Britney Spears Through the Years
From launching her career as a teenager on The Mickey Mouse Club to becoming the queen of MTV’s TRL generation, Britney Spears has left an undeniable mark on pop music. As she turns 40 years old, she’s not just celebrating a huge life milestone — she’s also living life on her own terms for the first time in nearly 14 years, now that her longstanding, controversial conservatorship has been ended by a judge. Here’s a toast to Ms. Spears, looking back at some of her greatest career and personal highlights.
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Mickey Mouse Club
Image Credit: © Walt Disney Co./Everett Collection In 1992, Spears kicked off her career with a stint on The Mickey Mouse Club. It was a particularly star-studded cast: Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling, and Keri Russell were among her fellow performers, and all would go on to prominent entertainment careers.
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…Baby One More Time
Image Credit: L. Busacca/Getty Images Spears released her debut album, …Baby One More Time, on January 12, 1999. She was less than a month into being 17, and she already had a hit single with the title track.
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First Headlining Tour
Image Credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images The teen star’s first headlining tour kicked off in June 1999. Along with songs off her first album, she paid tribute to her heroes Janet Jackson and Madonna by performing a medley of their hits.
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2000 Video Music Awards
Image Credit: Scott Gries/Getty Images Spears and MTV have had a long bond, with her videos helping re-popularize the channel for a new generation of viewers. She has particularly dominated the Video Music Awards, performing some of pop’s most game-changing sets on its stage. In 2000, she covered the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” before launching into her single “Oops! I Did It Again.”
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Double Denim
Image Credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage Spears and Timberlake met during their Disney years and reconnected at the apex of their pop journeys, with Spears even opening for *NSYNC in 1998. They dated for a few years before a split that broke millions of teen hearts.
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I’m a Slave 4 U
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage At the 2001 VMAs, Spears was joined on stage by a caged tiger and albino python for a stirring live rendition of her single “I’m a Slave 4 U.” With the album Britney, she made strides to mature her image and shed her teen dream persona.
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Crossroads
Image Credit: © Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection Spears made her film debut with the movie Crossroads. Written by Shonda Rhimes, the film starred Spears, Taryn Manning, and Zoe Saldana as three best friends embarking on a cross-country road trip to find themselves.
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The Kiss Heard ‘Round the World
Image Credit: Scott Gries/Getty Images Madonna is renowned for her ability to create big, controversial moments in pop culture, and Spears was in the middle of a major image shake-up. Spears took back the narrative while dressed in bridal lingerie alongside a matching Christina Aguilera and sexy groom Madonna at the 2003 VMAs. The pop queen passed the torch of musical royalty to the two stars by making out with them on stage during the show, shocking and delighting the world.
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The Onyx Hotel Tour
Image Credit: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images By 2004, Spears was In the Zone: She was four albums into a career that showed no signs of slowing down. She created a high-concept setting for her tour that year, with a dark, mysterious hotel theme.
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Mrs. ‘Oh My God, That Britney’s Shameless’
Image Credit: Johnny Nunez/WireImage After she shed her girl-next-door persona, Spears’ public life became a thing of tabloid fascination. She married twice following her break-up with Timberlake and started to party with some other tabloid-bait A-listers like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.
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Proud Mom
Image Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Spears’ two sons, Sean and Jayden, are her pride and joy.
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Glory
Image Credit: Ethan Miller/WireImage In 2008, Spears was put under a conservatorship where all of her financial and medical affairs were governed by her father. Even though the court deemed her incapable of running her life, Spears continued to release albums and perform in the years since. Her most recent album was 2016’s Glory.
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Las Vegas
Image Credit: Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun/AP In 2013, Spears began a Las Vegas residency called Piece of Me. She was vital in changing the demographics of the Vegas Strip, bringing in younger audiences as well as other young performers. She announced a new residency in late 2018, only to cancel it soon after before beginning a long legal battle to exit her conservatorship.
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Love
Image Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Spears and model/actor Sam Asghari met on the set of her music video for 2016’s “Slumber Party.” The two announced their engagement in 2021.
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#FreeBritney
Image Credit: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images Beginning in early 2019, fans began giving heightened attention to Spears’ ongoing conservatorship, with many questioning whether she needed it anymore. Their scrutiny led to the global #FreeBritney movement, which advocated on her behalf. As of November 2021, Spears is finally free to stand on her own and be in charge of her life once again.