Britney Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana as a Southern Baptist.Her parents are Lynne Irene (née Bridges), a former elementary school teacher, and Jamie Parnell Spears, a former building contractor and chef. Spears has two siblings, Bryan and Jamie Lynn. Bryan Spears is married to Jamie-Lynn's manager, Graciella Rivera.
Spears was an accomplished gymnast, attending gymnastics classes until age nine and competing in state-level competitions.She performed in local dance revues and sang in her local Baptist church choir. Spears entered New York City's Professional Performing Arts School when she was eight. Spears's parents would often argue, and they eventually divorced in 2002.
At age eight, Spears auditioned for the Дисней Channel series The New Mickey мышь Club. Although she was considered too young to Присоединиться the series at the time, a producer on the Показать introduced her to a New York City agent. Spears subsequently spent three summers at NYC's Professional Performing Arts School and also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions. She was an understudy in the 1991 off-Broadway musical Ruthless!. In 1992, she landed a spot on the Популярное Телевидение Показать звезда Search. She won the first round of competition, but ultimately lost. At age eleven, Spears returned to the Дисней Channel for a spot on The New Mickey мышь Club in Lakeland, Florida.She was featured on the Показать from 1993 to 1994, until she was 13.After the Показать ended, Spears returned to Kentwood and attended high school for a year.
In 1997, Spears briefly joined the all-female pop group Innosense.Later that same year, she recorded a solo demo and was signed by Jive Records.She began a U.S. концерт tour sponsored by American teen magazines, and eventually became an opening act for 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.
