Celebrating Britney Spears: Finally Free at 40

Today marks the 40th birthday of pop music legend Britney Spears. She became a superstar the moment her iconic debut single “…Baby One More Time” was released in the fall of 1998 and remains beloved today. Although the media coverage of her has focused on her mental health, relationships, and conservatorship over the past decade, I opt to focus on the tremendous amount of music she has given us in the last 23 years.

A Primer on the Life and Career of Britney Spears

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981 in McComb, Mississippi. She is the middle child of three children born to Jamie and Lynne Spears (she has a brother Bryan and a sister Jamie). Britney was raised in Kentwood, Louisiana and got her early start in music singing in her Southern Baptist church choir. When she was 8, her mother Lynne drove her to Atlanta, Georgia so that she could audition for the 1990s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club. She was rejected for being too young, but she met an agent who convinced the family to enroll her in a professional performing arts school in New York City. In December 1992, Britney finally got her spot on The Mickey Mouse Club alongside a mind-blowing roster of child stars who would go on to become A-listers — Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Keri Russell.