Spears was an accomplished gymnast, attending gymnastics classes until age nine and competing in state-level competitions. She performed in local dance revues and her local Baptist church choirs, and was auditioning for the Disney Channel's New Mickey Mouse Club by the time she was eight. Although she was considered too young to join the series at the time, a producer on the show introduced her to a New York 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 Star Search, and though she won the first round, she lost in the second (her opponent would later appear on a 2001 episode of the game show I've Got a Secret with the "secret" being the win against Spears). Spears then returned to the Disney Channel for a spot on the New Mickey Mouse Club and was accepted. She was featured in the 1993–1994 seasons from the ages of 11–13. She performed several backflips for the New Mickey Mouse Club, which she would later repeat for the ...Baby One More Time video. Other performers on the show included Justin Timberlake, future boyfriend of Spears, and Joshua Chasez (both of whom later became members of the pop group 'N Sync), Keri Russell (star of the TV show Felicity), fellow pop singer Christina Aguilera, and actor Ryan Gosling. A few years later, Spears recorded a demo, which landed in the hands of a Jive Records executive. She was signed to their label and began touring American venues for a series of concerts sponsored by American teen magazines, before joining 'N Sync and becoming their opening act.

1998–2000: Early commercial success

Spears' debut single, "...Baby One More Time", started appearing on radio stations and MTV in 1998. Led by a music video that featured the 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) brown-eyed bottle blonde in a racy schoolgirl outfit, the single became an international success, earning Platinum sales and going to number one in the U.S., as well as in countries such as Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, it became the biggest selling song of 1999, and the 24th biggest selling song of all time. Her debut album of the same name, ...Baby One More Time, topped the LP charts in the U.S. and Canada for six non-consecutive weeks. Within a year of its release, it had become the best-selling LP by a teenager in history. This success spawned another U.S. top ten hit "(You Drive Me) Crazy" which helped the album ship over ten million copies in the U.S. in 1999 alone, and over one million in the United Kingdom; it would go on to ship another four million copies in the following years. ...Baby One More Time has sold an outstanding 28 million copies worldwide.

Spears was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in April 1999. The sexually suggestive Lolita-themed photo shoot triggered widespread speculation (denied by her representatives) that the still-seventeen-year-old had opted to have breast implants. That summer, she kicked off her first headlining tour, the ...Baby One More Time Tour. By late 1999, Spears had become one of the year's biggest stars, a claim backed-up by the amount of award nominations she received that season. In December, she took home four Billboard Music Awards including one for Female Artist of the Year, and the next month won for Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist at the American Music Awards. At the Grammy Awards, held in February 2000, Spears received two nominations, including one for Best New Artist.

Following the short-lived Crazy 2K Tour, the lead single from Spears' second album, "Oops!... I Did It Again," was released. It broke a record for most radio station adds in a single day and quickly became a U.S. top ten hit and number one single in other countries, including Australia and the UK. Released in May 2000, the album Oops!... I Did It Again also debuted at number one in the U.S. and Canada. It sold over 1.3 million units during its first week in the U.S., making it the fastest-selling album by a female artist. Within a year of release, it had shipped over 10 million copies in the U.S. alone, and over 900,000 copies in the United Kingdom, 1.2 million in the German. It would go on to ship another million on top of that, and yielded two more top thirty hits: "Lucky" and Stronger. Oops!... I Did It Again has sold a worldwide 24 million copies.

Spears kicked off her first world tour (titled the Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour) in the summer of 2000, and co-wrote the book Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart with her mother, Lynne. During a performance at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, she ripped off a black suit to reveal a provocative nude-colored and crystal-adorned outfit that generated controversy due to her young age. In late 2000, she won two Billboard Music Awards, and in early 2001, she was nominated for two American Music Awards. At the Grammys, one of her two nominations was for Oops!... I Did It Again in the category of Best Pop Vocal Album, but again she did not win.

2001–2003: Career development

In early 2001, Spears struck a $7–8 million USD promotional deal with the soft drink giant Pepsi and released her second book, the novel, A Mother's Gift, also co-written with her mother. She performed at the MTV Video Music Awards the following September, and in addition to criticism for being scantily clad, she angered animal rights organization PETA for the use of animals, including an albino python, in her performance.

