A TALENTED teen, a troubled adult, a lost soul, an unfit mother, an out-of-control attention-seeker - she's been called all this and more in the 26 years she's been in the public eye.
During those two and a half decades she's had her freedom taken away from her, become estranged from her sons, found lovers and lost them again, and been both supported and ridiculed on social media.
But Britney Spears is finally ready to tell her own story. Two years after a judge freed her from the iron grip of her father's conservatorship, she's released her memoir, The Woman in Me - and she's lifting the lid on a long-held secret and many of the issues that have plagued her over the years.
"It's finally time for me to raise my voice and speak out and my fans deserve to hear it directly from me," she tells People magazine.
"No more conspiracy, no more lies. This is me owning my past, present and future."
Her book, which has been called "a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith and hope", has already topped Amazon's bestseller list.
Ultimately, however, Britney (41) hopes her book will be a source of inspiration to others.
"I want the overall takeaway to be that you should speak up. Be loud. Know your worth. Inspire people and most of all, just be kind."
She speaks of her pride in her memoir on Instagram too. "I worked my ass off for this book and had a lot of therapy to get it done so you guys better like it.
"And if you don't, that's fine too."
THE ABORTION BOMBSHELL
The biggest jaw-dropper in the book is the revelation that she became pregnant at 19 while dating fellow pop star Justin Timberlake.
She was happy about it but Justin, who was part of the boyband *NSYNC at the time, didn’t feel the same way.
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 2 November 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 2 November 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
BALLON IN THE BAG
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football
IT WAS ALL A LIE
A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country
AGREE TO DISAGREE
Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book
PAUSE THE CLOCK
Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down
MPOOMY ON TOP
We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court
MATT THE RECLUSE
A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight
A LEAP OF FAITH
After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it