Jamie Lynn Spears

Jamie Lynn Marie Spears (born April 4, 1991) is an American actress and singer. She played Zoey Brooks on the Nickelodeon teen sitcom Zoey 101 (2005–2008) and its sequel film Zoey 102 (2023), and Noreen Fitzgibbons on the Netflix romantic drama series Sweet Magnolias (2020–present). She is the younger sister of singer Britney Spears.

Beginning in December 2007, Spears was subject to significant media attention and controversy after announcing her pregnancy at age 16. A misconception emerged that this canceled Zoey 101; however, the final season wrapped filming in September 2007 and premiered the following year. After giving birth in 2008, Spears stopped acting for five years.

Spears returned from her hiatus in 2013 and began her music career. She released her debut single "How Could I Want More" from her debut EP in country music, The Journey (2014). In 2015, Spears earned songwriting credits for Jana Kramer's certified Platinum single, "I Got the Boy", a song she wrote in 2011 during writing sessions in Nashville for her 2013 EP.

In 2023, due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Spears began to appear on reality television shows, such as Dancing with the Stars, Special Forces: World's Toughest Test and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.

Early life
Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, to Jamie and Lynne Spears. Her older siblings are Bryan and Britney. Her parents divorced in 2002, but were in an on-and-off relationship after the divorce. She has described her home life as unstable, but remembers "feeling very loved". She attended Parklane Academy in McComb, where she was a cheerleader, and point guard of the basketball team. She was enrolled in dance and voice lessons, and participated in school plays and church performances. As a child, Spears and her family also spent time traveling and touring with Britney.

Spears studied with tutors while filming Zoey 101 in Los Angeles. She finished her education via online correspondence and received her GED in February 2008 through Tangipahoa Parish School System Adult Education Center.

2002–2008: Career beginnings and success with All That and Zoey 101
In February 2002, at age 10, Spears made her acting debut in the Paramount Pictures drama film Crossroads which starred her sister, who portrayed the central character Lucy Wagner. Spears made a cameo, playing the younger version of Britney's character. In April 2002, Spears walked the runway as a model for Kids R Us fashion show in New York City. Following Crossroads, Nickelodeon cast Spears as a regular performer in the sketch comedy series All That for the 2002 season; she appeared on the show through 2004. Spears portrayed various roles through the two seasons she appeared. Along with the cast of All That, Spears also made appearances on Snick On-Air Dare, Nickelodeon's version of Fear Factor. Deciding to pursue other roles on the network, Spears departed from the main cast on the tenth and final season of All That, and only appeared as a guest. At age 13, Spears was named as one of the celebrities on Teen People 's Young Hollywood/Hot List. In August 2004, Spears signed a development deal with Nickelodeon in which she would star as the protagonist in her own scripted television series that would air on the network. The series went on to be titled Zoey 101 and Spears portrayed the role of Zoey Brooks. The series centered on Zoey and her friends who attend a fictional boarding school, Pacific Coast Academy (PCA). Spears recorded the series theme song, titled "Follow Me", which was written by her sister Britney Spears. Filmed at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, the series premiered on January 9, 2005, and was the network's highest-rated series premiere in over eight years. Spears won a Young Artist Award and a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for her performance. In September 2007, she won "The High School Sweetheart" award at Us Weekly's Hot Hollywood event.

Zoey 101 was positively received by critics and viewers. It was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming, and the show's season 3 finale episode was the second most-watched show across all cable channels that week. The series ran for four seasons, with its series finale "PCA Confidential" airing on May 2, 2008. Nickelodeon issued a statement shortly after the announcement of Spears being pregnant at the age of 16, stating that the network respected Spears's decision to take responsibility and noting that its primary concern was for her well-being. Spears' co-star Seann Flynn praised her as hard-working and talented, telling Nylon: "One of the things that always stood out to me regarding her professionalism was how well she knew her lines. I don’t think she ever messed one up. She always brought her best work to the table."

In December 2007, Variety announced that Spears had signed on to guest-appear in the ABC comedy sitcom series Miss Guided, in which she played the role of the promiscuous high-school student Mandy Fener in the episode "Hot Sub" which aired on March 20, 2008. That same year, Spears voiced Goldilocks in the direct-to-DVD animation film Unstable Fables: Goldilocks & 3 Bears Show.

2011–2017: Country music debut
In 2011, Spears moved to Nashville and began working on a country music album with local music producers. On November 7, 2011, Spears held a small concert at The Rutledge in Nashville. On November 25, 2013, Spears released her first single "How Could I Want More". The song debuted at number 29 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs, and at number 8 on the Country Digital Songs chart, for the week ending December 7, 2013. Kevin Rutherford of Billboard described Spears' performance as "sweet and innocent" yet powerful, and suggested the song would fit right in at country radio. The song was named Taste of Country 's Top Critic's Pick.

