Britney Spears Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
Here is a look at the life of Britney Spears, pop singer and Grammy Award winner.
Personal
Birth date: December 2, 1981
Birth place: McComb, Mississippi
Birth name: Britney Jean Spears
Father: Jamie Spears, former building contractor and chef
Mother: Lynne (Bridges) Spears
Marriages: Sam Asghari (June 9, 2022 – present); Kevin Federline (September 18, 2004-July 30, 2007, divorced); Jason Alexander (January 3, 2004-January 5, 2004, annulled after 55 hours)
Children: with Kevin Federline: Jayden James, September 2006 and Sean Preston, September 2005
Other Facts
Number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart include: “Baby, One More Time” in 1999, “Womanizer” in 2008, “3” in 2009 (debut), and “Hold It Against Me” in 2011 (debut).
Six albums have reached #1 on the Billboard 200 chart: “Baby One More Time” (1999), “Oops!…. I Did It Again” (2000), “Britney” (2001), “In the Zone” (2003), “Circus” (2008), and “Femme Fatale” (2011).
Has won one Grammy and has been nominated for eight.
Timeline
1993-1994 – Cast member on “The Mickey Mouse Club.”
1997 – Signs a contract with Jive Records at age 15.
January 12, 1999 – Releases her debut album “…Baby One More Time.”
May 16, 2000 – Releases her second album “Oops!…I Did It Again.”
2002 – Is named Hollywood’s Most Powerful Celebrity by Forbes magazine.
November 17, 2003 – Receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
February 13, 2005 – Wins a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for “Toxic.”
February 16, 2007 – Shaves her head at a beauty parlor in Tarzana, California.
October 1, 2007 – Temporarily loses physical custody of her children after failing to attend court hearings.
January 3, 2008 – Spears is hospitalized over issues involving the custody of her children. Kevin Federline, her ex-husband, is awarded sole custody on January 4, 2008.
February 1, 2008 – A Los Angeles court grants temporary conservatorship to Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, after Spears is taken to a hospital and deemed unable to take care of herself.
July 18, 2008 – In a custody agreement, Spears gives Federline sole custody of the children, but retains visitation rights.
August 2008 – Becoming Britney, a musical based on her life, debuts at the New York International Fringe Festival.
October 28, 2008 – Jamie Spears is granted permanent conservatorship of his daughter’s affairs.
February 3, 2009 – Sam Lutfi, Spears’ former manager, sues Spears and her parents for defamation and breach of contract in Los Angeles Superior Court. A judge dismisses the lawsuit on November 1, 2012.
September 8, 2010 – Is accused of sexual harassment and sued by her former bodyguard, Fernando Flores. The lawsuit is settled in March 2012.
January 11, 2011 – Her single, “Hold It Against Me,” is released and debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
March 30, 2011 – A $10 million lawsuit is filed by Brand Sense Partners against Spears and her father for breach of contract relating to a perfume deal between Spears and the Elizabeth Arden company. The lawsuit is settled in February 2012.
May 15, 2012 – “The X Factor USA” announces that Spears, along with Demi Lovato, will join Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid on “The X Factor” judging panel. On January 11, 2013, Spears announces that she will not be returning as a judge.
September 17, 2013 – Spears announces that she will do a two-year residency at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas with a show titled “Britney: Piece of Me.” The show begins its run December 27.
September 2014 – Releases her own lingerie line, “Intimate Britney Spears.”
November 5, 2014 – Clark County, Nevada, proclaims November 5th as “Britney Day” on the Las Vegas Strip.
September 9, 2015 – Spears announces that she has extended her residency at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for two more years.
August 26, 2016 – Spears’ ninth studio album, Glory, is released.
April 12, 2018 – Spears is honored at the GLAAD Media Awards as the recipient of the Vanguard Award, an award that goes to a performer for making a difference in promoting and supporting equality.
January 4, 2019 – Announces that she is going on an indefinite work hiatus in order to focus on her family due to her father’s health issues.
April 3, 2019 – Spears announces that she is taking “me time” after it is reported that she has checked into a mental health facility to cope with her father’s health issues.
April 25, 2019 – Spears checks out of the mental health treatment facility after undertaking an “all-encompassing wellness treatment.”
June 13, 2019 – Spears and her family are granted a five-year restraining order against Lutfi.
April 29, 2020 – Spears announces that she accidentally burned down her home gym with candles.
November 10, 2020 – Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny declines Spears’s application to remove her father as her conservator, but says she would consider petitions “down the road” to remove her father as the head of her estate. The move comes amid the #FreeBritney social media movement, driven by some fans who believe she is a prisoner in her own home because of the court-ordered conservatorship.
June 23, 2021 – Spears appears remotely in court to request her court-ordered conservatorship be lifted, calling it “abusive.” During the hearing, she speaks for more than 20 minutes, saying she felt she had been forced to perform, was given no privacy and was made to use birth control, take medication and attend therapy sessions against her will.
July 6, 2021 – Spears’ longtime manager Larry Rudolph resigns, citing the singer’s desire to retire. On the same day, Samuel D. Ingham, a court-appointed attorney who has represented Spears for the entirety of her almost 13-year conservatorship, submits a petition to resign from his position, according to a court filing obtained by CNN.
July 14, 2021 – Judge Penny accepts Ingham’s resignation, along with the resignation of Bessemer Trust, a wealth management firm that had been appointed co-conservator of the singer’s estate. Spears is granted permission to hire her own attorney. During a hearing, Spears calls for her father to be charged with conservatorship abuse.
August 12, 2021 – Jamie Spears signals in a legal response that he intends to step down as conservator of the singer’s estate, according to a prepared copy of the response obtained by CNN.
September 1, 2021 – The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office says in a press release they decline to file charges against Spears. Last month Spears’ housekeeper alleged that the singer struck a cell phone out of her hand during an argument over the veterinary care of her dog.
September 7, 2021 – Spears’ father files a petition to terminate the 13-year court-ordered conservatorship.
September 12, 2021 – Spears announces her engagement to boyfriend Sam Asghari in an Instagram post.
September 29, 2021 – A Los Angeles judge suspends Jamie Spears as conservator of his daughter’s estate, and designates a temporary replacement selected by the singer and her attorney to oversee her finances.
November 12, 2021 – A Los Angeles judge terminates Spears’ 13-year conservatorship.
January 18, 2022 – Spears’ lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, sends a legal cease-and-desist letter to the singer’s younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, regarding her new memoir, “Things I Should Have Said.” In Rosengart’s letter, he calls the book “ill-timed” and that it makes “misleading or outrageous claims about her.”
January 19, 2022 – Judge Penny rules against a request from Spears’ father to set aside money from her $60 million estate in a reserve to potentially cover legal fees, which would include her father’s.
February 21, 2022 – It is revealed that Spears has signed a contract with Simon & Schuster to write a book about her life. The deal is valued at more than $15 million.
April 11, 2022 – Spears announces that she and Asghari are expecting a baby. The following month, the pair announce the loss of the pregnancy.
August 26, 2022 – Spears and Elton John release “Hold Me Closer,” an EDM reimagining of John’s 1971 hit “Tiny Dancer.” The song marks Spears’ first new release since her 13-year conservatorship ended.
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