Access Hollywood – Celebrity News, Photos & Videos

Perhaps no single individual has captured the public’s fascination with celebrity so complexly in recent years, as Ms. Spears. Endlessly fascinating to her fans and devilishly intriguing to her critics, she’s both the gift that keeps on giving (to the media) and at the same time, a hugely popular recording artist. In the last decade she’s risen from teen pop ingénue — to megastar.

There’s the girl-next-door/school girl Britney — who has managed to combine (and successfully sell) a searing sexuality melded to a Southern cheerleader wholesomeness; one which has influenced a young generation of girls the world over.

And then there’s in-and-out of court/nightclub / barefoot in the gas station bathroom Britney — who has managed to both stimulate and appall celebrity-hungry pop culture fanatics the world over.

Her antics offstage, including a 3-year relationship with fellow Mickey Mouse-club-teen-turned-superstar Justin Timberlake, a 55 hour marriage to childhood Jason Alexander, and her publicly bitter divorce (and subsequent custody battle over children Sean Preston and Jayden James) with back-up dancer Kevin Federline have provided an endless amount of fodder for fan mags and lunchroom confabs.

Britney has become a riddle whose solution hasn’t been revealed. She’s talented, relentlessly driven and more than just a little bit self-destructive. From her place as one of the best-selling female artists of the last decade, she has taken more than a few risks, raised tons of eyebrows, and continues to produce appealing and successful music for her adoring fans.