In November, she released her third album Britney. It debuted at number one on both the U.S. and Canadian charts, selling over 746,000 units during its first week in the U.S. The success of this album made Spears the only female artist in SoundScan history to have her first three albums debut at number one. Although four million copies of the record have been sold in the U.S., and almost four and a half to-date, it was a decline from the sales of her first two albums, and "I'm a Slave 4 U" was the album's only hit single in the U.S. Britney was the first album on which Spears assumed some creative control; she co-wrote five of the album's tracks. Spears set off on her next world tour, the Dream Within a Dream Tour, shortly after its release. The Britney album has sold a total of 15 million copies worldwide.

In 2001, Fort Worth, Texas KEGL-FM DJs Kramer and Twitch on created a panic for her fans when they falsely reported that she and her then-boyfriend, 'NSYNC's Justin Timberlake, were in a car accident involving a pretzel truck and that she had died in the crash. In reality, they were both alive and well and had not been in any car wreck. Later, In October 2001, a website spoofing CNN stated again that she had been killed yet again in a car crash.

In February 2002, Spears starred in a film, Crossroads, which reached number two on the box-office charts in its first weekend, but quickly dropped out of the top ten. Songs from the album Britney appeared in the film. The movie, along with Spears' performance in it, was poorly received by critics and she netted herself a Razzie Award for Worst Actress, tied with Madonna. The film also won, among other nominations, the Worst Original Song Razzie for Spears' "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman".

Spears' four-year relationship with Justin Timberlake ended in March 2002. The break-up was publicized, with rumors circulating that Spears had been unfaithful. Timberlake himself left the impression that she had cheated on him through his song Cry Me a River, and its subsequent music video. In response to this, Spears later said, "I'm not technically saying he's wrong, but I'm not technically saying he's right, either." Afterward, despite Spears' claims that she had remained a virgin, – and wished to remain one until marriage – Timberlake insisted they had sex during their relationship. Spears later acknowledged this to be true, saying, "It was two years into my relationship with Justin, and I thought he was the one. But I was wrong!"

In June 2002, Spears branched out as a restaurateur with the opening of a New York City eatery, NYLA, which was named for its mix of New York and Louisiana cuisine. It was not a success and closed the following year. Soon after these failures, Spears took a break from the spotlight, and in 2003 many music industry critics speculated her career was in decline. That same year, Forbes named Spears the most powerful celebrity in the world. She was also nominated for two Grammys yet again, including Best Pop Vocal Album for Britney.

Spears returned to the forefront of the pop music scene in August 2003. That month, she appeared at the MTV Video Music Awards with her idol Madonna, pop singer Christina Aguilera and rapper Missy Elliott. Spears and Aguilera performed Madonna's song "Like a Virgin", danced suggestively and each locked lips with Madonna (see Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards). Spears' kiss with Madonna attracted publicity that lasted several months.

November 2003 saw the release of Spears' fourth 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 nine of the album's thirteen songs and co-produced some of her material for the first time. In the Zone went to the top of the U.S. charts in its debut week, selling over 609,000 copies. This made Spears the only female in music history to have her first four albums debut at number one. The record has sold 3 million copies in the United States. It also spawned the international number one and U.S. top ten hit, "Toxic," which won Spears her first Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording. It was the 5th biggest selling song of 2004 world-wide, and the 8th biggest-selling song of 2004 in the United Kingdom. "In the Zone" has sold a total of 10 million copies worldwide.

On January 3, 2004, Spears married her childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. Spears wore jeans and a baseball cap and the bellhop walked her down the aisle. An annulment was promptly arranged (at the behest of manager Larry Rudolph and her family) and was granted on January 5, ending their fifty-five hour marriage. The annulment request stated 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 others desires as to State of residency." Spears later explained, "Honestly, I really wanted to see what it was like to be married."

As the album's third single "Everytime" began to receive airplay, Spears embarked on her fourth world tour, The Onyx Hotel Tour. The tour grossed over $34 million USD and was seen by over 600,000 fans in North America and Europe, but the remaining dates were cancelled in June, after Spears injured her knee during the filming of the video for the single "Outrageous." She was taken to an undisclosed hospital, where she received an MRI that showed floating cartilage in her knee. The following 37 stops on the tour were canceled, costing Spears $750,000 to $1,000,000 a night in guaranteed fees from concert promoters.

