Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, in McComb, Mississippi, the second child of James "Jamie" Parnell Spears and Lynne Irene Bridges. Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Portell, was English and born in London, and one of Spears' maternal great-grandfathers was Maltese.

"Toxic," In the Zone (2003) "Toxic" remains Spears' biggest hit as of press time, now certified six-times platinum by the RIAA and the only song with more than one billion streams on Spotify. It also won Spears her one GRAMMY, for Best Dance Recording at the 47th GRAMMY Awards.

In 1997, Spears signed a recording contract with American record label Jive Records in order to launch her career. Spears made her chart debut in November 1998 with "... Baby One More Time", which was followed by the release of her debut studio album, ... Baby One More Time (1999).