1981–1997: Early life, family, and career beginnings Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981 in
McComb, Mississippi, the second child of
Lynne Irene (née Bridges) and
James "Jamie" Parnell Spears. Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Portell, was English and born in London, and one of Spears's maternal great-grandfathers was
Maltese. She spent her formative years with her siblings
Bryan and
Jamie Lynn and their parents in
Kentwood, Louisiana. Born in the
Bible Belt, where socially conservative
evangelical Protestantism is a particularly strong religious influence, she was baptized as a
Southern Baptist and sang in a church choir as a child. As an adult, she studied
Kabbalist teachings. On August 5, 2021, Spears announced that she had converted to
Catholicism. Her mother and sister are also Catholic. However, in September 2022, after Spears's ex-husband,
Kevin Federline, and youngest son did an interview defending her father's actions during her
conservatorship, she stated: "I don't believe in God anymore because of the way my children and my family have treated me. There is nothing to believe in anymore. I'm an
atheist y'all." In 1984, Spears began attending dance lessons in Kentwood and was selected to perform as a solo artist at the annual recital. Not long after, she sang "
What Child Is This?" at her
kindergarten graduation. During her childhood, she also had gymnastics and voice lessons and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows. In gymnastics, Spears attended
Béla Károlyi's training camp. She said of her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world [...] I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age". Spears was hired for her first professional role as the understudy for the lead role of Tina Denmark in the off-Broadway musical
Ruthless!. She also appeared as a contestant on the popular television show
Star Search and was cast in several commercials. In December 1992, she appeared in
The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. Fellow cast members included
Christina Aguilera,
Justin Timberlake,
Ryan Gosling,
Keri Russell, and
JC Chasez. After the show's 1994 cancellation, she returned to Mississippi and enrolled at McComb's
Parklane Academy. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in
Clueless with all the
cliques. [...] I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to
homecoming and
Christmas formal. But I wanted more." In June 1997, Spears negotiated with manager
Lou Pearlman to join the female pop group
Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer
Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a
Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided that he wanted to pitch her to record labels, for which she needed a professional demo. He sent Spears an unused song of
Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio. Spears traveled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, saying that audiences wanted pop bands such as the
Backstreet Boys and the
Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another
Madonna, another
Debbie Gibson, or another
Tiffany". They assigned her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month; he reportedly shaped her voice from a "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney". After hearing the recorded material, president
Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "
Sheryl Crow music, but younger; more adult contemporary". She felt secure with her label's appointment of producers, since "[i]t made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." Jive released her debut album
...Baby One More Time in January 1999. It became the biggest-selling album ever by a teenage artist. "...Baby One More Time" later received a
Grammy nomination for
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The title track also topped the singles chart for two weeks in the UK and became the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist, shipping over 460,000 copies. It would later become the
25th-most successful song in British chart history. Spears is the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the UK. The album's third single, "
(You Drive Me) Crazy", became a top-ten hit worldwide and further propelled the success of the
...Baby One More Time album; the single would later appear in the
John Schultz film
Drive Me Crazy that year. The album has sold 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. It is the best-selling debut album by any artist. In June 1999, Spears began her first headlining
...Baby One More Time Tour in North America, which was positively received by critics. It also generated some controversy due to her racy outfits. An extension of the tour, titled
(You Drive Me) Crazy Tour, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show. It has sold over 20 million copies worldwide to date, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Rob Sheffield of
Rolling Stone said that "the great thing about
Oops! – under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of
rock & roll tradition". The album's lead single, "
Oops!... I Did It Again", peaked at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and many other European nations, while the second single, "
Lucky", peaked at number one in Austria, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. The album, as well as the title track, received Grammy nominations for
Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively. The same year, Spears embarked on the
Oops!... I Did It Again Tour, which grossed $40.9 million; she also published her first memoir, ''
Britney Spears' Heart to Heart'', written with her mother. On September 7, 2000, Spears performed at the
2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Halfway through the performance, she removed her black suit to reveal a sequined flesh-colored bodysuit, followed by a heavy dance routine. It is noted by critics as the moment that Spears showed signs of becoming a more provocative performer. Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating NSYNC member
Justin Timberlake. She also bought a home in
Destin, Florida.