That same month, Spears announced her engagement to dancer Kevin Federline. Their whirlwind romance sparked criticism due to the fact that Federline had very recently been in a relationship with actress Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child. On the night of September 18, 2004, Spears married Federline before 27 guests in a surprise, non-denominational ceremony at a residence in Studio City, California. The legitimacy of the marriage was initially questioned, but on November 18, 2004, a representative of the Los Angeles County registrar's office confirmed Spears and Federline had successfully filed their marriage license with the county within ten days of their ceremony, and were therefore legally married. Initially, Spears refused to prenup Federline but her manager Larry Rudolph and her family insisted she do so and subsequently fired Rudolph after the wedding. After initially spending their honeymoon in Spears hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears wrote on her official site that, "Unfortunately, we couldn't take our honeymoon right after the wedding because of the closing on our new house." In October 2006, they flew to Fiji and spent ten days at the luxurious Turtle Island Resort, which costs approximately $2,000 a night.

2004–2006: Career hiatus and family

During the latter half of 2004, Spears announced she would be taking another career break in order to start a family. Immediately after her marriage to Federline, she had told People, "I want to be a young mom. Next year, at 23, I'm so there." Although she made few public appearances, the 'Britney Spears industry' continued to run itself. In September 2004, Spears released her first fragrance, "Curious," a floral scent featuring Louisiana magnolia and golden Anjou pear, for which she earned a reported $12 million. The fragrance from Elizabeth Arden had the biggest sales debut in history, breaking the record for first-week gross for a perfume. After one year of sales, the product netted more than $100 million. "Curious" was the top-selling fragrance of 2004 in department stores, and in 2005 it was honored by the Fragrance Foundation as Best Women's Fragrance. Following the success of "Curious," in September 2005 Spears released her next Elizabeth Arden fragrance, "Fantasy," a fruity scent featuring red lychee, golden quince and cupcake accord. "Fantasy" too became a top-selling perfume during the holiday season of 2005.

Spears' first hits collection, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, was released in late 2004. The album debuted at number four on the U.S. charts (the lower sales perhaps due to a lack of promotion), selling over 255,000 copies in its first week of release. It sold over 115,000 copies on its first week in the UK; the highest first week sales for a solo female's greatest hits collection ever, surpassing Shania Twain and even Madonna and Whitney Houston. In addition to her biggest hits, it featured three new songs, including "My Prerogative" and "Do Somethin'." Since hitting shelves, the album has sold well over a million copies in the States. The album has sold official a total of 8 million copies worldwide.(2005) During the spring of 2005, Spears' reality show with husband Kevin Federline, Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, premiered on UPN in the U.S. The five-episode series credited Spears and Federline as executive producers. Chaotic was panned by most critics, and ratings were not as high as expected.

Spears announced her pregnancy via her official website in April 2005. That month she was rushed to a hospital in Destin, Florida, where she spent 48 hours under a doctor's surveillance. Spears later told People, "There was just a little bit of bleeding, but we went there, and everything was fine." Despite her eagerness to have a baby, she admitted to ELLE magazine that, "I have a feeling I'm going to have an operation. I don't know why. But I hope so. I don't want to go through the pain." On September 14, 2005, 6 lb. 11oz. baby boy Sean Preston Federline was born in the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California, by caesarean section. The surgery had originally been scheduled for the next day, but after she started experiencing early contractions, it was moved up. Federline was in the operating room and held Spears' hand during the surgery. Afterwards, Spears was moved to a VIP suite in the maternity ward where, "The baby never once left her side." Two days later, Spears and her son were released from the hospital and back at home in their 9,000-sq.-ft. Malibu, California mansion.

Since the birth of her first child, Spears' career has had a few small additions. In late 2005, Jive released a remix album entitled B in the Mix: The Remixes. It lacked promotion of any kind in the U.S. and debuted outside the top one hundred, with less than 15,000 copies sold in its first week of release. To date, however, it has sold well over a million copies worldwide. Spears made a guest appearance on Will & Grace in February 2006 which was given positive reviews and also released a limited edition perfume in April 2006 called "In Control," which was a spin-off of "Curious" with "added touches of crème brûlée and midnight orchid." In May 2006 she announced her second pregnancy with a surprise appearance on the The Late Show with David Letterman. The baby is due in September. She is also working on her fifth studio album, which has been confirmed by producer Jonathan Rotem in an interview with MTV. Dionne Warwick has confirmed on her official site that Spears will be featured on one of her new songs on her upcoming album. Spears appeared on The Today Show on June 15 to discuss recent tabloid rumors about an impending divorce from her husband, future career plans, her emotional state and motherhood.

Starting in early May of 2006, the iTunes Music Store slowly began to include Spears' music videos in their library. The frst video added, "(You Drive Me) Crazy", performed moderatly. It stayed in the top 100 videos for two weeks. The second video added, "I'm a Slave 4 U", as of June 16, is in the top 15 videos downloaded on iTunes. Three others, "...Baby One More Time", "Stronger", and "Do Sometin'", were released on June 13, and are all in the top 50 and are steadily rising.

