The price of fame? Britney Spears’ career and personal life have faced a series of ups and downs over the years.
Spears, who was raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, first showed off her vocal skills on the singing competition Star Search at 10 years old in 1992. Following a stint on The Mickey Mouse Club, she signed a record deal with Jive Records in 1997.
As Spears’ singles, including “…Baby One More Time” and “Oops!… I Did It Again,” climbed the charts, she started a relationship with ‘NSync member Justin Timberlake and the world became even more invested in the pop star. The twosome called it quits in 2002 after three years together amid rumors that Spears was unfaithful.
As the “I’m a Slave 4 U” singer’s popularity continued to grow, so did the attention on her personal life. Spears married her backup dancer Kevin Federline in October 2004 after a whirlwind romance. The twosome later welcomed sons Sean Preston and Jayden James.
In 2007, Spears made headlines for a very public breakdown, which lead her to temporarily lose primary custody of her boys.
Nearly a decade later, the Grammy winner addressed her battle with mental health during an interview with Marie Claire UK.
“I moved to Los Angeles when I was very young. I was so under scrutiny,” she said in October 2016. “If a hair was out of place, I’d be so anxious. I would get very anxious about so many things.”
Spears added that motherhood made her “so much more accepting” of herself: “That has been a really big thing for me over these last few years.”
After a triumphant comeback and successful Las Vegas residency, Spears’ father, Jamie, was hospitalized in late 2018 after his colon spontaneously ruptured.
As a result, Spears postponed her second Vegas residency in January 2019. More than two months later, she checked herself into a mental health facility.
“The stress has been hard on her,” a source told Us in March 2019. “It’s been a very difficult time.”
Scroll through to revisit Spears’ ups and downs:
