BRITNEY SPEARS

.Britney Spears was born in Kentwood, Louisiana, and raised Southern Baptist. Her parents are James Parnell Spears, a building contractor, and Lynne Irene Bridges, a former grade school teacher. Spears' brother, Bryan, is one of her managers, and her sister, Jamie-Lynn, is an actress and singer. Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Woolmore, was an English war-bride, who met Spears' maternal grandfather, Barnett O'Field Bridges, in England during World War II, and subsequently moved with him to the United States. Her paternal grandparents were June Austin Spears and Emma Jean Forbes.

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 The 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.Spears then returned to the Disney Channel for a spot on the New Mickey Mouse Club and was accepted. She was featured in the 1993–94 seasons from the ages of eleven to thirteen. Other performers on the show included fellow pop singer Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, and Joshua Chasez, who later became members of the pop group 'N Sync, Keri Russell, and actor Ryan Gosling After the show ended, Spears went back home to Kentwood, Louisiana and entered high school at 14 where she had her last bit of normalcy