Controversy

Image

Britney Spears' personal life has attracted considerable media attention. Some people feel that she has courted it by cultivating, in her early years at least, a chaste, God-fearing and "wholesome" image. It was somewhat at odds, not only with the traditional pressures, temptations and opportunities of "pop 'n' roll," but with the increasingly sexualized content of her own image and songs. Spears' kiss with Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards received much media attention, as have her romantic relationships. Spears is frequently on magazine covers, discussing her marriage and motherhood.

The sexualized public image of Spears once again became a topic of debate as a result of her 2003 semi-nude photo spread for the men's magazine, Esquire. Prompted by this, Playboy reportedly offered the star over one million USD to pose nude for their magazine, but Spears publicly declined. In an interview with Diane Sawyer, she was asked if she had ever gone further than she wished she had with the sexualized photo shoots. Spears responded, "No, I don't think so, no." After the Esquire photos were held up in front of her, she said, "Okay. Now those are a little much. Yeah, those are a little much. That's one picture, I must say, that I felt kind of weird about, yeah."

The 2004 Onyx Hotel Tour brought new criticism. While Spears and her on-stage dancers performed her songs "Touch of My Hand" and "Breathe on Me", they were seemingly nude and were performing routines simulating gay sex, orgies and masturbation. As there were underage fans in the audience, there was some outrage at the alleged lack of decency of the performances, as well as reports of adult chaperones angrily storming out with children they brought to the concert. Spears has responded to parents' concerns by stating she is "not their babysitter. It's the parents' responsibility. If you don't like it, turn the TV off. The only person I want to be a role model to is my sister, Jamie Lynn." (From ABC's Primetime interview with Diane Sawyer)

In December 2005, Spears sued US Weekly for a story the magazine published in the column "HOTstuff" of their October 2005 publication. The column, with the headline "Brit & Kev: Secret Sex Tape? New parents have a new worry: racy footage from 2004." claimed that Spears and her husband had made a sex video and feared it would be distributed. Spears denies the existence of any such tape while the magazine claims to have a credible source, which they failed to mention in the article.

Motherhood

The birth of Spears' son was the inspiration behind a statue by Daniel Edwards, Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston, which was unveiled in March 2006. The statue features an idealised Spears giving birth in a provocative pose while hunched on all fours and clutching a bearskin rug. Controversy was further stoked by it being partly supported by the Manhattan Right to Life Committee. The statue has no way been recognized by Spears and is therefore unofficial. It has also sparked controversy as Spears gave birth by caesarean section, unlike the natural birth depicted in the statue.

Photos published on February 7, 2006, showed Spears driving her SUV on the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles with her infant son, Sean, perched on her lap rather than strapped into a car seat in the back. The photos show Spears holding the wheel of the car with one hand, and her 4-month-old baby with the other. In a statement to People, Spears said she did it because of a "horrifying, frightful encounter with the paparazzi" and that "I was terrified that this time the physically aggressive paparazzi would put both me and my baby in danger. I instinctively took measures to get my baby and me out of harm’s way, but the paparazzi continued to stalk us. I love my child and would do anything to protect him." She later told Access Hollywood, "It's kind of like I made a mistake and so it is what is, I guess." No charges were pressed. Later that month, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, speaking at an event at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to mark the start of Child Passenger Safety Week said, "Recent photos of Britney Spears driving with her infant son on her lap are troubling...and while Ms. Spears has acknowledged her mistake, her actions still send the wrong message to millions of her fans."

On April 1, 2006, Spears' 7-month-old son fell and bruised his head after slipping from his nanny's arms as she was lifting him from his high chair and "something snapped in the chair." After an initial examination, he was thought to be fine but six days later Spears and her husband took him to the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center for a second checkup. He got the all clear once again. This is the third incident so far. Following this visit, child welfare officials, as well as a sheriff's deputy, visited the Spears home. "While there was an automatic report by the hospital to the Department of Children and Family Services, DCFS immediately responded and determined there was no problem and no reason to open a formal investigation," Spears's attorney Marty Singer told People. "They determined that the parents were not involved in any injury and that nothing improper was done within the home."

