Britney Spears - Biography

Rate: We've all seen and heard a lot from poor Britney. And we're huge fans, naturally, but my word she's had it tough from the press lately, don't you think? And you'd be lying if you said you didn't laugh when she shaved her hair off...

Starting out her 'career' on the Mickey Mouse Club in the States, Britney appeared alongside another little scamp who was destined for stardom, Justin Timberlake. The pair seemed to have a special bond and roughly followed the same upwards path, seeing them hit the big time and become household names. She was also on-screen alongside Christina Aguilera but we'd don't like to think of them as friends, rather as arch-enemies who'll hate each other until the bitter end. Which probably isn't true, but you never know...

Jump forward a few years and Britney - dressed appropriately for men everywhere in school uniform - landed a smash hit with her debut single, 'Baby, One More Time'. And this was the start of a huge career spanning numerous albums, some good songs, a few not-so-good songs, some memorable moments (snogging Madonna, anyone?!) and the now infamous hair shaving incident.

Although she saw success with her music, Britney's personal life was starting to become slightly odd but hugely entertaining at the same time. She married TWICE in 2004, firstly in Las Vegas to her childhood friend Jason Alexander and secondly to - get ready with your booing - Kevin Federline. From thing point on things seemed to just go downhill, didn't they? Of course there was the release of the fantastic single, 'Toxic', but it wasn't enough to stop the rot. Britney seemed to be continually hounded by the press, she managed to find time to have two kids, get divorced and shave her hair off.

And all of this just doesn't matter, really. Why? Because this is Britney Spears we're talking about! You can still, if you concentrate, see her fresh-faced, perching on her balcony singing 'Lucky' into the stars. And that's why we love her. Her hair has grown back and she's had some cracking singles like 'Gimme More' and the self-referencing 'Piece of Me'.

Apparently her next album is going to have more of an 'urban' feel to it. What the hell that means, we don't know, but the most important thing is that we can't wait to hear it...

Her first album sold over 13million copies in the USA. Staggering!