In her 2023 memoir, Spears revealed that she had an
abortion in late 2000 while dating Timberlake after he said they were not prepared for parenthood. Spears called the abortion "one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced".
2001–2002: Britney and Crossroads In January 2001, Spears hosted the
28th Annual American Music Awards, starred at
Rock in Rio alongside NSYNC, and performed as a special guest in the
Super Bowl XXXV halftime show headlined by
Aerosmith and NSYNC. In February 2001, she signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with
Pepsi and released another book co-written with her mother, ''
A Mother's Gift. Britney
debuted at number one on the Billboard'' 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the UK, and mainland Europe, and has sold 10 million copies worldwide.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of
AllMusic called
Britney "the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. [...] it does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet". It was nominated for the Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "
Overprotected", and in 2007 it was named one of the best albums of the preceding 25 years by
Entertainment Weekly. The lead single, "
I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit in several countries. Spears's performance of the single at the
2001 MTV Video Music Awards featured a caged tiger (wrangled by
Bhagavan Antle) and a large
albino python draped over her shoulders. It was harshly received by animal rights organization
PETA, who claimed the animals were mistreated and scrapped plans for an anti-fur billboard that was to feature Spears. To support the album, Spears began the
Dream Within a Dream Tour. The show was critically praised for its technical innovations, the
pièce de résistance being a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage. The tour grossed $53.3 million, becoming the second highest-grossing tour of 2002 by a female artist, behind
Cher's
Farewell Tour. Her career success was highlighted by
Forbes in 2002, as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity. Spears also landed her first starring role in
Crossroads, released in February 2002. Although the film was largely panned, critics praised Spears's acting. The film was a box office success, grossing over $61.1 million worldwide on a $12 million budget. The following month, Spears announced she would take a six-month break from her career; however, she went back into the studio in November to record her new album. Spears's relationship with Justin Timberlake ended after three years. In November 2002, Timberlake released the song "
Cry Me a River". Its music video featured a Spears look-alike and fueled rumors that she had been engaging in an affair, fueled by further rumors of possible relationships involving Timberlake's choreographer
Wade Robson and
Limp Bizkit's frontman
Fred Durst. Spears had initially denied the allegations of a possible affair involving Durst, despite the two being spotted together on multiple occasions, even claiming the two had a friendly connection. In 2023, she admitted to an affair with Robson. As a response, Spears wrote the ballad "
Everytime" with her backing vocalist and friend
Annet Artani.
2003–2005: In the Zone and first two marriages In August 2003, Spears opened the
MTV Video Music Awards with
Christina Aguilera, performing "
Like a Virgin". Halfway through, they were joined by
Madonna, whom they both kissed. The incident was highly publicized. In 2008, MTV listed the performance as the number-one opening moment in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards, while
Blender cited it as one of the 25 sexiest music moments in television history. Spears released her fourth studio album,
In the Zone, in November 2003. She assumed more creative control by writing and co-producing most of the material.
NPR named it one of the most important recordings of the decade, writing that "the decade's history of impeccably crafted pop is written on her body of work".
In the Zone sold over 609,000 copies during its first week of availability in the United States, debuting at the top of the charts, making Spears the first female artist in the SoundScan era to have her first four studio albums debut at number one. The album produced four singles: "
Me Against the Music", a collaboration with Madonna; "
Toxic"—which won Spears her first Grammy for
Best Dance Recording; "
Everytime", and "
Outrageous". In March 2004, Spears embarked on
the Onyx Hotel Tour in support of
In the Zone. The tour was canceled in June 2004, when she fell and injured her left knee during the music video shoot for "Outrageous". She underwent
arthroscopic surgery and wore a thigh brace for six weeks, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation. That year, Spears became involved in the
Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna. In July 2004, Spears became engaged to dancer
Kevin Federline, whom she had met three months earlier. The romance was the subject of intense media attention, since Federline had recently broken up with actress
Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child at the time. They held a wedding ceremony on September 18, 2004, but were not legally married until three weeks later on October 6 due to a delay finalizing the couple's prenuptial agreement. Shortly after, she released her first perfume,
Curious, with
Elizabeth Arden, which broke the company's first-week gross for a perfume.
Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, her first greatest hits
compilation album, was released in November 2004. Spears's
cover version of
Bobby Brown's "
My Prerogative" was released as the lead single from the album, reaching the top of the charts in Finland, Ireland, Italy, and Norway. The second single, "
Do Somethin'", was a top ten hit in Australia, the United Kingdom, and other countries of mainland Europe. In August 2005, Spears released "
Someday (I Will Understand)", which was dedicated to her first son, who was born the following month. In November 2005, she released her first remix compilation,
B in the Mix: The Remixes, which consists of 11 remixes.
2006–2007: Personal struggles and Blackout In February 2006, pictures surfaced of Spears driving with her son on her lap instead of in a car seat. Child advocates were horrified by the photos of her holding the wheel with one hand and him with the other. Spears attributed the situation to a frightening encounter with paparazzi, and that it was a mistake on her part. She announced she no longer studied Kabbalah in May 2006, explaining, "my baby is my religion". Two months later, Spears filed for divorce from Federline, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce was finalized in July 2007, when the two reached a settlement and agreed to share joint custody of their sons. Spears's maternal aunt, Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of
ovarian cancer in January 2007. In February, Spears stayed in a
drug rehabilitation facility in
Antigua for less than a day. The following night, she shaved her head with electric clippers at a hair salon in
Tarzana, Los Angeles. She admitted herself to other treatment facilities during the following weeks. In May 2007, she produced a series of promotional concerts at
House of Blues venues, titled
The M+M's Tour. In October 2007, Spears lost physical custody of her sons to Federline. The reasons for the court ruling were not revealed to the public. Spears was also sued by
Louis Vuitton over her 2005 music video "Do Somethin'" for upholstering her
Hummer interior in counterfeit Louis Vuitton cherry blossom fabric, which resulted in the video being banned on European TV stations. In October 2007, Spears released her fifth studio album,
Blackout. The album debuted atop the charts in Canada and Ireland, at number two in the US, France, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, and the top ten in Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, and many European nations. In the United States, it was Spears's first album not to debut at number one, although, she did become the only female artist to have her first five studio albums debut at the two top slots of the chart. The album received positive reviews from critics and had sold 3.1 million copies worldwide by the end of 2008.
Blackout won Album of the Year at the
2008 MTV Europe Music Awards and was listed as the fifth Best Pop Album of the Decade by
The Times. Spears performed the lead single, "
Gimme More", at the
2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance was widely panned by critics. Despite the criticism, the single enjoyed worldwide success, peaking at number one in Canada and within the top ten in almost every country it charted. The second single, "
Piece of Me", reached the top of the charts in Ireland and reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The third single, "
Break the Ice", was released the following year, and reached numbers seven and nine in Ireland and Canada, respectively. In December 2007, Spears began a relationship with paparazzo Adnan Ghalib.
