Britney Spears

A multitasking megastar, Spears was neither the best looking nor most talented of the crop of teen pop artists unleashed on MTV in the late ’90s. Yet she 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 (which had a barely legal appeal) initially 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 (with assistance) 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, her “real” marriage later that year to dancer and aspiring rap star Kevin “K-Fed” Federline (whose second child with actress Shar Jackson was born less than two months before the nuptials). As the ’00s 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, questionable parenting skills, a pending divorce and no showbiz projects on the horizon, Britney-mania seemed to be subsiding. In February 2007, after months of nonstop, often pantyless partying, Spears seemed to completely lose her mind. Within one drama-filled week, she shaved her head, got two tattoos, and checked in and out of rehab twice. It seemed her lifestyle had become completely “Toxic.”