Lynne Spears
Born
Lynne Irene Bridges

1955 (age 68–69)
Magnolia, Mississippi, U.S.
EducationSoutheastern Louisiana University
Occupations
  • Teacher
  • writer
  • daycare operator
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1976; div. 2002)​
[1]
Children

Lynne Irene Spears (née Bridges) is an American author and teacher. She is the mother of Bryan Spears, Britney Spears and Jamie Lynn Spears.

Biography

Early life and family

Lynne Irene Bridges[2] is believed to have been born around 1955[3] in Magnolia, Mississippi[2] to Lilian Irene Portell (1924–1993), a British woman of English and Maltese descent, and Barney O'Field Bridges (1919–1978), an American G.I. In 1945, her parents met and married in Portell's native London.[4] Spears' maternal great-grandfather, Edward Portell, had immigrated to the United Kingdom from Malta while the country was a colony of the British Empire.[4][5] Spears has an older brother, Barry "Sonny" Bridges (b. 1951). Their older sister Sandra Bridges Covington (1947–2007) died of ovarian cancer.[6][7]

In 1991, Lynne along with daughters Britney and Jamie Lynn moved to a sublet apartment in New York City, when Britney began attending Professional Performing Arts School.[8] Her husband Jamie and son Bryan stayed in Kentwood.[8] Britney soon began appearing on The Mickey Mouse Club (1993–1996), but it was canceled on its second season, and they returned to Kentwood.[8]

In July 1976, she married Jamie Spears. They divorced in May 2002[9] and reconciled without remarrying around 2010.[10][11] They were seen still united in 2014,[12] but were evidently completely separated by 2020. They have three children: son Bryan Spears (born 1977) and daughters Britney Spears (born 1981) and Jamie Lynn Spears (born 1991). They have five grandchildren: grandsons Sean Preston Federline (born 2005) and Jayden James Federline (born 2006) from Britney; granddaughters Maddie Briann Aldridge (born 2008) and Ivey Joan Watson (born 2018) from Jamie Lynn; and Sophia Alexandra Spears (born 2011) from Bryan.[13]

Career

Spears owned and operated a day care in Kentwood, Louisiana and later worked as a schoolteacher.[14] Despite accompanying Britney on tours early in her career, she never worked as her daughter's manager and only briefly worked on Britney’s fan club and website.[15]

Spears has co-written two books with her daughter Britney. The first, Heart to Heart, was published in 2000 as a biographical book about Britney. A Mother's Gift was a novel released in 2001 and has been adapted into an ABC Family television film, Brave New Girl.[16] She was credited as a writer and executive producer in the film.[17] A 2008 memoir, Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World, followed, detailing the public scrutiny that the Spears family faced after Britney's mental breakdown and Jamie Lynn's teen pregnancy.[18][19] In 2020, she played the role of a stage mom in her daughter Jamie Lynn and Chantel Jeffries' music video for the song "Follow Me".[17][20]

As of September 2023, she works as an independent consultant for Rodan + Fields and a substitute teacher in Louisiana.[21][22]

Personal life

Spears is a devout Christian, and openly discussed this in her memoir.[23] She attended First Baptist Church in Kentwood, Louisiana with her family[24] but she has been identified as a Catholic alongside her youngest daughter Jamie Lynn and two of her granddaughters, Jamie Lynn's daughters.[25]

In November 2021, Spears requested $650,000 in legal fees from Britney's estate, suggesting that her lawyers had helped in the process of freeing Britney from the conservatorship imposed by her father, Jamie Spears. Lynne and her lawyers would later drop the case before appearing in court.[26]

Filmography

Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
2001 Total Britney Live Herself Television special
2005 Britney & Kevin: Chaotic Episode: "Veil of Secresy"
2013 I Am Britney Jean Documentary film
2016 Jamie Lynn Spears: When the Lights Go Out
Music videos
Year Title Artist Role
2020 "Follow Me" Jamie Lynn Spears and Chantel Jeffries Stage mom

As producer and writer

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Brave New Girl Producer and writer ABC Family television film[16]

Bibliography

Spears has co-written two books and written one memoir so far.

References

  1. ^ Through the Storm. Thomas Nelson. ISBN 9781418567354.
  2. ^ a b Spears, Lynne; Craker, Lorilee (2008). Through the Storm. Thomas Nelson Inc. p. 211. ISBN 978-1595551566.
  3. ^ "-Britney Spears Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2010. Brother Bryan Spears. Born c. 1977 ... Father Jamie Spears. Born c. 1953 ... Mother: Lynne Spears. Born c. 1955
  4. ^ a b Ancestry of Her daughter, Including Lynne Spears.
  5. ^ Spears, Lynne; Craker, Lorilee (2008). Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World. Tennessee: Thomas Nelson. pp. 4. ISBN 978-1-59555-156-6.
  6. ^ "Lynne Spears Visits Sister's Grave Amid Crisis". People.com. January 5, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2008.
  7. ^ "Lynne Spears Speaks: 'Just Say Prayers'". People. January 4, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c "Britney's Wild Ride". Peoplemag. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  9. ^ "Britney's Next Act". People. September 2, 2002. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  10. ^ "Britney Spears's Divorced Parents Reconciling". People. November 15, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  11. ^ "Report: Britney Spears' parents reconciling". MSNBC. November 16, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  12. ^ "Photos and Pictures - 08 June 2014 - Nashville, Tennessee - Jamie Watson, husband of Jamie Lynn Spears along with Lynn Spears, Jamie Spears, mother and father of Pop Star Britney Spears and her little sister Jamie Lynn Spears. Jamie Lynn Spears Performs during the 2014 CMA Music Festival at the Bud Light Stage. Photo Credit: Laura Farr/AdMedia".
  13. ^ "Britney Spears – Lynne Spears: 'Family Troubles Are In The Past'". contactmusic.com. October 9, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  14. ^ "Photos from Lynne Spears' Bond With Britney Spears". E! Online. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  15. ^ August 04, Adrienne Day Updated; EDT, 2020 at 01:48 PM. "I Read It So You Don't Have To: Lynne Spears' memoir". EW.com. Retrieved October 10, 2023.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ a b Malach, Maggie (April 10, 2015). "Britney Spears' Book 'A Mother's Gift' Released 14 Years Ago". PopCrush. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Lynne Spears | Actress, Writer, Producer". IMDb. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  18. ^ "Lynne Spears to Write About "Dark Period of Britney's Life" in Memoir". Us Magazine. June 12, 2008. Archived from the original on July 14, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
  19. ^ "Lynn Spears Book No Bombshell". ABC News. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  20. ^ "Jamie Lynn Spears Drops Music Video for Reimagined Zoey 101 Theme Song with Cameos from Cast". Peoplemag. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  21. ^ "Instagram profile for Lynne Spears". www.instagram.com. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  22. ^ "Britney Spears's mom, Lynne takes on substitute teaching amid financial struggles: Reports". PINKVILLA. September 27, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  23. ^ Spears, Lynne; Craker, Lorilee (2008). Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World. Tennessee: Thomas Nelson. pp. 194. ISBN 978-1-59555-156-6.
  24. ^ Berk, Sheryl (2007). True Brit: The Story of Singing Sensation Britney Spears. Random House Publishing Group. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-307-41759-6
  25. ^ Rousselle, Christine (August 6, 2021). "Update: Britney Spears says she is 'Catholic now' in social media post". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved August 8, 2021.

External links

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