2008–2010: Conservatorship and Circus In January 2008, after Spears refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline's representatives, she was institutionalized at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center due to her worsening mental condition. Her
visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole custody. By the end of the month, she was put on a
5150 involuntary psychiatric hold at
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The following month, Spears guest-starred on the
How I Met Your Mother episode "
Ten Sessions" as a receptionist. Her performance drew positive reviews and brought the series its highest ratings ever. In July 2008, Spears regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline. In September 2008, Spears opened the
MTV Video Music Awards with a pre-taped comedy sketch with
Jonah Hill and an introduction speech. She won
Best Female Video,
Best Pop Video, and
Video of the Year for "Piece of Me". A 60-minute introspective documentary,
Britney: For the Record, was produced to chronicle Spears's return to the recording industry. Directed by Phil Griffin,
For the Record was shot in
Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and New York City during the third quarter of 2008. The documentary was broadcast on MTV to 5.6 million viewers for the two airings on the premiere night, December 1. It was the highest rating in its Sunday night time slot and in the network's history. tour, March 2009 Spears's sixth studio album,
Circus, was released in December 2008, two months after her conservatorship was extended indefinitely. It received positive reviews from critics and debuted at number one in Canada, the Czech Republic, and the United States, and within the top ten in many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the youngest female artist to have five albums debut at number one, earning a place in
Guinness World Records. (
Justin Bieber is the youngest male artist to do so, at age 18.) She also became the only act in the
SoundScan era to have four albums debut with 500,000 or more copies sold. and has sold 4 million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "
Womanizer", became Spears's first chart-topper on the
Billboard Hot 100 since "...Baby One More Time". The single also topped the charts in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, and Sweden. It was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. In January 2009, Spears and Jamie obtained a restraining order against her former manager Sam Lutfi, ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib, and attorney Jon Eardley, who were accused of conspiring to gain control of Spears's affairs. Spears began the
Circus Starring Britney Spears tour that March. With a gross of US $131.8 million, it became the fifth highest-grossing tour of the year. In November 2009, Spears released her second greatest hits album,
The Singles Collection. The album's only single, "
3", became her third number-one single in the US. In May 2010, Spears's representatives confirmed she was dating her agent, Jason Trawick, and that they had decided to end their professional relationship to focus on their personal relationship. Spears designed a limited edition clothing line for
Candie's, which was released in stores in July 2010. In September 2010, she made a
cameo appearance on a Spears-themed tribute episode of the television series
Glee, titled "
Britney/Brittany". The episode drew the series's highest
Nielsen rating so far in the 18–49 demographic.
2011–2012: Femme Fatale and The X Factor In March 2011, Spears released her seventh studio album,
Femme Fatale. The album peaked at number one in the United States, Canada, and Australia, and within the top ten on nearly every other chart. Its peak in the United States tied Spears with
Mariah Carey and
Janet Jackson for the third-most number ones among women.
Femme Fatale has been certified platinum by the
RIAA and, as of February 2014, had sold 2.4 million copies worldwide. , July 2011|alt=Image of a blonde female performer wearing a white leotard and black fishnets. The album's lead single, "
Hold It Against Me", debuted atop the
Billboard Hot 100, becoming Spears's fourth number-one single on the chart and making her the second artist in history to have two consecutive singles debut at number one, after
Mariah Carey. The second single, "
Till the World Ends", peaked at number three on the
Billboard Hot 100 in May, while the third single, "
I Wanna Go", reached number seven in August.
