Britney Spears

She emerged as a bright young starlet, then was cruelly mocked for mental health issues and her world unravelled. Now she is reclaiming her life.

Remember that inspirational meme – “If Britney Spears can survive 2007, I can make it through today”?

The one with that haunting photo of the music icon with a shaved head using an umbrella as a weapon? It was a heartbreaking postcard from the edge captured by the people who’d been hunting her for a living, relentlessly, like an animal.

Thankfully, in the 16 years since, pop culture has evolved, and mercifully Britney is still here.

We now know the full horror Britney Jean Spears was put through at the hands of those who loved her, who made money from her and who are responsible for us knowing what a conservatorship is.

Britney Spears is the ultimate modern American pop star. She had the usual trajectory – singing in church, juggling school with dancing and singing lessons, stage-mothered through kiddie talent competitions.

But it looked like a young Britney Spears really, really wanted this. She was eight when the Mickey Mouse Club rejected her for being too young. That door closing led to Britney, her mother and her sister all moving from Kentwood, Louisiana, to New York, because that’s what small-town folk did to make it big in the ’90s.

Two years later, aged 10, Britney appeared on the TV talent show Star Search, showcasing a powerful voice that would be watered down in the pop music sausage factory.