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Britney Spears In New York: Britney spent the next three years in New York City attending the Professional Performing Arts School Center. The studies paid off when she landed a key part in the off-Broadway production Ruthless in 1991. At the age of 11 Britney Spears was allowed to be a member of the Mickey Mouse Club.

Path To Stardom: As a cast member of the Mickey Mouse Club for the 1993 and 1994 television series, Britney Spears was part of a particularly talented cast. Her fellow cast members included future *NSYNC members Justin Timberlake and J.C. Chasez. After leaving the Mickey Mouse Club, Britney returned to high school for a year before heading once again to New York to pursue her performing career. There a demo tape was noticed by Jive Records executives.

First Album: Britney Spears’ first album was recorded with top pop producers including Eric Foster White and Max Martin. The album’s first single “…Baby One More Time” was released late in 1998. It rose straight to the top of the charts with a video showcasing Britney as a sexy Catholic schoolgirl. The album by the same name was released January 12, 1999 and debuted at #1. By the time the year was out Britney Spears was named Billboard magazine’s female artist of the year.

On Top Of the Pop Music World: Fans and the press were eager to see what Britney would do for a followup. The curiosity was answered by Ooops…I Did It Again released in early 2000. The title single shot straight to the top of the charts and Britney Spears proved her initial success was no fluke. The album sold over one million copies in its first week and set a record for a female solo artist. It eventually sold over nine million copies. By the end of 2000 Britney’s private life was major news as it was revealed she was dating *NSYNC’s Justin Timberlake.

In late 2001 Britney’s third album Britney appeared. It was an obvious attempt to present her as a more mature, and more sexually assertive, performer, but commercial performance was disappointing. The album failed to generate any top 10 pop hit singles. Britney Spears made her film debut in 2002 with the commercial disappointment Crossroads and by the end of the year her romance with Justin Timberlake had fallen apart. She retreated from performing and recording for several months before returning to the studio in 2003.

In the Zone, the fourth Britney Spears album, was released in November 2003 and was a clear success at presenting Britney as a mature adult artist. The single “Toxic” returned her to the singles top 10 and “Me Against the Music,” her collaboration with Madonna, electrified dance clubs. The success of In the Zone peaked with a 2005 Grammy Award for “Toxic” as Best Dance Recording.

Britney returned to the gossip headlines with her marriage to Kevin Federline in September 2004 and, subsequently, with the announcement that she was pregnant in the spring of 2005. As a climax to the Britney and Kevin reality show Chaotic in June 2005, Britney debuted the video for a new single “Someday (I Will Understand).”