Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American pop music singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and author. Spears has sold over seventy-six million records worldwide and amassed a US$150 million fortune. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) ranks her as the eighth best-selling female artist in American music history, having sold thirty-one million albums in the U.S.
Spears is best known for her studio albums, music videos, and songs such as "...Baby One More Time", "Oops!...I Did It Again", "I'm a Slave 4 U", "Toxic", for which she won a Grammy Award, and "Gimme More". In January 1999, Britney released her first studio album ...Baby One More Time, followed closely by the 2000 studio album Oops!... I Did It Again. Her third album Britney was released in November 2001, followed by a fourth album In The Zone in November 2003. The collection Greatest Hits: My Prerogative was released in November 2004. Her fifth album is scheduled to be released worldwide on November 12 and in the U.S. on November 13, 2007.
Spears's fame in the music industry has led her to experiment with other forms of media, including film and reality television. As an actress, she is most noted for her starring role in the 2002 movie Crossroads. Spears has also made guest appearances in various other movies and television programs.
Her success as a singer led her to several high-profile advertising deals and endorsements. Spears's marriage to back-up dancer Kevin Federline and the birth of her two children, Sean Preston and Jayden James, put her music career on hold. The couple's divorce in November 2006 was highly publicized and followed by a legal battle for custody of their two children.