Femme Fatale became Spears's first album to have three of its songs reach the top ten on that chart. The fourth and final single, "
Criminal", was released in September 2011. The music video sparked controversy when British politicians criticized Spears for using replica guns while filming the video in a London area that had been badly affected by the
2011 England riots. Spears's management briefly responded, stating, "The video is a fantasy story featuring Britney's boyfriend, Jason Trawick, which literally plays out the lyrics of a song written three years before the riots ever happened." In April 2011, Spears appeared in a remix of
Rihanna's song "
S&M". It reached number one in the US later that month, giving Spears her fifth number one on the chart. On
Billboards 2011 Year-End list, Spears was ranked number fourteen on the Artists of the Year, thirty-two on
Billboard 200 artists, and ten on
Billboard Hot 100 artists. Spears co-wrote "Whiplash", a song from the album
When the Sun Goes Down (2011) by
Selena Gomez & the Scene. In June 2011, Spears embarked on her
Femme Fatale Tour. The first ten dates of the tour grossed $6.2 million, and the tour peaked at number 55 on
Pollstar's Top 100 North American Tours list for the halfway point of the year. The tour ended on December 10, 2011, in Puerto Rico, after 79 performances. A DVD of the tour was released in November 2011. In August 2011, Spears received the
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the
2011 MTV Video Music Awards. In December 2011, Spears became engaged to Trawick. Trawick was legally granted a role as co-conservator, alongside Jamie, in April 2012. In May, Spears replaced
Nicole Scherzinger as a judge for the
second season of the
American version of
The X Factor, joining
Simon Cowell,
L.A. Reid, and fellow new judge
Demi Lovato, who replaced
Paula Abdul. With a reported salary of $15 million, she became the highest-paid judge on a singing competition series in television history. However,
Katy Perry broke her record in 2018 after Perry was signed for a $25 million salary to serve as a judge on
ABC's revival of
American Idol. Spears mentored the Teens category; her final contestant,
Carly Rose Sonenclar, was named the runner-up of the season. After Spears decided not to return,
Paulina Rubio was hired as her permanent replacement for the show's
third and final season. That year, Spears collaborated with
will.i.am on "
Scream & Shout", released as the third single from his fourth studio album,
#willpower (2013). The song later became Spears's sixth number-one single on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number three on the
Billboard Hot 100. "Scream & Shout" was among the best-selling songs of 2012 and 2013, with denoting sales of over 8.1 million worldwide. The accompanying music video was the third most-viewed in 2013 on
Vevo, despite being released in 2012. In December 2012,
Forbes named her music's top-earning woman of 2012, with estimated earnings of $58 million.
2013–2015: Britney Jean and Britney: Piece of Me , a four-year concert residency in Las Vegas Spears began production on her eighth studio album,
Britney Jean, in December 2012 and enlisted
will.i.am as its executive producer in May 2013. In January 2013, Spears and Jason Trawick ended their engagement. Trawick was also removed as Spears's co-conservator, restoring her father as the sole conservator. Following the breakup, she began dating David Lucado in March; the couple split in August 2014. During the production of
Britney Jean, Spears recorded the song "
Ooh La La" for the soundtrack of
The Smurfs 2, which was released in June 2013. On September 17, 2013, she appeared on
Good Morning America to announce her two-year concert residency at
Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, titled
Britney: Piece of Me. It began on December 27, 2013, and included a total of 100 shows throughout 2014 and 2015. During the same appearance, Spears announced that
Britney Jean would be released on December 3, 2013, in the United States. It was released through
RCA Records due to the disbandment of
Jive Records in 2011, which had formed the joint
RCA/Jive Label Group (initially known as
BMG Label Group) between 2007 and 2011.
Britney Jean became Spears's final project under her original recording contract with Jive, which had guaranteed the release of eight studio albums. The record received a low amount of promotion and had little commercial impact, reportedly due to time conflicts involving preparations for Britney: Piece of Me. Upon its release, the record debuted at number four on the
US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 107,000 copies, becoming her lowest-peaking and lowest-selling album in the United States. It was also her lowest-charting and lowest-selling album in the UK, debuting at number 34 on the
UK Albums Chart, selling 12,959 copies in its first week. "
Work Bitch" was released as the lead single from
Britney Jean in September 2013. It debuted and peaked at number 12 on the US
