Born in rural Louisiana, teen popster Britney Spears was groomed
for stardom from the start. She spent her early childhood performing in talent
shows and dance reviews before, at age eight, she was discovered
by a TV producer who hooked her up with a New York agent.

Britney spent her summers in New York studying at the
Off-Broadway Dance Center and the Professional Performing Arts
School and began picking up television commercials. At 10
she landed a role in the Off-Broadway production "Ruthless"
and a year later was cast in the Disney Channel's popular
"Mickey Mouse Club Show."

After two years of taping the Disney show in Orlando,
Britney returned to Louisiana and set her sites on a career in
pop music. She was quickly recruited by Jive Records, home of
the Backstreet Boys, and teamed up with Eric Foster (Whitney Houston,
Hi-Five) and Max Martin (Robyn, Backstreet Boys), who
produced her debut album.

Baby One More Time hit record store shelves in early 1999
and became one of the best selling albums of the year,
helping to earn Spears a Grammy nomination for "Best
New Artist." (The award went to teen queen rival Christina Aguilera.)

Spears' sophomore effort, Oops!...I Did It Again, came out in
May 2000. The album sold 1.3 million copies during its first week of
release, beating Mariah Carey's record for the highest
first-week sales by a female solo artist.

Bio by Lana Fanelli of Rolling Stone
www.rollingstone.com