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 迪士尼 Channel series The New Mickey 老鼠, 鼠标 Club. Although she was considered too young to 加入 the series at the time, a producer on the 显示 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 流行的 电视 显示 星, 星级 Search. She won the first round of competition, but ultimately lost. At age eleven, Spears returned to the 迪士尼 Channel for a spot on The New Mickey 老鼠, 鼠标 Club in Lakeland, Florida.She was featured on the 显示 from 1993 to 1994, until she was 13.After the 显示 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 由 Jive Records.She began a U.S. 音乐会 tour sponsored 由 American teen magazines, and eventually became an opening act for 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.