Spears was featured on her older sister Britney Spears's eighth studio album Britney Jean on the song "Chillin' with You". On May 27, 2014, Spears released her debut EP The Journey. The EP peaked at number 5 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums and at number 24 on Top Country Albums. That year, Spears made numerous appearances on country radio talk shows, made performances at fairs and festivals, and was an opening act for Alan Jackson. Spears co-wrote the Jana Kramer song "I Got the Boy" which was released as the second single from Thirty One in 2015.

In 2016, Spears released the documentary Jamie Lynn Spears: When the Lights Go Out, reflecting on the controversy of her pregnancy, showcasing her country music career after "realizing [her] true calling was music" as well as her personal life as a wife and mother. On March 15, 2016, Spears performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. On June 24, 2016, Spears released her second single "Sleepover". Spears was a presenter and a performer at Radio Disney Music Awards in April 2017.

2018–present: Return to acting, Zoey 102, memoir and reality television


In an episode that aired on July 13, 2018, Spears returned to Nickelodeon for the first time in over ten years as a contestant on the revived game show Double Dare with her daughter Maddie, competing against fellow All That alumnus Josh Server and his niece. She and Maddie won over $15,000 to donate to the New Orleans hospital that treated Maddie in 2017.

In July 2019, Netflix announced that Spears was cast as Noreen Fitzgibbons in the romance drama series Sweet Magnolias, based on the novel series by Sherryl Woods. In July 2020, the cast of Zoey 101 reunited in an episode of the eleventh season of All That. Spears played herself and her old All That character Thelma Stump. That year, Spears and Chantel Jeffries recorded a new version of the Zoey 101 theme song "Follow Me". The music video for the song featured appearances by numerous celebrities and Spears' elder daughter Maddie. On October 29, 2020, Spears performed "Follow Me" on Good Morning America.

In July 2021, Worthy Publishing, an imprint of Hachette Book Group announced Spears's plans to release a memoir, releasing a statement saying: "Jamie Lynn's book has been in development over the past 12 months and will allow the world to hear her inspiring story in her own words, for the first time." Her memoir titled Things I Should Have Said: Family, Fame, and Figuring it Out was released on January 18, 2022. Rolling Stone recommended the book but highlighted that Jamie Lynn ostensibly used her sister Britney Spears' highly publicized struggles and conservatorship to promote her new book. The book was not a financial success. On January 4, 2023, she began competing on Fox's survival television series Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, where contestants participate in special forces training challenges at a camp removed from society. She left the series during the competition's third episode, with Spears saying that she missed her children. On July 27, 2023, the sequel film Zoey 102 was released on Paramount+, with Spears reprising her role from Zoey 101 alongside many of the original cast members. Production took place in January 2023 in North Carolina, with Spears attached as executive producer. Billboard called it a "highly anticipated sequel", while Ready Steady Cut praised the film as a "a nostalgic and amusing watch, enjoyable for original fans and the series newcomers." One day after its release, the film was the third most watched on Paramount+ in the U.S. and the second most watched in Canada.

On September 12, 2023, Spears announced on Good Morning America that she would compete on season 32 of Dancing with the Stars, paired with Alan Bersten. She donated her weekly earnings to SAG-AFTRA and the WGA amid their ongoing strike. Spears was eliminated in the second week of the competition. On December 5, 2023, she returned for a group dance performance in the season 32 finale along with other eliminated contestants.

In November 2023, it was announced that Spears signed up as a contestant on the twenty-third season of British survival reality television show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, which premiered on November 19, 2023. Ahead of entering the competition, Spears said: "There is literally every misconception you can have on a person about me so I don’t take any of it seriously. But I do think going on I’m a Celebrity will be a nice way for people to see the real me." Spears left the show after 11 days on November 29, 2023 for medical reasons. She was the second contestant to depart on medical grounds that season, as Grace Dent left days earlier. Spears placed 11th in the series. She described her decision to participate in the show by saying: "I think it is so far out of my comfort zone and this year with SAG being on strike, I have said ‘yes’ to a lot of unscripted projects. I am really enjoying throwing myself into these experiences." Fans of the show praised Spears for her determination in challenges, and her likable personality.