Billboard Hot 100, marking Spears's 31st entry on the chart, the fifth-highest debut of her career on the chart, and her seventh in the top 20. It also marked Spears's 19th top-20 entry and overall her 23rd top-40 single. It was her highest-sales debut since her 2011 number-one single "
Hold It Against Me". "Work Bitch" debuted and peaked at number seven on the
UK Singles Chart. The song also peaked within the top ten of the charts in Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, and Spain. The second single, "
Perfume", premiered in November 2013. It debuted and peaked at number 76 on the US
Billboard Hot 100. In October 2013, Spears was featured as a guest vocalist on the song "SMS (Bangerz)" by
Miley Cyrus, from the latter's fourth studio album,
Bangerz (2013). On January 8, 2014, Spears won Favorite Pop Artist at the
40th People's Choice Awards at the
Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. In August 2014, Spears confirmed she had renewed her contract with RCA and that she was writing and recording new music for her next album. Spears announced via Twitter in August 2014 that she would be releasing an intimate apparel line called "The Intimate Britney Spears". It was available to be purchased beginning on September 9, 2014, in the United States and Canada through Spears's Intimate Collection website. It was available on September 25 for purchase in Europe. The company now ships to over 200 countries, including Australia and New Zealand. On September 25, 2014, Spears confirmed on
Good Morning Britain that she extended her contract to perform her Britney: Piece of Me
concert residency at
Planet Hollywood Las Vegas for two additional years. Spears began dating television producer
Charlie Ebersol in October 2014. The pair split in June 2015. On May 14, 2015, Spears released a single, "
Pretty Girls", with
Iggy Azalea. It reached number 29 on the
Billboard Hot 100. Spears and Azalea performed the track live at the
2015 Billboard Music Awards from The AXIS, the home of Spears's residency, to positive critical response.
Entertainment Weekly praised the performance, noting "Spears gave one of her most energetic televised performances in years." On June 16, 2015,
Giorgio Moroder released the album
Déjà Vu, which featured Spears on "
Tom's Diner". The song was released as the fourth single from the album on October 9, 2015. In an interview, Moroder praised Spears's vocals and said she "sounds so good that you would hardly recognize her". At the
2015 Teen Choice Awards, Spears received the Candie's Style Icon Award, her ninth
Teen Choice Award. In November 2015, Spears guest-starred as a fictionalized version of herself on
the CW series
Jane the Virgin. On the show, she danced to "Toxic" with
Gina Rodriguez's character.
2016–2018: Glory, continued residency, and the Piece of Me Tour at the
Roundhouse in London in September 2016 In November 2015, Spears confirmed via social media that she had begun recording her ninth studio album. On March 1, 2016,
V announced that Spears would appear on the cover of its 100th issue, dated March 8, 2016, in addition to revealing three different covers shot by photographer
Mario Testino for the milestone publication. The
V editor-in-chief, Stephen Gan, said Spears was selected because of her status as an icon in the industry, and asked: "Who in our world did not grow up listening to her music?" In May 2016, Spears launched a casual
role-play gaming application,
Britney Spears: American Dream. The app, created by
Glu Mobile, was made available through both
iOS and
Google Play. On May 22, 2016, Spears performed a medley of her past singles at the
2016 Billboard Music Awards. In addition to opening the show, Spears was honored with the
Billboard Millennium Award. On July 15, 2016, Spears released the lead single, "
Make Me", from her forthcoming album, featuring guest vocals from American rapper
G-Eazy. The album,
Glory, was formally released on August 26, 2016. On August 16, 2016,
MTV and Spears announced that she would perform at the
2016 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance marked Spears's first time returning to the VMA stage after her widely panned performance of "Gimme More" at the 2007 show nine years earlier. Along with "Make Me", Spears and G-Eazy also performed the latter's hit song "
Me, Myself & I". Spears appeared on the cover of
Marie Claire UK for the October 2016 issue. In the publication, Spears revealed that she had suffered from crippling anxiety in the past, and that motherhood played a major role in helping her overcome it. "My boys don't care if everything isn't perfect. They don't judge me", Spears said in the issue. In November 2016, during an interview with Las Vegas Blog, Spears confirmed she had already begun work on her next album, stating: "I'm not sure what I want the next album to sound like... I just know that I'm excited to get into the studio again and actually have already been back recording." In the same month, she released a remix version of "
Slumber Party" as the second single from
