Date of Birth: 2nd December 1981

Significant others: Dad, James Spears is a building contractor and mum Lynne Irene Bridges is a former grade school teacher. Younger sister Jamie-Lynn is an actress and singer (and hasn't cashed in at all on Brit's fame, no siree). Britney is now divorced from hubby Kevin Federline, *after a split that absolutely nobody saw coming.
(*lie).

One minute rundown: When thousands of children started shouting "Hit Me Baby, One More Time" in the school playground, it was pretty much confirmed that Spears was here to stay. Having joined the Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 with Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake, an innocent Britney sang and danced her way into the hearts of the American public. Her first hit single was released in 1998 - the video for which saw the 17 year old sporting pig-tails and a school uniform, jiggling her way down an assortment of corridors.

Having lost the Best New Artist Grammy to Christina Aguilera in 2000, Britney got her own back by writing a best-selling book with her mum and selling more than a million copies of her debut album "Oops, I Did It Again" in the first week. She also went public about her romance with Trousersnake Timberlake. The two broke up due to showbiz pressures us mortals will probably never understand, and Britney enjoyed a 55 hour marriage to childhood friend Jason Alexander after a fun break in Las Vegas... but not before snogging Madonna at the MTV Video Music Awards, (as you do).

In 2004 Britney married backup dancer Kevin Federline and had two sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James. She filed for divorce in 2006 and has since gone a little bit loopy, shaving off her hair, falling out with her mum, partying with Paris (usually a bad sign) and checking in and out of rehab more often than Lindsay Lohan. A classic case of "peaked too soon?" We're looking forward to the comeback.

True facts: Britney Spears is more of a brand than a person, having sold over 76 million records worldwide. On the negative side, her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana are so ashamed of their idol's recent, weird behaviour, that they've shunned all plans to build a Britney museum in her honour, deciding to worship instead a 14 year old singer from the same town, who no one's even heard of, called Taylor Horn. The shock! The shame!