Public image
In the early years of her career, Spears had a generally wholesome image as a teen star. Her fame increased dramatically in the wake of her pregnancy announcement in December 2007, and during the following months, she became a frequent target of the paparazzi. In subsequent years, Spears was rarely seen in the public eye and focused on family, saying: "I used to be insecure at times, because I was always the youngest mom in the room. I quickly learned that being a good and competent mother has nothing to do with age."

Spears has been featured in several fashion blogs and magazines such as Nylon, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl, Teen People, Teen, Girls' Life, Mizz and Nickelodeon Magazine. Spears has appeared in commercials and print ads throughout her career. She appeared in television commercials for Hasbro's eKara karaoke headset, Pepsi and Clorox bleach. In 2018, she appeared in an advertising campaign and social media ads for Kraft Foods with daughter Maddie.

Spears endorses beauty and wellness products on Instagram. She has partnered with FabFitFun subscription box, Smart Food popcorn and International Loops marketing agency.

Personal life
Spears attended First Baptist Church in Kentwood, Louisiana, but she is Catholic since her conversion in early 2018, as are her daughters and her mother Lynne.

In 2013, Spears was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. She underwent therapy and briefly used medication as well. "The anxiety was to the point where I couldn't function," she commented. "I'm very conscious not to lie to myself anymore because I think that my biggest issue my whole life was pretending to be perfect."

Teenage pregnancy
On December 20, 2007, in an interview with OK! magazine, Spears announced that she was pregnant by her then boyfriend, Casey Aldridge. She was 16 years old at the time. Aldridge, whom she had been dating for two years, was 18. Spears confirmed her engagement to Aldridge in March 2008. In May 2008, the couple moved to Liberty, Mississippi, and purchased a house, with Spears stating they would raise their child there. She gave birth to their daughter Maddie Briann Aldridge on June 19, 2008, in McComb, Mississippi. Spears and Aldridge ended their engagement in March 2009, and Spears moved out in December 2009. The couple reconciled in August 2010, but ended their relationship a second time in November 2010.

The announcement of Spears' pregnancy generated controversy, with criticism centering on the story purportedly glamorizing teenage pregnancy. Some teens were disappointed with the contrast between Spears' on-screen personality as a "good" girl and her real-life teen pregnancy. On June 4, 2008, while in Amite County, Mississippi, the Spears family filed a complaint against Edwin Merrino, a paparazzo who, they believed, was stalking the couple. Merrino denied the allegation. He was released later in the day after posting bond. After her daughter's birth, Spears disappeared from the public eye for five years, focusing on raising her child. In an interview with Nylon, Spears said: "So, I got me a little house. I put a big gate up around it, and I was like, 'I'm going to stay here, raise my baby, and figure this out because this is real life. I've put myself in this situation, I'm not condoning it or saying it's right, but these are the cards that I have to play.' And I tried to do the best that I could."

Marriage and family
She subsequently began a relationship with Jamie Watson, a businessman who owns the communications service Advanced Media Partners. After two years of on-and-off dating, they announced their engagement in March 2013. On March 14, 2014, she married Watson in New Orleans. On April 11, 2018, Spears gave birth to her second daughter.

ATV incident
On February 5, 2017, Spears' eight-year-old daughter Maddie almost drowned in a Polaris ATV accident, after accidentally driving into the pond on her stepfather and mother's Louisiana property, with the ATV flipping over upon impact. She was later airlifted to Children's Hospital of New Orleans, where she remained unconscious in a coma for two days. She woke up and was released from care on February 10. Police reported the incident as occurring before 3:00 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon, and the sheriff explained that she was steering "100 yards from her parents" when she took "a hard right to avoid running over a nearby drainage ditch". The police report stated, "The child was trapped and secured by the seatbelt and the ATV's safety netting. Within two minutes, Acadian Ambulance Services arrived and assisted in freeing the child from the cold waters."

In 2020, Spears explained the situation further. She elaborated that she and her husband Jamie Watson "[...] dove in and [...] were able to rescue her," then the first responder took her away. The firefighter was able to get a pulse, but her case looked "grim at the time", leading to her being airlifted to the hospital.

Feud with Britney Spears
In 2021, Jamie Lynn and her sister Britney were involved in a highly publicized feud via social media. Britney publicly accused Jamie Lynn of actively and knowingly being involved in her conservatorship, while not making any efforts to help her terminate it. Jamie Lynn denied the allegations and maintained that she was unaware of the details of the conservatorship. Britney threatened legal action against Jamie Lynn after the latter spoke extensively about Britney in both her book and the following promotional tour.

Published works

 * Spears, Jamie Lynn: Things I Should Have Said: Family, Fame, and Figuring it Out, Worthy Publishing, January 18, 2022.