Britney Spears,Paris Hilton and the best of fashion week

A bubbly, blonde pop music sensation who built a fan base with a girl-next-door sweetness, catchy tunes, flashy dance moves and a magnetic sexual appeal, Britney Spears went from a small-town Louisiana girl to the veritable heir to Madonna's media saturation crown, beginning with the release of her first single in 1998 and holding fast well into the next millennium - and much like Madonna, the attention quickly shifted away from her artistry and focused squarely on her personal dramas. Starting in 2004, a much mocked marriage to back-up dancer, Kevin Federline, the birth of two babies in quick succession, and a seemingly self-imposed exile from the music industry kept her name in the forefront - though mainly as a gossip curiosity piece.

When "MMC" called it a day in 1994, the young star-in-the-making returned to Louisiana and attended a private junior/senior high school in nearby McComb, MS, but missed the excitement of the entertainment world. In 1997, she signed with Jive Records, beginning a partnership that would make Spears a household name. In 1998, she toured the malls of America a la teen pop star Tiffany did a decade earlier, getting her bouncy, blonde image into the minds of the people while, at the same time, getting her promo tape into their stereos. Her debut single "...Baby One More Time" was a smash hit in the last days of 1998, thanks, in part, to the provocative schoolgirl uniform-sporting music video that accompanied the catchy and oddly edgy tune. While the fresh-faced teen sensation improbably crooned "My loneliness is killing me," audiences of all ages were transfixed - from middle-aged men creepily fixating on the singer's short plaid kilt and midriff-baring blouse, to seven-year-old girls hopping around the playground, strangely pleading "Hit me baby, one more time." Spears' debut album went multi-platinum while her single stayed at the top of the charts in the first months of 1999. Upping her visibility, Spears' controversial Rolling Stone cover (clad only in a bra and hot pants, surrounded by stuffed animals while talking on the phone) had parent groups up in arms when the overtly sexy image hit stands in April - nearly eight months before the star's 18th birthday. Meanwhile, Spears and her inner circle began a long-standing policy of sending mixed messages, proclaiming the star's commitment to Southern, church-going values and remaining a virgin until she married.

Appearances on a myriad of specials and awards shows and a guest stint on the ABC sitcom "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (ABC/WB, 1996-2003) helped keep her in the minds and hearts of the public in between record releases. When her follow-up effort, Oops!... I Did It Again dropped in 2000, her audience welcomed it with open wallets. Another round of multi-platinum sales were made, and the video for the lead-off title track won the performer more kudos, proving her dance talents with an eye-catching routine in a fetching red vinyl catsuit. When Spears appeared at that year’s “MTV Video Music Awards,” tearing off a man's tuxedo to reveal a flesh colored body suit, her sexy image was solidified. Indeed, it became central to her routinely controversial image, with fans and media debating over lurid topics such as whether or not the young star had received breast implants. Spears' sex appeal was tempered for her more family value-minded fans by her sweet and seemingly chaste relationship with longtime boyfriend (and former Mouseketeer) Justin Timberlake - by then, the lead singer of the hugely popular boy band *NSYNC, which shared the same musical management as Spears. Expressing herself, showing her versatility and growing up in the public eye while losing very few of her original preteen fans, the singer seemed poised to stand the test of time.

Born Dec. 2, 1981 in the rural Louisiana town of Kentwood to parents Jamie and Lynne Spears, the young girl started training for her future superstar status as a small child. A skilled dancer and gymnast - as well as a capable singer - Spears had the determination and stamina to get to the top, starting her career in the entertainment industry early - too early, in fact - for producers of the revamped "The Mickey Mouse Club" (The Disney Channel, 1989-1994). Producers of the star-making kiddie show turned down the talented youngster because of her age when she first auditioned in 1990. Mindful of her potential, Spears was hooked up with an agent and temporarily moved with her mother and baby sister to New York City the following year. Here, she starred in the off-Broadway production, "Ruthless," a stage comedy loosely based on "The Bad Seed." Playing the evil but seemingly angelic child was an enjoyable role for the 10-year-old Spears, who next wowed judges with her debut performance on the televised talent competition, "Star Search" (CBS, 1983-2004) in 1992. A year later, she was finally welcomed into the cast of the "Mickey Mouse Club," becoming a part of an elite cast that included future TV star Keri Russell as well as fellow teen pop luminaries Justin Timberlake and J.C. Chasez of *NSYNC and Christina Aguilera. As part of the ensemble, she could do all the dancing, acting and singing her heart desired, but unfortunately, the show ended its run in the midst of only her second season.

Though potential roles in the TV series "Dawson's Creek" (WB, 1998-2003) and the feature "Scary Movie" (2000) came to naught - reportedly due to her busy schedule - new projects with Spears' name attached sprung up frequently. Rumors of her co-starring with hot Latin singer Ricky Martin in a sequel to the 1987 hit musical, "Dirty Dancing," were not realized, but the singer/dancer made another major impression on TV viewers. Following a second erotically charged performance on the 2001 “MTV Music Video Awards,” during which she undulated in a barely-there harem outfit to her new song "I'm a Slave for U" while an albino python wrapped around her neck, viewers of both sexes were blown away yet again by her brazen “barely legal” performance. Britney-mania continued with her saucy performance in the HBO live concert, "Britney Spears: Live in Las Vegas" (2001) - a production that demonstrated her adult sex appeal as much as it did her propensity to lip-synch. Not satisfied with just conquering the music market, Spears tried her hand at publishing, co-authoring with her mother the autobiographical tome Britney Spears' Heart to Heart (2000) and the novel A Mother's Gift (2001) - the latter of which was turned into the ABC Family Channel telepic, "Brave New Girl" (2004), which Spears and her mother co-executive produced.