Glory, featuring
Tinashe. She began dating "Slumber Party"'s music video co-star
Sam Asghari after the two met on set. In January 2017, Spears received four wins out of four nominations at the
43rd People's Choice Awards, including Favorite Pop Artist, Female Artist, Social Media Celebrity, as well as Comedic Collaboration for a skit with
Ellen DeGeneres for
The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In March 2017, Spears announced that her residency concert would be performed abroad as a world tour,
Britney: Live in Concert, with dates in select Asian cities. In April 2017, the
Israeli Labor Party announced that it would reschedule its July primary election to avoid conflict with Spears's sold-out Tel Aviv concert, citing traffic and security concerns. Spears's manager Larry Rudolph also announced the residency would not be extended following her contract expiration with
Caesars Entertainment at the end of 2017. On April 29, 2017, Spears became the first recipient of the Icon Award at the
2017 Radio Disney Music Awards. On November 4, 2017, Spears attended the grand opening of the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation Britney Spears Campus in
Las Vegas. Later that month,
Forbes announced that Spears was the eighth-highest-earning female musician, earning $34 million in 2017. On December 31, 2017, Spears performed the final show of Britney: Piece of Me. The final performance reportedly brought in $1.172 million, setting a new box office record for a single show in Las Vegas, a record previously held by
Jennifer Lopez. In January 2018, Spears released her 24th perfume with Elizabeth Arden,
Sunset Fantasy, and announced the
Piece of Me Tour, which took place in July 2018 in North America and Europe. Tickets were sold out within minutes for major cities, and additional dates were added to meet the demand.
Pitbull was the
supporting act for the European leg. The tour ranked at 86 in North America and 30 worldwide on
Pollstars 2018 Year-End Top 100 Tours chart. In total, the tour grossed $54.3 million, with 260,531 tickets sold, and was the sixth-highest-grossing female tour of 2018. It was also the United Kingdom's second-best-selling female tour of 2018. On March 20, 2018, Spears was announced as part of a campaign for French luxury fashion house
Kenzo. The company said it aimed to shake up the "jungle" world of fashion with Spears's "La Collection Memento No. 2" campaign. On April 12, 2018, Spears was honored with the 2018
GLAAD Vanguard Award at the
GLAAD Media Awards for her role in "accelerating acceptance for the LGBTQ community". On April 27, 2018, Epic Rights announced a new partnership with Spears to debut her own fashion line in 2019, which would include clothing, fitness apparel, accessories, and electronics. In July 2018, Spears released her first unisex fragrance,
Prerogative. On October 18, 2018, Spears announced her second Las Vegas residency show, Britney: Domination, which was set to launch at
Park MGM's Park Theatre on February 13, 2019. Spears was slated to make $507,000 per show, which would have made her the highest paid act on the
Las Vegas Strip. On October 21, 2018, Spears performed at the
Formula One Grand Prix in
Austin, the final performance of her Piece of Me Tour.
2019–2021: Conservatorship dispute, #FreeBritney, and abuse allegations , 2021 By early 2019, Spears announced an indefinite hiatus and the cancellation of her Las Vegas residency after her father, Jamie, suffered a near-fatal colon rupture and Andrew Wallet resigned as co-conservator of her estate. Following allegations of Jamie's involvement in cancelling Spears's residency and placing her in a psychiatric facility, a movement titled #FreeBritney was organized in May 2019. Judge Brenda Penny announced a professional evaluation of the conservatorship that month. That September, Kevin Federline filed a restraining order against Jamie following an alleged physical altercation between Jamie and one of her sons. An interactive pop-up museum dedicated to Spears, dubbed "The Zone", opened in Los Angeles in February 2020, though it was later suspended due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. She released
Glorys Japanese-exclusive bonus track, "
Mood Ring" as a single, and debuted a new cover of the album to streaming and digital platforms worldwide in May 2020. In December, Spears released an updated deluxe edition of
Glory, which includes "Mood Ring" and new songs "
Swimming in the Stars" and "
Matches", a collaboration with
Backstreet Boys. In February 2021, a television documentary titled
Framing Britney Spears aired on FX. That June,
The New York Times obtained confidential court documents stating that Spears had pushed for years to end her conservatorship. In July, Bessemer Trust and Spears's longtime manager
Larry Rudolph resigned. Later in the year, Spears announced her engagement to her longtime boyfriend, Sam Asghari. After Jamie filed a suit to end his involvement, Penny terminated Spears's conservatorship in November.
