Britney Spears

Biography: A multitasking megastar, Spears, though not necessarily the most talented of the teen pop artists unleashed on MTV in the late 1990s, bested her competitors with her knack for staying the center of attention and changing her image as often as she changed her outfits. While her catchy singles and sexy videos made her a household name, Spears quickly added acting to her résumé as the star of the tepid 2002 coming-of-age flick Crossroads. Busy as she was, the bubbly blonde found the time to open a restaurant, launch a fragrance, write books and carry on a much-scrutinized love life: a long-term romance with 'N Sync front man (and fellow Mickey Mouse Club costar) Justin Timberlake; rumored dalliances with Colin Farrell and Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst; an annulled, two-day Las Vegas marriage to a childhood friend in 2004; and finally, a "real" marriage later that year to dancer and aspiring rap star Kevin "K-Fed" Federline. As the 2000s wore on, Spears seemed more famous for herA multitasking megastar, Spears, though not necessarily the most talented of the teen pop artists unleashed on MTV in the late 1990s, bested her competitors with her knack for staying the center of attention and changing her image as often as she changed her outfits. While her catchy singles and sexy videos made her a household name, Spears quickly added acting to her résumé as the star of the tepid 2002 coming-of-age flick Crossroads. Busy as she was, the bubbly blonde found the time to open a restaurant, launch a fragrance, write books and carry on a much-scrutinized love life: a long-term romance with 'N Sync front man (and fellow Mickey Mouse Club costar) Justin Timberlake; rumored dalliances with Colin Farrell and Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst; an annulled, two-day Las Vegas marriage to a childhood friend in 2004; and finally, a "real" marriage later that year to dancer and aspiring rap star Kevin "K-Fed" Federline. As the 2000s wore on, Spears seemed more famous for her personal than her professional life, although she picked up her first Grammy for the song "Toxic" in 2004. But with a little-watched 2005 reality show (Britney and Kevin: Chaotic), two babies, a pending divorce and no showbiz projects on the horizon, Britney-mania seemed to be subsiding. In February 2007, after months of apparently nonstop partying, Spears looked to be at a dead end. Within one drama-filled week, she shaved her head, got two tattoos, and checked in and out of rehab twice . But even as her lifestyle had drifted toward "Toxic," she started to right herself, especially in record sales. Her 2008 CD, Circus, topped the charts, as did a single from that album, "Womanizer." (In fact, her Blackout CD, released in 2007, just missed topping Billboard's Top 200.) A 2009 greatest-hits collection also yielded a hit single, "3." And her role on How I Met Your Mother boosted the CBS sitcom's ratings in 2008.… Expand