Access Investigates Celebrity Moms: Lynne Spears

Britney Spears and her mother Lynne used to be inseparable. Now, they are in a very public battle.

In part one of our three part series, Access Hollywood investigates celebrity moms. We begin with Lynne Spears.

A love so deep, just mentioning her mother in 2004 brought Britney to tears. She got so emotional she had to leave an Access interview.

More than a devoted mom, Britney called her mother Lynne, her best friend, writing in her 2000 book “Heart To Heart,” “Anytime I’m down, I know who to call to pick me up – my mama.”

In a tragic reverse of relations, the downward spiraling star has lashed out at her mother, blaming her for just about everything – ordering her to rehab and conspiring with Kevin to take the kids. Britney even confronted her mother on the set of sister Jamie Lynn’s TV show with a letter, reportedly threatening legal action if she didn’t stay away from her kids.

A revealing article on celebrity moms in the new Vanity Fair claims that unlike the parents of other troubled young stars including Paris and Lindsay, Lynne Spears is taking positive steps.

“I think that Lynne Spears is trying very, very hard,” Vanity Fair writer Judith Newman told Access. “First of all, she is trying to stay out of the press because she recognizes the seriousness of what’s going on here and she is really probably a woman who loves her grandchildren and just doesn’t want to see them in harm’s way.”

Even after Britney slapped her mom with the letter, which at the time Lynne Spears called a “love letter,” those close to her mom have reportedly said Lynne hasn’t given up hope. That same devotion has been evident to Access Hollywood’s cameras from the very beginning.

From her days as a tween icon to her superstardom status, Lynne was always there, protecting Britney and putting her daughter’s needs first.

“Lynne Spears’ daughter might be the most unhinged…but Lynne Spears, from everything we can tell, was not trying to live through her child,” Newman said. “She did have a dream that she didn’t realize, but it had nothing to do with show business. She really wanted to be a college professor.”

According to Vanity Fair, the Spears family, who comes from the small town of Kentwood, Louisiana, put their own finances at risk so the star-driven Britney could have a shot.

“I do think she and her husband practically bankrupted themselves for their child,” Newman said.

A then grateful Britney, according to the magazine, did share her success with her parents, buying a mansion she ironically called Serenity.

Now, at a time when Britney needs her mom most, there’s no communication, but according to Vanity Fair, Lynne is sticking to a does of tough love at any cost.

“According to our sources, Lynne Spears has taken a financial hit because of trying to protect her grandkids,” Newman told Access. “She really has taken as one person said to me a principled stand here.”