XtremelyBJS2004

Hey guys! I was at the mall today (@ B. Dalton) and I found the new issue of Biography Magazine. In the issue is a brand new article on Britney. It’s a very well written article and a great read, one of the best on Brit that I’ve read. Below is the article for you guys, all typed up by yours truly. Let me know what you guys think of it.


Britney Spears | Personalities

Pop Princess: The Rags-To-Riches Story of Britney Spears

Rolling Stone proclaimed her the Madonna for the new millennium, and Forbes recently ranked her the most powerful and influential entertainer in the world. She has hundreds of fan Web sites, a video game, a Pepsi commercial, dozens of dolls in her image, a charity foundation, a movie, three hit albums, and multitudinous music videos – all before the age of 21. She is, of course, Britney Spears, and there’s nothing ordinary about this young woman except perhaps her humble roots.

Spears grew up in tiny Kentwood, Louisiana, in a run-of-the-mill three-bedroom ranch house. “Brit” and her friends hung out (and still do) at all the regular haunts: Nyla’s Burger Basket, The Sonic Drive-In, the Golden Coral restaurant (home of the all-you-can-eat salad bar). But what set Spears apart, from a very early age, were her tremendous determination and drive. From the time she was a toddler – belting out imaginary concerts in the bathroom with a shampoo bottle for a microphone – friends and family saw she possessed something special.

By Beth Peters


Celebrity Dossier

NAME: Britney Jean Spears
DATE OF BIRTH: December 2, 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH: Kentwood, Louisiana
PARENTS: Jamie, a contractor; Lynne, a elementary school teacher (they are divorced)
SIBLINGS: Older brother Bryan; younger sister Jamie Lynn
EDUCATION: High-school graduate
FYI: She’s made a lot, and she gives a lot: Her Britney Spears Foundation was set up to help kids in need (including a camp for kids interested in performing arts), and her Dream Within A Dream tour raised over $1 million for the families of September 11 victims.


“Every parent thinks her child is wonderful, but I sensed right away that Britney took performing very seriously,” her mother, Lynne Spears, has said. “Right from the start, I felt that it was what she really wanted, and I was going to do everything I could to support her dreams.”

For the Spears Family – including Jamie (now divorced from Lynne), big brother Bryan, and little sister Jamie Lynn (embarking on her own music and acting career on Nickelodeon) – that meant making sacrifices. But it’s the memory of those lean years, says her mom, that keeps Britney’s feet firmly planted on the ground.

“I’m not the person you see on stage,” Britney has proclaimed. “If you ask anyone who knows me, they’ll tell you I’m kind of a goob.” A goob, one should note, who made $38 million in 2001. Her new book, Stages, seeks to illuminate the real person behind the icon. But a visit to Kentwood provides all the proof you need: There (despite the new multimillion-dollar 7 ½ -acre estate she built for Mama a few miles from their old home), she’s no bubble-gum pop princess making a mint nor the vixen in those sexually charged videos. She’s just plain ol’ Britney.

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981. Her dad was a contractor and her mom was an elementary school teacher. Their combined salaries barely made ends meet; often, the electricity was shut off due to unpaid bills, the car broke down, and there was little more than a pint of ice cream in the fridge. Still, the Spearses wanted Britney to have every possible opportunity. Lynne “begged and borrowed” from generous friends, family, and neighbors so she could pay for lessons (dancing, singing, gymnastics) and trips to talent shows. Finally, at age 10, persistence paid off: Britney won a spot on the national show Star Search. She sang her heart out but lost in the second round. The defeat brought her to tears backstage but she quickly picked herself up and moved on. The next stop was New York City, as the understudy for the starring role in the off-Broadway musical Ruthless! (In a embarrassment of up-and-comer riches, her understudy was Natalie Portman.)

It was 1993’s new Mickey Mouse Club on the Disney Channel, however, that helped her hone her talents. Along with Christina Aguilera, Felicity’s Keri Russell, *NSYNCers J.C. Chasez and Justin Timberlake (who later became her boyfriend and now her ex), and the others, she strutted across the stage performing pop tunes and comedy skits. When the show ended a year later, she went back home, rejoined her high-school classmates, embraced a normal teenage existence, and “did the whole prom thing.” But the itch to be a star was still there – and getting stronger. This time, her parents sought out some expert advice in the form of a New York entertainment lawyer who knew the ins and outs of the record industry. Larry Rudolph took the 15-year-old around to several labels, trying to convince them the market was ripe for a young girl to challenge the boy bands like Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC who were monopolizing the pop charts. Several said no, but Jive Records signed her and in 1999, she released “…Baby One More Time.” It was Britney’s idea to parade around the video in pigtails and a schoolgirl uniform tied up to reveal her midriff. Her look was Lolita; her sound was achy and infectious. The single rose to No. 1, the album of the same name sold upwards of 13 million copies, and Britney became a household name.

She was determined, however, not to be just a flash-in-the-pan like young teen queens Debbie Gibson and Tiffany who had come before her. Longevity in the music business usually means constantly reinventing yourself (a la her idol Madonna). So she bid the wholesome image bye bye and braced herself for the backlash. As predicted, Britney’s new grown-up look, exhibited on countless magazine covers and in her videos, alienated some of her younger fans and their protective parents, but in general, the public was intrigued by the new and improved Britney and her racy, belly baring attire.

Her next albums, Oops!…I Did It Again and Britney, featured songs and videos laden with sexual innuendo, sweat, and even live snakes. The school uniform has since been replaced by a skintight red catsuit (in the video for “Oops!”) and the leather dominatrix ensemble she recently sported at the MTV Movie Awards*. In her lyrics, she proclaims “I’m not a girl, not yet a woman,” and now, at 21, it’s clear she’s ready to spread her wings. She did so by poking fun at herself (and the rumors of about her having breast implants) on Saturday Night Live and starring in her first film, Crossroads. She opened a New York City restaurant, Nyla; became Pepsi’s omnipresent spokesmodel; and appeared (briefly) in the Austin Powers flick Goldmember. She’s also signed on to shoot a NASCAR related movie in 2003.

“It’s really weird, because you’re a star, and everything is about you all the time,” she recently told Rolling Stone. “I’m tired of that. I want to have a different perspective.” Despite the fact that people fawn over her – and she has a 350-lb. Bodyguard she calls “Big Rob” following her everywhere – she has anything but the star attitude. She prefers her General Foods instant coffee every morning, will proudly show you how to bite the head off a crawfish, and is given to exclaiming “Lordy!” and politely calling strangers “sir” and “ma’am.” After her recent Dream Within A Dream world tour, she’s decided to retire a few months and relax, no doubt dreaming up the next bold move she will make with her career. The tabloids reported she was burned out from too much partying and her recent stormy breakup with Timberlake, but Britney has a better explanation.

“I’m waiting for the next exciting project to come along. I’ll know it when it grabs me.” Until then, we’ll just have to wait until she hits us one more time.

*MTV Video Music Awards


BETH PETERS IS THE AUTHOR OF TRUE BRIT (BALLENTINE BOOKS).

Courtesy Of: Biography Magazine