On May 14, 2006, Spears was photographed driving in Malibu in her new convertible Mini with her 8-month-old son, Sean, strapped into a forward-facing car seat. It is strongly recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics that infants stay in rear-facing car seats until they are a year old or weigh at least 20 lb. "The seat is facing the wrong way. We like it when the child's head is facing back," said California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Marshall. "It's far safer if the seat is facing backwards to avoid head-on injuries and whiplash in case of a collision." Since CHP officers did not actually witness Spears driving with Sean facing the wrong way, they would not consider citing her. Spears' rep released a statement saying, "There is no law in California requiring rear-facing car seats. In fact, there are only ten states that require a child to be in a rear-facing car seat, and in two of those states it is not required if the infant is more than 20 lb. Britney's son Sean weighs over 20 lb."

On May 18, 2006, Spears was photographed leaving the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Manhattan with a glass in one hand and her 8-month-old son in the other. As Spears walked through the people and paparazzi-crowded street, towards her car, she stumbled and nearly dropped her baby. Sean's head jerked backwards and his hat flew off. Spears managed to regain her balance and prevent the fall with the aid of her bodyguard, who was close by. After retreating to the F.A.O. Schwarz Café, Spears started crying.

In response to the controversy over her driving with her infant son unrestrained in her lap, Spears told The Today Show's Matt Lauer in June 2006 that, "I did it with my dad. I'd sit on his lap and I drive. We're country." She also addressed the concerns over her parenting skills, saying, "I know I'm a good mom."

Personal

Acting

For the film Chicago, producer Harvey Weinstein wanted Spears for the role that eventually went to Lucy Liu. Spears was also offered a role in Scary Movie, but was forced to turn it down due to concert scheduling. She was considered for the part of Allie Hamilton in The Notebook, but was beat out by Rachel McAdams. She also wanted the role in I ♥ Huckabees that went to Naomi Watts. Spears initially expressed interest in the role of Daisy Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard but lost interest in playing the character following her marriage and plans for a family. The role went to fellow pop singer and reality television star Jessica Simpson.

She was asked to appear in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "I Was Made to Love You," but turned down the role due to scheduling conflicts. She is also friends with Natalie Portman. Portman was an understudy in the off-Broadway play, Ruthless!, in which Spears had a role. At a Manhattan hotel in 2003 they co-hosted a carnival-themed New Years Eve party together.

In 2005 she was offered the title role in the Broadway musical Sweet Charity. Producers of the musical began eyeing Spears for the role of the unlucky-in-love dancer Charity after Christina Applegate announced she would no longer be returning as the character. Spears seriously considered taking that part, but decided that she did not want to move her family to New York City to appear in the musical.

Spears has since expressed interest in acting once again. After her well received appearance on Will & Grace as "Amber-Louise", cast members have been sought interested in working with her again. In a 2006 interview with Glamour Magazine UK, she said if a nude scene were required in a movie, she would undertake it, and that she would love to play a super-heroine in a film.

Politics

Spears publicly declared her trust in President George W. Bush, as reported in an interview on Crossfire and featured in the film Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore: "Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens." However, news leaked in the press that top U.S. politicians banned her from appearing at the Republican Convention in August of 2004 because of her raunchy persona citing "We're a serious political party and don't need Britney to promote us. Besides which, with the headlines she's been recently attracting we think she'd do more harm than good to the Bush cause".

Religion

In 2003, Britney Spears began studying Jewish mysticism, also called Kabbalah (and became a member of the controversial Kabbalah Centre, along with many other Hollywood celebrities. She did so after having been introduced to Jewish mysticism by friend and mentor Madonna. Soon after joining, Britney's mother Lynn became a member, and Britney had a Hebrew tattoo inked onto her neck (מהש) representing one of the 72 names of God in Kabbalah.

On May 6, 2006, Spears posted an official statement on her website saying: "I no longer study Kabbalah, my baby is my religion". It has since been reported that she parted ways with the Centre because of increasing pressure for donations, forcing both her and her mother to quit the Centre. However, she has since been sighted still wearing a Kabbalah red string around her wrist.

Tattoos

In May 2004, Spears had a Hebrew tattoo (מהש) inked into the nape of her neck. The letter combination represents one of the 72 Names of God (a teaching in Kabbalah), which means "healing".

In 2003, Spears was informed by her friend, actress Taryn Manning, that her hip tattoo (the Chinese character 奇) read "weird" rather than "mysterious" (see Wiktionary).

Spears' other tattoos include pink dice on her inner wrist (her husband, Kevin Federline, has matching blue dice), a fairy on her lower back, a daisy on her right toe, a butterfly on her left foot, and a Japanese flower that she reportedly got "down there" .