2022–present: Third marriage, The Woman in Me, and retirement from singing In April 2022, she announced her pregnancy with Asghari's child, which ended in a miscarriage the following month. The couple married on June 9 at her home in
Thousand Oaks, Los Angeles. None of Spears's immediate family (including her parents, sister, and brother) were invited; her two sons did not attend. Spears's ex-husband, Jason Alexander, attempted to crash the wedding by breaking into her home, armed with a knife, but was arrested. A three-year
restraining order was subsequently enacted. On August 26, Spears and English musician
Elton John released the duet "
Hold Me Closer", a remake of John's 1972 single "
Tiny Dancer". It was Spears's first musical release since dissolving her conservatorship. "Hold Me Closer" debuted at number six on the US
Billboard Hot 100, becoming her 14th top-ten single and her highest-charting song in the chart since "
Scream & Shout" (2012). It debuted at number three on the
UK Singles Chart, earning Spears her 24th top-ten. Since her conservatorship's dissolution, Spears's personal life, social media presence, and overall well-being have been subject to renewed media interest and fan speculation, giving rise to conspiracy theories. On January 24, 2023, deputies from the
Ventura County Sheriff's Office performed a welfare check at Spears's residence after receiving several calls from fans who were concerned after she deleted her
Instagram account. A spokesperson for the Sheriff's Department stated that Spears "was safe and in no danger". Spears addressed the incident on her
Twitter account, asking fans to respect her privacy. Spears and the rapper
will.i.am released their single, "
Mind Your Business", on July 21, 2023. On August 16, it was announced Spears and Asghari separated after 14 months of marriage. On May 1, 2024, they reached a divorce settlement. The following day, the judge signed off on the settlement and the couple were divorced on December 2, 2024. In September 2023, an additional welfare check was initiated when Spears posted an Instagram video of herself dancing with knives. Her security team assured the attending officer that there was no immediate threat to her safety, and the officer departed. Spears also clarified that the knives were not real. After signing a $15 million book deal in February 2022 in one of the
largest deals ever made, she published a second memoir,
The Woman in Me, in October 2023. It details her rise to fame, public media events, her conservatorship, and her newfound freedom. In the United States, it sold 1.1 million copies, while worldwide it sold 2.4 million copies in print sales during its first week of release. In January 2024, reports circulated that
Charli XCX and
Julia Michaels had been asked to write songs for Spears, and
Rolling Stone reported that "management and A&R are trying to get her excited for the music". Spears denied the reports, saying she would never return to the music industry. However, she also said that she had written more than 20 songs for other artists in the previous two years. In May 2024, Charli XCX confirmed in an interview that she had indeed been asked to write for Spears, for which she traveled to Malibu, but that she did not know if Spears was involved, explaining that "the team were present... But she didn't record it. She obviously didn't." In 2026, she clarified her exit from the music industry, saying that she would "never perform in the US again", but did not rule out performing elsewhere, saying "I hope to be ... performing with my son … in the UK and Australia very soon." In February 2026,
Variety reported that music publisher
Primary Wave had acquired the rights to Spears' entire music catalog along with other rights. The
BBC reported that the purchase took place on December 30, 2025, for roughly $200 million. The following month, she was arrested in
Ventura County, California, on suspicion of
driving under the influence. In April, Spears' representative stated that she had checked herself into a rehabilitation facility. On April 30, 2026, she would be officially given a criminal DUI charge. Spears is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment hearing May 4, 2026. On April 30, 2026, Spears checked out of rehab. ==Artistry==