Legacy

Spears' role in pop music has been largely disputed. While she is often derided as untalented, she has nonetheless become a influential sex symbol and pop culture icon. Spears was ranked number 20 out of the 200 top pop culture icons of all time by VH1 and People. Singles such as "...Baby One More Time," "Oops!... I Did It Again," "I'm a Slave 4 U" and especially "Toxic" have gone on to become major successes and pop music classics. She topped FHM magazine's 2004 U.S. and world polls for sexiest woman. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, Spears was a notable trend-setter within the United States and the world, inspiring several fashion crazes and fads, such as the use of low-rise jeans lower back tattoos, navel piercings, and the whale tail among young women.

Discography

Filmography

Products

Books

Official DVDs

Toys/games

In 1999, Play Along Toys released the Britney Spears Doll. It became one of the biggest-selling dolls of all time, next to the ever popular collector Spice dolls. Also, Britney's Dance Beat is a dance game featuring five of her songs, for the PlayStation 2, PC and Game Boy Advance.

Tours

See also

• List of best-selling music artists
• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one in Ireland

References

1. Indian Country Tomorrow Editors (April 1st, 2001). "Britney Spears Proclaims Indian Heritage". Indian Country Tomorrow. Retrieved 2006-05-01. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
2. Rock on the Net Editors (2006). "Rock on the Net:Britney Spears". rockonthenet.com. Retrieved 2006-05-01. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
3. Gimenes, Erika (June 20th, 2001). "DJs fired after starting Spears-Timberlake hoax". hollywood.com. Retrieved 2006-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
4. internetnews.com staff (October 10th, 2001). "Britney Spears Hacked into CNN.com". internetnews.com. Retrieved 2006-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
5. Rotten Tomatoes (2006). "Crossroads Reviews". rottentomatoes.com.
6. Salon editors (November 12th, 2003). "The Fix". salon.com. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
7. Reuters Editors (July 9th, 2003). "I'm no virgin, admits Britney". Reuters. Retrieved 2006-05-01. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
8. People Magazine (January 3rd, 2004). "Britney Spears Married in Vegas". people.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
9. The Smoking Gun (2004). "Britney Spears' annulment request". thesmokinggun.com.
10. People Magazine (June 10th, 2004). "Britney Blows Out Knee, Undergoes Surgery". people.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
11. People Magazine (June 21st, 2004). "Britney's Bad Knee a Costly Proposition". people.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
12. Wasserman, Todd (September 13th, 2005). "What's a Step Above "Curious"? Apparently, "Fantasy"". brandweek.com. Retrieved 2006-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
13. The Advertiser Editorial Staff (2005). ""Fantasy" Sales". The Advertiser. Retrieved 2006-05-01.
14. People Magazine (April 14th, 2005). "Britney Healthy, Happy About Pregnancy". people.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
15. People Magazine (September 21st, 2005). "Britney Welcomes Home Sean Preston". people.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
16. People Magazine (May 10th, 2006). "Britney Spears Is Pregnant Again". people.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
17. Extra staff (April 19th, 2004). "Rumor Control: Bad Behavior". extratv.com. Retrieved 2006-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
18. Associated Foreign Press (December 20th, 2004). "Britney Spears sues magazine over sex tape article". Retrieved 2006-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
19. Edwards, Daniel (2006). "Capla Kesting Fine Art". time.com. Retrieved 2006-05-01.
20. CNN staff (2004). "Transcript". cnn.com. Retrieved 2006-05-01. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
21. Bethany, Thomas. "Memo to Britney: Lose the low-slungs". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear= and |coauthors= (help)
22. The Sydney Morning Herald (April 9th, 2005). "No time to waist". smh.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)

External links

Official

• Britney Spears: The Official Web Site
• Britney Spears: at Jive Records
• britney spears: The Official uk Site

Unofficial

• Britney Spears at IMDb
• Britney Spears Video Collection
• BritneyTribe.it
• BFC Britney Fans Club Fanclub ufficiale italiano

Template:Persondata

• 1981 births
• Actor-singers
• American child actors
• American child singers
• American female singers
• American dancers
• American film actors
• American pop singers
• American stage actors
• American television actors
• American soubrettes
• Baptists
• Britney Spears
• Disney child actors
• English Americans
• Grammy Award winners
• Hollywood Walk of Fame
• Living people
• Mouseketeers
• People from Louisiana
• Reality television stars
• Rhythmic Top 40 acts
• Soubrettes
• Worst Actress Razzie
• Worst Supporting Actress Razzie
• Will & Grace actors